Guatemala: Day 9 - Panajachel Part 2

January 17th (Still)

At 1:30 on Sunday, I thought for sure I had made it to my destination, Panajachel. I was in the center of a city and caught sight of a few street signs. I looked for these signs on my map, but couldn't find them. I saw a sign pointing to the beach and decided to go for it.

By the time I realized that the city I was in probably WASN'T Panajachel, I was in too deep and walking on a road with no turnoffs. I could turn back, but that would require me to head back uphill and I figured it just couldn't be that far, right? But after some more walking, I saw a billboard advertising some place in Panajachel that was 5k away. I convinced myself that this would mean that the beginning of the city would be closer. So, I continued to walk on the side of a reasonably busy, winding road, with the occasional drainage that I could walk in for added protection. This wouldn't be so bad if:
a) Chicken buses weren't flying past every 10-15 minutes.
b) I wasn't walking in flip flops that had already taken me 3 miles to the bus that morning.
c) I wasn't battling a mild cold.
d) I weren't in the middle of some problemas femininas and in need of more, ahem, equipment.
e) It hadn't been 5 hours since I'd last peed.
f) There weren't random dead animals in my path.

dead snake

There were some silver linings: I was going DOWNhill. The weather was nice and it was daylight. Plus, I occasionally caught view of the lake.

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Eventually, I arrived at a little area with souvenir stands. I asked a man if taxis would stop there. He said yes. So I waited. I flagged a couple of taxis and the drivers looked at me, but didn't stop. After 15 minutes of this, I continue onward.

Finally, there was a turnoff! I headed down this road and saw children playing soccer and some roosters milling about. I saw a church and thought this was a good sign because it was probably the city center. I continued walking, determined to make it to the lake. I ended up at a dead end with a sign telling me I was on private property. I headed back UPhill to the church to look for signs that might tell me where I was. I learned from a man in the church that I was in Santa Cruz, which is so small that it doesn't even have road signs, not even on Google maps. There was a church, a bunch of guys playing soccer, some roosters, and a view of the lake that I couldn't seem to reach. 

I asked the man at the church if taxis would come to this area and he said yes. I asked how long and he said 10 minutes. So I waited. After 15 minutes a taxi passed by. I flagged the driver and he continued to drive. I even waited an extra 10 minutes in hopes that he would loop back around after dropping off a passenger. He did not.

So I continued to climb back UPhill to the main road again. After another hour of walking, I arrived at another turnoff. There were billboards for hotels, so I felt a bit more optimistic. There was also this sign:

But if I followed that sign, I would have had to continue on the main road. So instead, I walked down a quiet road, lined with small houses and people working on farms. I saw the lake, but again couldn't get to it. I passed a sign for Reserva Natural Atitlan, which would have been intriguing if I weren't so desperately in need of a bed (and a toilet). But I reached another dead end. So I turned around for the millionth time. At this point it was nearly 5 pm and I resigned myself to becoming a Guatemalan vagrant.

But on the way back, I passed a big fancy hotel and a tuc-tuc (aka mini taxi) pulled into the parking lot. I ran over and asked for a ride to my hostel. 

tuc tucs

And for 10 quetzales (less than $1.50), I received a ride to my hostel. When all was said and done, it turned out I was in the main city of Solala and walked 6-7 miles to the tuc tuc, which should have been a 10-minute chicken bus ride if I had known I needed to take one more bus.

My hike from Solala to Hotel Atitlan, with a 1 mile detour in Santa Cruz

The final stretch of less than 2 miles that I completed via tuc tuc.

Around 6 pm, I arrived at the hostel, relaxed for a little bit, and found some food. I also figured out that I could take a shuttle directly from the hostel to the airport on Tuesday. And I learned this from someone speaking English, so I was pretty sure it was true. I booked a second night in Panajachel, planning to have an exceptionally relaxing day on Monday.