Santiago and St. Moximon

It's bloody cold here this morning. I have found many opportunities to wear my thermals on this February trip.
 
In Panajachel it's mostly about soaking up the beauty of the lake and shopping. Loads of stalls selling everything from embroidered anything you could want - including the local mens' traditional knee length shorts - to jade necklaces and wood carvings.

We didn't make the chicken bus to Chichicastenango. After yesterday we weren't excited about 5 more hrs on a bus. We may take a bus to Solola market tomorrow as it’s only one hour.

After picking up some rolls for breakfast at the local bakery for 0.30, we went down to the lake to take photos of the volcanoes and have breakfast. We, of course, shared it with the local stray dog.

We walked along the shore in search of a cup of tea when a local man asked if we needed a boat across the lake. There was one leaving in ten min for Santiago. As it was on our list to visit, we went.

There was an American woman on the boat doing humanitarian work. The poverty conditions are horrendous outside the tourist centers.

The village was larger than expected and we didn't have our guide book, so we wandered looking for the church door with an excellent Mayan carving and the Saint Moximon. Moximon specializes in whiskey and cigar smoking.

We found the square packed with local women in traditional dress. Darren sounded close to tears that he couldn't get any photographs (the local women don’t like it). They were beautiful, the embroidery on their dresses exquisite.

Told Darren I wasn't going to defend him when the little ladies got angry with him surreptitiously taking their photos, formed a mob, and chased him thru town waving machetes. He was on his own.

We gave up hope of finding Moximon and got a tuk tuk. The driver took us there. St. Moximon was an effigy housed in a dark room down an alley. There were several men in attendance and they looked pleased to see visitors. I got the impression this was the local mens' club. Darren tucked some money into one of Moximon's scarves. 

Next on the list was the Mayan door carving (which we hadn't found at the local cathedral). Darren didn't know how to ask in Spanish, but we finally came up with Mayan door at church. The driver seemed to understand when I said Mayan. He happily took us back to the cathedral, but we never found the door (later saw in guidebook that it was an alter carving we were looking for).

We were winding down. Had another cup of tea, looked in some of the shops, and headed back to the dock.

There was another American waiting for the boat to go. She was late 50s, here teaching English as a volunteer.

We'd had a busy week and this was our margarita time, so I took a nap.

We watched the sun set over the lake and got dinner at a Mexican restaurant. They were happy to accommodate a veggie burrito request even though it wasn't on the menu. Should have known it would have carrot in it (I’m allergic to carrot). Had to chase down a pharmacy and ask for benedryl as I started to itch. It wasn't as difficult to ask for as anticipated.