The San Antonio Palópo Waterfall Route

In the middle of the picture on the right in the distance you can see the road that I took into the village of San Antonio Palópo when I wanted to go to the market before I found the much easier waterfall route. The level at which I stand to take that photograph is about the same level above the lake as my house.

Before the blessed waterfall route, I would practically roll down the really, really steep hill to get to the centre of the village and then climb a mountain of steps to arrive at the market. Going back home for me was a nightmare. There were two phases of it. Phase one is the hilly road that you see here. The other phase is out of view around the corner and although it's not quite as long, it is however, twice as steep. It makes me ill even thinking about it. Needless to say I didn't go to the market too often.

Since finding this almost hidden route which is at mid-mountain level along the edge, my trip to market is much more enjoyable. The path is three feet wide in places with a vertical drop about - well, all the way down the mountain. You would kill yourself if you fell off. I don't do it at night or if I'm feeling off balance, if you know what I mean. Yesterday I took pictures for the first time and although I don't usually take photographs of the local Mayans for fear of intruding. Yesterday I did but I asked first.

After witnessing the process of tending to the soil, planting the onions and watching them grow for months now in the small terraced plots on the side of the mountain, it was a real treat to happen across these women getting their harvest ready to be shipped to Panajachel and probably The Capital. They stripped the outer leaves from the plant, stacked them in huge bundles and loaded them onto a flatbed truck. They all looked pretty darn happy - maybe to have such a good yield.

When I first got here, I used to pay Q100 ($13 or so) for a local hotelier to take me into Panajachel and back where I do most of my shopping and all of my banking. It's 12Km one way up and down the mountain. It's cheap by our standards but it adds up. Now, I knew you could catch a "bus" at the market which would take you into Panajachel for Q10 ($1.30) return. Much more like it but I'd never tried it. Out of necessity one day I bit the bullet and climbed into the back of the "bus" along with more than a dozen other locals for the bumpy and ever so cozy trip to town. Most of the women get a seat on planks that line the flat bed and all the young macho boys hang off the end of the truck. The whole trip takes twenty minutes or so and runs every fifteen minutes until 7p.m. It drops you off outside Despensa Familia (the big supermarket) in Panajachel. Very reliable, very cheap and very colourful.

Every girl (past the age of twelve) and woman in the village knows how to weave. They make their own clothes and each other's and sell to the tourists in town and in Panajachel. Some even travel the three hours to Quetzaltenango (Guatemala's second largest city) to sell their beautiful woven cloth. This woman approached me outside the market as I was taking photographs. The colours that she (and every other female in the village) wears denote that she lives in San Antonio Palópo. Three miles around the mountain in Santa Catarina the women wear totally different colours as they do all around the lake. Only in Panajachel where everyone goes to shop and bank does one see the variety of all the Lake Atitlan villagers' attire. The skill level of these women is very high and their cloth is reasonably priced. They are pretty savvy business women and know the value of their work. You can find a bargain but no one's giving their stuff away which is very good to see!