Antigua Arch
Antigua marketHere comes the relaxed and reflective part of my trip in Guatemala.
Two days ago I arrived to this tinny village called San Pedro, on Lago de Atitlan. Atitlan is a huge lake in the middle of Guatemala. It actually is a volcano which collapsed, and now what you have is clear, deep blue water surrounded by green mountains and small authentic villages, each with its own magic.
San Pedro is filled with narrow muddy allies, a few bars and chill out places, but mostly filled with tranquility and smiling people who will never walk by you without saying: ¨Hola amiga!¨or ¨Buenas Tardes!¨.
Ah, and of course, how can I neglect the tinny old Mayan women who walk around in their authentic clothes and a huge basket on their heads, selling special types of breads: ¨Pan de banana, pan de chocolate, pan de pinia....¨
I wish I could take one of them home with me ;-)
I plan to stay here for over a week, write a lot, read a lot, take Spanish lessons (4 hours every day... pretty intense, but after that I would be able to call myself a Spanish speaker for sure!), get a good massage, visit the other villages nearby, such as San Markus, which is a spiritual place, where you could have yoga, meditation, learn about your future and stuff like that, or Chichi - where they have a huge market on Sundays and you can practice your negotiation skills really well...
The last time I wrote, I just arrived to Antigua. After spending a few good days in the middle of the jungle, with no hot water and little electricity, going on tracks and climbing steep mountains, I was kind of looking towards having a big city kind of atmosphere for a change.
But, once again I realized how true this is, that it’s the people who turn a certain place from nice to magical and memorable. It can be a small hut in the middle of nowhere, far away from civilization, or a huge metropolitan city - at the end of the day, it’s the people you meet and the type of experiences you go through with them, that bring the soul into a place.
Such was El Retiro for me. Sure, the place was breath taking, but it was mostly the amazing people I met there that made this so unique. So when I came to Antigua all on my own again, there was this huge void to fill.
And Antigua wasn’t able to fill that void for me. I stayed at the Black Cat hostel, in dorms, which were quite claustrophobic. The whole atmosphere there was too suffocating for me - A small dark place packed with travelers, mostly young and too-enthusiastic ones... For some reason it is considered the most favorite place for muchileros... I guess not my type of muchileros though... I probably should have looked for another place, but I was tired from all the travels and a night of no sleep, and just wanted to crash somewhere instead of carrying myself with my baggage through the city streets.
Having said that, Antigua is a beautiful place. A little bit like San Cristobal, it has the nice combination between a city with everything you would expect - clubs, bars, cafes, tons of hang out places and shops, and at the same time narrow streets, short buildings with all colors and smiling people who don’t seem to be in any rush.
I met two sweet girls - Torna, a 22 year old fragile aussie, and Julie, a 26 South African. Us three explored the city together, went shopping, climbed a steep hill to a point where you can have a beautiful view of the city spread beneath you and the three volcanoes that surround it, and on the second night we did the Pakaya track - climbing up an active volcano!
That was an awesome experience. You start climbing after it gets dark (if you choose the night tour of course, which is more recommended as it is more unique and you get to see the lava much better), something like 1.5 hours, holding a flashlight. Every now and then you stop, to catch your breath, but mostly to gaze at the zillions of starts that seem as if they follow you to light your way, the lights from the villages down below that remind you just how high up you are, and the fog that surrounds you, because you are actually walking inside a cloud...
After you feel like, man, this is hard, when do we get there... you lift your head, and see this magical red halo on the top of the mountain... it’s only then that you start realizing you’re actually walking on an active volcano.
And then you reach the lava itself - sticky, freaky looking rocks, like huge burning coals, almost whispering… Standing there, so close to it, with the foggy night wrapping you, you actually feel like you’re in a fantasy-film in a lost country ruled by mad dragons and vicious wizards.
We sat there, gazing at the lava, in the middle of the night, trying to engrave this moment in our hearts.
On the way down, which is not much easier than climbing, because you really need to work hard to keep your balance and thread carefully so that you don’t slip and fall, I was listening to a conversation of the young Israelis that came with us on the tour and had to really stop myself from bursting into laughter... they shared these insights they had with each other, certain that these are the deepest most meaningful thoughts anyone could ever have. There was something nice about it, being a part of a large group and still on my own, sometimes belong and connect, and sometimes take a step back and look at everything and everyone from aside.
