Guate and Belize: Panajachel

Well, I am home! The trip to Guatemala and Belize was amazing. I usually blog during the trip, but didn't bring my computer along this time. I wasn't going to blog at all, but found other travel blogs so helpful when researching where to go, where to stay, what to do, etc. so wanted to record some experiences. I will update through 5 separate blog posts: 1) Panajachel, 2) Antigua, 3) Lanquin and Flores, 4) Belize, and 5) Poverty and Development. This post will focus on my time in Panajachel.

Chris and I arrived in Guatemala City in the late afternoon of Boxing Day. Unfortunately, my bags did not! (They ended up coming a day and a half later, so it wasn't a huge deal). We had already arranged for a shuttle to pick us up at the airport and drive us directly to our Pana hotel (3 hours from the airport in Guatemala City, we paid $25 for this); Atitlan Nature Reserve. I immediately had to begin using my Spanish as our driver and the hotel night guard didn't speak any English, which I loved! The room was big and beautiful, very secluded, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. We began to unpack and I went to get under the covers. I pulled one of the pillows off the bed and jumped- a baby mouse!! I ran to the door and as Chris and I were both standing there trying to figure out what to do, the mama mouse scurried down the wall, making us both jump! We ran and got the night guard, who brought a flashlight and nodded slowly, asking us if we wanted another room. It was too late at this point to go find a different hotel, so we switched rooms and slept a bit nervously!

While our time at the Nature Reserve was off to a rough start, we were laughing about it and ended up staying there and having a great time. The Nature Reserve is beautiful, and mice are just that- a part of nature. Not one I really wanted in my bed with me, but we didn't have any problems with any bugs or rodents in our new room throughout the remainder of our trip. We spent the first morning looking through what seemed to be every single clothing store in Panajachel looking for something for me to wear until my luggage came. With Pana being a Mayan village, many of the options were traditional Mayan clothes. Finally I found a hot pink Hollister shirt that I might have worn when I was 13 and settled on that. I was very happy when my luggage arrived the next morning!

We spent a lot of time in Pana on Lake Atitlan, a volcanic lake that is famous around the world for its beauty. We watched the sunset over the lake every night, and went on a boat trip to visit neighbouring Mayan villages Santa Catarina Palopo and San Antonio Palopo. Both were sleepy little towns with little tourists and a great deal of Mayan beauty and handicrafts. We went hiking down to the water, walked through the shops in the city, and tried our first tastes of Guatemalan food. My favourite part of Panajachel was easily Lake Atitlan. We watched the sunset every single day, and just sat and enjoyed nature, enjoyed the views, and hiked through mountain paths to reach the shore.

Second to the beauty of Lake Atitlan was our time at the Nature Reserve. Most people don't stay in the hotel there, but instead come for a day trip. The Nature Reserve has monkeys, a butterfly pavillion, rickety hanging bridges, and ziplining. We ziplined over coffee fields with beautiful views of the lake, and hiked up the paths to watch the monkeys playing in the trees. What began as a weird experience with the mouse turned out to be a really memorable place to stay.