Pana madness

Panajachel is a touristic villages on the shore of lake Atitlan. Shops with bags in Guatemalan colors, a few beggars trying to make some small money, a restaurant or two. Nothing new on the horizon of lake Atitlan or for it's loads of tourists visiting.

From Xela to San Pedro (which is on the lake), just a boat ride away from Panajachel. I paid the outrageously price of 25Q (locals go for 7Q) and saw the magnificent blue water from close by. This was not the lake it was 2 years ago. It turned green and brown. Apparently an algae is eating up the lake, turning it ugly and toxic. I know the Guatemalan people don't know, don't care and are surely not going to change any of their, dump everything you want in to lake mentality, so visit before theirs nothing left. I was sad arriving in Pana, seeing the lake like this. It was so beautiful.

Just stepping out of the boat and into a travel agency in the middle of the busiest street in Panajachel in the middle of the day, people started running the opposed way I was going. Fear in their faces, woman cleaning out their shops in a couple of seconds, street vendors taking their goods around the corner or preferable a couple of blocks away. All the roll shutters closed within a simple 30 seconds. The whole street was empty within 2 minutes. I was found staring out of the small opening of the shutter. Young people with shawls in front of their faces, were throwing rocks at a group, yet to appear to me, around the corner. Smoke. Gas. More smoke. Then one, two, ten, twenty heavenly armed police men with shields firing gas at the crowd, which turned and ran away, followed by the police. My first experience of a guatemala I knew existed, but never saw before. The news article translated by google.

A shuttle ride out of Pana to Antigua and now staying for one night in a simple hotel on the border with Honduras. Tomorrow will be my first time in Honduras. What will this new country bring?

gelukkig dat je je kogelvrije vest aan had!!!

Glad to see you're enjoying yourself. I'm happy to be home, though it was a really good experience. I was kind of curious to see how long you would stay in Xela.

en dat je je gasmasker op had, maar vooral dat je geen vr. was!

Heee Olaf,
Ik denk dat ik je even miste.... moest even verhaaltjes lezen hier. Je bent trouw blijven posten, leuk! Je maakt veel mee op zo een reis.
Mijn laatste week bij Microweb, benieuwd wat het volgende jaar zal brengen, maar we komen elkaar vast nog wel eens tegen ergens in Europa dan.
Alvast fijne Kerst en Oud en Nieuw toegewenst.
Doegggggggg