Panajachel, Guatemala, el 27 de noviembre, 2016

After café and huevos, I headed to Panajachel, the largest town on the lake.  The easiest way to get there is via lancha, a small boat that waits until it has 15 passengers.  It cost $5 for a 25 minute ride.

Panajachel is a typical Guatemalan pueblo with a market for the residents-

If I wasn't paying for my board and room, I would be buying fresh vegetables and making my meals, but that's why I pay the big bucks, to not have to do that so....

La Iglesia Católica San Francisco de Asis-

 was originally built in 1567 but has been restored.

It has a wooden roof and combines Christian statues and Maya paintings-

Closer to the lake, in the tourist part of town, there are a lot of booths selling apparently the best priced crafts in the country.  I didn't buy anything, except I did have a michelada, which was gross.  

First, the bartender who was about 12, salted the glass and squeezed 2 large lemons into the cup-

Next, he added a tomato type juice that tasted a bit like Clamato.  It was nice and spicy-

Next he added chamoy and salsa en polvo-

And finally the beer-

It's my first and last!

It was a day of firsts because I had my first ever ceviche and wow! it's the best thing I've ever eaten-

It was served with plain soda crackers.  It's going to be something I eat at home A LOT!  It was sooo good!  I can't believe I haven't had it before.

I continued walking around.  The view of the volcanoes and lake is superb-

The public playa was a popular spot today because it was pretty hot.  Unfortunately, the lake is really polluted-

This time I wasn't so lucky with my timing on the lancha.  This morning, I only waited about 3 minutes before we left but returning to San Pedro, I waited 30 minutes until the boat was full.  

San Pedro is very pretty-

I bet this is the guy who tries to wake me up about 4 am!

It's back to school tomorrow and the start of learning the past tense!