Lake view and San Marcos

A few pics taken during the trip from Pana to San Marcos...




















































This is the San Marcos dock. The orginal dock is submerged just at the left of the picture. I've seen lots of flooding in the past few years, and we're just beginning to understand what 9 feet higher really means on this lake.

During the crossing, we've met an ex-pat living here, an early 40's man with his young son, returning home from a quick trip to Pana. He tells us a little about the lake's geography, and where he lives, off a little path up the hill. We ask him about a hotel, and he confirms our two choices as good ones. At the dock, the owner of Posada Bosque Encantado, our first choice, is waiting to go to Pana for errands. Terry tells us she does have a room, and three young men grab for Stuart's bag, and begin to lead us up a foot path.

Everywhere we've been in Guatemala, a young man grabs Stuart's bag to carry for him. His rolling bag. Never do they offer to take mine, which is on my back. Neither does Stuart offer to help me, and by now, I have an extra bag with a couple of gifts we've picked up on the way. Machismo is alive and well in Central American, and it has rubbed off on Stuart.

We follow the young boys, giggling, through the jungle, slightly uphill along dirt foot paths that are one person wide. We pass a few fences and a couple of hand-made brick walls, twisting and turning under the banana and avocado trees, past wild coffee and flowers. It's cool in the shade, and we pass only a couple of other people. In a few mintues, we come to the Bosque Encantado the Enchanted Forest. Terry Rubin's hotel is three rooms, with a wide porch, facing the jungle. To one side, there is a new-looking palapa, with a couple of tables and chairs. Flowers fill the understory, and chickens scratch in the dirt. A Mayan woman is cleaning the rooms, as we dump our bags on the porch. The boys are giggling, asking for more quetzales. We give them a few, which amount to less than a dollar apiece, and they disappear into the jungle.

I LOVE this place! It's peaceful feeling, quiet and so pretty. Pinch me. Is this a Walt Disney stage set? I want to see more, and we head down the path, heading sort of towards the lake. The streets here are actually foot paths, in some places wide enough for 2 people to walk side-by-side, but mostly narrower. Some are bricked or cobblestones, most are dirt. The church, not pretty and without windows or doors, is in the center of the village, where we find a paved road. The road runs west and south to San Juan, and east to Tzununa. Two tuk tuks are parked, waiting for someone needing to go somewhere, but I suspect they don't get much business here. Most people use the lanchas for transportation, but some crops and goods are transferred between villages using the road. Above the church and small plaza, there are two neighborhoods of local people, divided by a small mountain ridge. I'm going to like this place!