What a day!

Today will be a very hard day to beat. If anyone comes to Guatemala and wants to take time to learn more about the local culture, coming to Panajachel and taking a guided tour of villages around the lake is a must. Our day started with a 30 minute boat ride across the beautiful lake just a short morning commute to an incredible village. First stop, the village of San Juan La Laguna. One of 13 villages around lake Atitlan.

San Juan is a small village on the lake that has the tradition of all the Mayan textiles. As we looked around the village we were treated to a demonstration of how they take cotton, spin the string then dye the threads and finally weave the beautiful textiles. I videoed the demonstration and I will edit it and upload it at a later date. 

After the demonstration we were able to look at May of the items the women of this village made by hand. Some items that took more than a month to complete. Karman found her a little bag  to carry her camera in that she just had to have.

From there we got back in our boat and headed to the village of San Pedro La Laguna. A village we would find out is also sometimes referred to as the "Hippie village"  because many foreigners have moved to this village and brought with them the hippie lifestyle. 

However, what we were interested in was what they are traditionally know for... Coffee and chocolate! Both of which are grown locally in the village. Not on large plantations, but in small garden size plots many times right next to the coffee shops. It is one of the 6 places in Guatemala that grows coffee and exports it around the world. It actually had a different flavor than the coffee grown in aAntigua, which is only 2 1/2 hours away. It was very interesting to see the process and taste the products. 

Here is an example of what coffee looks like from the fruit of the tree to the roasted product.

And here is what Chocolate looks like from the tree to turning it into chocolate.

After we enjoyed probably the best frappe I have ever had, we were off again to take the boat to the third village.

After a 15 minute boat ride, we arrived at the village of Santiago Atitlan where we saw beautiful paintings as well as different textiles that are specifically from that village. 

Here we met a wonderful lady who was kind enough to show us her head piece. Then she even dressed Kayman up in local textiles and we learned that even though she is Chinese... She is also the cutest Guatemalan princess in the land!

 

Then it was back in the boat for the 30 ride back to our hotel. It was a great journey and we learned a lot more about different cultures he in Guatemala. It is very interesting that the four villages we have visited here at the lake (including where our hotel is) all speak different Mayan languages... Even when some are only a 5 minute boat ride apart. Not only is the language different, but even the styles of dress are specific to each village. 

If you ever have the chance to visit, take the tours... It is well worth the money! I think it was like $54 for two people.