Guatemala I - the end of an era

After completing our business in the Dominican Republic, Igal and I made our way to Antigua in Guatemala where Guy was waiting for us. We ran into him accidentally and he invited us to a soccer match between the teachers in his Spanish school and the students. At the very last moment Igal decided not to join but Guy and I went along for the ride.
The playing field was dusty and everyone kept slipping and falling. After a couple of minutes of playing Guy hurt himself and took a ride back to the school to take care of himself. By the end of the game most of the gringos were hurt and aching - myself included (someone kicked me in the ribs while I was down on the ground fumbling for the ball).


I took a couple of days to recuperate and Guy and Igal used the time to climb up the Pacaya volcano. More about this in a future post - I'm going to climb it in the coming days so I'll have some first hand experience and photos.
After several days in Antigua we went to the Atitlan lake which is supposed to be "the most beautiful lake in the world". It's nice :) I'm not sure it's "the best" or "most" of anything though.


Igal was starting to see the end of his trip with us so when we reached Xela we decided to rent a car for the final week. After visiting some of the small Maya villages around town we went to a deserted village. A huge mud slide had created a canyon where the church used to stand. The walls of the church can still be seen hanging on for dear life on the sides of the canyon. We crossed the canyon on a rickety bridge and then made our way further into the forest. This is where things really got strange. There was a terrible mechanic noise coming from deep within the jungle. We felt a little like the people on "Lost". We later found out that the noise is made by thousands of Cicada-like insects.


By then we had become familiar with our rented car. It was a piece of shit. Among its quirks was its lovely alarm which demanded attention every once in a while. There was a strategically located little button which you had to push or else the doors would automatically be locked with the keys inside.


We continued driving through many little villages along the way where the Maya still lead their lives undisturbed - thriving markets, religious ceremonies, and the ever colorful Mayan clothing reign supreme here.


We then decided to go to Todos Santos which is a small Indian village tucked far away in the mountains. The road was long and winding and when we finally made it there night had already fallen. We spent a miserable night there - my back was acting up and Guy's stomach decided to teach him a lesson - and so we decided to leave the following morning. Igal was still OK at that point so he drove us out of there in our little ambulance. We reached a not-so-lovely town called Huehuetenango. By the time we got there Igal's stomach decided to show solidarity and went on strike and so we checked into a hotel (a.k.a "the geriatric ward").

Surprisingly I have no pictures of this experience.

After we regained our strength we went back on the road and drove to Chichicastenango which is famous for its huge and colorful market.


After a few more days on the road we went back to Antigua and today we said goodbye to Igal. As he drove away in his shuttle to the airport we realized just how much (or how little) time had passed and just how many experiences we've been through in this time.

So long Igal, and thanks for all the fish...