Day 3: Pupusas in Pana

23, enero, 2013 --Day 3, Guatemala:

We started the school day with another Mayan ceremony today, but this time just amongst the staff.  It was also in honor of Nicolas, a great man who had been at the school since the beginning and died in a tragic fishing accident last year.  His son currently works at the school with me and it was an emotional event.

After the ceremony, Josh and I went to Panajachel—known locally as “Pana.” It’s the closest “city” about an hour away by small motorboat.  The town of San Marcos reminds me of a weird mix of Asia and South America in so many ways, especially with all the hippy travelers everywhere.  But I was reminded, once again, of my backpacking Asia days as we boarded the small boat and were herded in like cattle for the bumpy, wet ride—it was just like Thailand and Cambodia!!! Also similar was having to not get ripped off for the fee.  Josh explained to me that the locals pay 8 Quetzales one-way and foreigners who live in town and are known pay 10 Q. However, there are always drivers who want to charge more than double and ask for 20 or 25 Q.  The best defense is to hand over exactly 10 Q and keep on walking.  We did this and were harassed for a minute but calmly stated that we live here and kept walking.  

For all my fellow Asia-backpackers, Pana reminds me of Luang Prabang in size.  It’s still a town and not a city by western standards, as you can walk the whole city in a few hours, but, after spending tranquil days in San Marcos, it seems overwhelming with the cards, noise, traffic, etc.  We spent all day walking around doing the week’s errands for the school---going to the bank, buying things that you can’t buy in San Marcos, etc.  It was hot and a long day.  We had pupusas for lunch and they were pretty good.  Josh had a beer at lunch and I couldn’t help but smile inside at my boss drinking a beer “while on the job” J I had hibiscus juice instead and it was yummy. We didn’t make it home until around 6pm and it sure felt like a long day!

My boss, Josh, after a lunch of Pupusas & beer.

The docks at Pana.

I was finally able to pay rent that night (a few days late) since I was able to get money at the bank in Pana (I think I mentioned already that there is no bank in my town.  There’s also no grocery store or lots of other things.  I’m slowly learning what things I can and can’t buy here and am grateful that I will have to travel to Pana almost weekly for work and can take advantage of the trip to do shopping.  Especially looking forward to grocery shopping, as there are a few places where you can buy anything! I couldn’t believe it! They had gluten-free EVERYTHING, Godiva brownie mix, anything I could want! Of course, you pay a hefty price for it so I won’t be getting much, but it’s nice to know the option exists! Oh, and since I’m writing this retroactively, I’m have to report that yesterday I discovered that I can also buy home-made granola, almond milk, and Godiva brownie mix in my own town—good to know for emergencies! J