The next morning Torna and I made our plans to go to Panahachel, which is the main village on Lago de Atitlan, and from there take the boat to San Pedro. That was the first time for me actually going with someone from one place to the next. And what a first time that was!
The first thing Torna told me when we met was that she started traveling with two guys but a week ago they split and now she’s on her own and thinking of cutting her trip short because she doesn’t handle it very well.
I guess she picked the wrong person to say this to... I started telling her that she shouldn’t give up so soon, that it’s true that traveling alone has its down moments but that things can change in a split second and turn amazing before she knows it and and and...
I really think she tried to get herself together and have a good time in Antigua with us.
But when we were half way to Panahachel, she started changing colors, and told me that she can’t breathe or swallow and that she feels her lips and fingertips getting numb.
Feeling helpless and not knowing how to help her, I talked with the driver and told him that we needed to go see a doctor right away. He was a good guy but explained that the first doctor nearby is only in Pana... Finally, after a very stressful two hours, we got there, when I keep checking up on Torna making sue she doesn’t faint or anything. I already imagined myself going with her to the doctor and trying to explain to him what the problem is and translate it somehow back to her... but eventually the driver said that in Pana there are only small clinics, and that if Torna can handle the ride back, then it’s best if she gets back to Antigua and go to the private hospital there, which was what she decided to do, and that’s where we said goodbye.
I still don’t know what happened eventually and how is she doing, and she is on my mind a lot. This whole episode made me wonder - maybe, just maybe, traveling alone is not right for everyone, at every stage in life. Maybe for some it can do more harm than good. And perhaps some fears we have are there for a reason, and we should be listening to them - perhaps some fears should be left unfaced - at least so long that we are not strong enough or have the right tools to deal with them and come out of the experience stronger rather than wicker.
Ah, so many lessons learned...
With each person I meet and every experience I have, I learn something new - about people, about human nature, but mostly about myself. That’s the thing with traveling I guess: you are completely out of your comfort zone, away from your home, your family and friends, your country and culture. So every little experience is bran new, and you find yourself facing situations you’ve never faced before on a very intense level. And with each new person that you meet you see a somewhat different reflection of yourself in their eyes, so your understanding deepens and gets more angles and realizations, and I am here trying to capture all this, make sure I don’t let anything pass me by without taking the learning with me for the rest of the journey and basically for the rest of my life...
Two days ago I arrived to this tinny village called San Pedro, on Lago de Atitlan. Atitlan is a huge lake in the middle of Guatemala. It actually is a volcano which collapsed, and now what you have is clear, deep blue water surrounded by green mountains and small authentic villages, each with its own magic.
San Pedro is filled with narrow muddy allies, a few bars and chill out places, but mostly filled with tranquility and smiling people who will never walk by you without saying: ¨Hola amiga!¨or ¨Buenas Tardes!¨.
Ah, and of course, how can I neglect the tinny old Mayan women who walk around in their authentic clothes and a huge basket on their heads, selling special types of breads: ¨Pan de banana, pan de chocolate, pan de pinia....¨
I wish I could take one of them home with me ;-)
I plan to stay here for over a week, write a lot, read a lot, take Spanish lessons (4 hours every day... pretty intense, but after that I would be able to call myself a Spanish speaker for sure!), get a good massage, visit the other villages nearby, such as San Markus, which is a spiritual place, where you could have yoga, meditation, learn about your future and stuff like that, or Chichi - where they have a huge market on Sundays and you can practice your negotiation skills really well...
The last time I wrote, I just arrived to Antigua. After spending a few good days in the middle of the jungle, with no hot water and little electricity, going on tracks and climbing steep mountains, I was kind of looking towards having a big city kind of atmosphere for a change.
But, once again I realized how true this is, that it’s the people who turn a certain place from nice to magical and memorable. It can be a small hut in the middle of nowhere, far away from civilization, or a huge metropolitan city - at the end of the day, it’s the people you meet and the type of experiences you go through with them, that bring the soul into a place.
Such was El Retiro for me. Sure, the place was breath taking, but it was mostly the amazing people I met there that made this so unique. So when I came to Antigua all on my own again, there was this huge void to fill.
And Antigua wasn’t able to fill that void for me. I stayed at the Black Cat hostel, in dorms, which were quite claustrophobic. The whole atmosphere there was too suffocating for me - A small dark place packed with travelers, mostly young and too-enthusiastic ones... For some reason it is considered the most favorite place for muchileros... I guess not my type of muchileros though... I probably should have looked for another place, but I was tired from all the travels and a night of no sleep, and just wanted to crash somewhere instead of carrying myself with my baggage through the city streets.
