So today I awoke today-not to roosters-but to the birds flying into the window glass. Repeatedly! I got up around 8, got ready, and packed the rest of my stuff. I waited for Eoghan (pronounced Owen) to come by my hotel. Eoghan is the PT from Ireland although I thought he was from Scotland. He took me to ADISA to introduce me to the Guatemalan PT (I forgot her name). I met a little girl who needed AFO's so me and Eoghan went to dig through all my crap to wget the AFO's. Again I have to thank my friend Amy for the AFO's as she made a mother very happy today. :-) I haven't sorted the clothes yet and will tackle that task in 2 months when I return.
After I ate I began to haggle the price of the boat to get across the lake to Panajachel. I was given the "gringo price" of Q35 but I refused to pay that as I was told by the hotel staff it was Q15 and was told by Eoghan he pays Q20 (price for non-locals). After arguing a bit the price was brought down to Q25. Still I refused. The driver told me if I gave him a kiss he would lower it to Q20 but I declined that offer. Since I still refused to pay I was told I would stand on the dock all day as Q25 is the price. So guess what I did?! I stood on the dock until they lowered it to Q20 although I only wanted to pay Q15.
When I got in the boat I asked a local the price and he told me Q15 for the locals. :-/ We waited at least 30 minutes for the boat to fill up and then off we went to Panajachel.
Panajachel is located across lake Atitlan and it is beautiful! For tourist this is one of the placement to be as lots of tourist only go to Santiago for a day trip. I arrived a little after 1 and found a tour office and bought a ticket for the bus. I walked/hiked around for a bit and met a nice Guatemalan named Esdras, a tuk tuk driver (see picture). We chatted for a bit then I walked back down to the town.
At 4:10 the bus driver picked me up for our adventure to Antigua. For anyone that has never taken a ride in a country with bad windy roads in the mountains AND where the drivers whip around corners like its a sport then you should try it! As I have been in buses like this before it was nothing. Unfortunately 2 annoying American women were also on the bus and thought it was a terrible ride. I, however, was more concerned about my backpack getting thrown off the roof as we bumped up and down the road as they don't tie the bags down. I also met Olga on the bus who is from San Salvador and we talked about my upcoming trip. Thank God -for the 2 Amedicans sake- we made it in one piece. In the end, the bus driver dropped me off at my hotel. Thank God I have good internet however I found out I can't watch any of my shows as the US shows don't stream here. Terrible!! Also the hotel doesn't have the hot water they claimed to have! But thank god for the internet.
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