Having said that, Antigua is a beautiful place. A little bit like San Cristobal, it has the nice combination between a city with everything you would expect - clubs, bars, cafes, tons of hang out places and shops, and at the same time narrow streets, short buildings with all colors and smiling people who don’t seem to be in any rush.
I met two sweet girls - Torna, a 22 year old fragile aussie, and Julie, a 26 South African. Us three explored the city together, went shopping, climbed a steep hill to a point where you can have a beautiful view of the city spread beneath you and the three volcanoes that surround it, and on the second night we did the Pakaya track - climbing up an active volcano!
That was an awesome experience. You start climbing after it gets dark (if you choose the night tour of course, which is more recommended as it is more unique and you get to see the lava much better), something like 1.5 hours, holding a flashlight. Every now and then you stop, to catch your breath, but mostly to gaze at the zillions of starts that seem as if they follow you to light your way, the lights from the villages down below that remind you just how high up you are, and the fog that surrounds you, because you are actually walking inside a cloud...
After you feel like, man, this is hard, when do we get there... you lift your head, and see this magical red halo on the top of the mountain... it’s only then that you start realizing you’re actually walking on an active volcano.
And then you reach the lava itself - sticky, freaky looking rocks, like huge burning coals, almost whispering… Standing there, so close to it, with the foggy night wrapping you, you actually feel like you’re in a fantasy-film in a lost country ruled by mad dragons and vicious wizards.
We sat there, gazing at the lava, in the middle of the night, trying to engrave this moment in our hearts.
On the way down, which is not much easier than climbing, because you really need to work hard to keep your balance and thread carefully so that you don’t slip and fall, I was listening to a conversation of the young Israelis that came with us on the tour and had to really stop myself from bursting into laughter... they shared these insights they had with each other, certain that these are the deepest most meaningful thoughts anyone could ever have. There was something nice about it, being a part of a large group and still on my own, sometimes belong and connect, and sometimes take a step back and look at everything and everyone from aside.
The next morning Torna and I made our plans to go to Panahachel, which is the main village on Lago de Atitlan, and from there take the boat to San Pedro. That was the first time for me actually going with someone from one place to the next. And what a first time that was!
The first thing Torna told me when we met was that she started traveling with two guys but a week ago they split and now she’s on her own and thinking of cutting her trip short because she doesn’t handle it very well.
I guess she picked the wrong person to say this to... I started telling her that she shouldn’t give up so soon, that it’s true that traveling alone has its down moments but that things can change in a split second and turn amazing before she knows it and and and...
I really think she tried to get herself together and have a good time in Antigua with us.
But when we were half way to Panahachel, she started changing colors, and told me that she can’t breathe or swallow and that she feels her lips and fingertips getting numb.
Feeling helpless and not knowing how to help her, I talked with the driver and told him that we needed to go see a doctor right away. He was a good guy but explained that the first doctor nearby is only in Pana... Finally, after a very stressful two hours, we got there, when I keep checking up on Torna making sue she doesn’t faint or anything. I already imagined myself going with her to the doctor and trying to explain to him what the problem is and translate it somehow back to her... but eventually the driver said that in Pana there are only small clinics, and that if Torna can handle the ride back, then it’s best if she gets back to Antigua and go to the private hospital there, which was what she decided to do, and that’s where we said goodbye.
I still don’t know what happened eventually and how is she doing, and she is on my mind a lot. This whole episode made me wonder - maybe, just maybe, traveling alone is not right for everyone, at every stage in life. Maybe for some it can do more harm than good. And perhaps some fears we have are there for a reason, and we should be listening to them - perhaps some fears should be left unfaced - at least so long that we are not strong enough or have the right tools to deal with them and come out of the experience stronger rather than wicker.
Ah, so many lessons learned...
With each person I meet and every experience I have, I learn something new - about people, about human nature, but mostly about myself. That’s the thing with traveling I guess: you are completely out of your comfort zone, away from your home, your family and friends, your country and culture. So every little experience is bran new, and you find yourself facing situations you’ve never faced before on a very intense level. And with each new person that you meet you see a somewhat different reflection of yourself in their eyes, so your understanding deepens and gets more angles and realizations, and I am here trying to capture all this, make sure I don’t let anything pass me by without taking the learning with me for the rest of the journey and basically for the rest of my life...
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