Articles by Juliette Giannesini
French woman in English Canada. Occasionally: speaks Mandarin or Spanish, bitches about the Canadian weather, writes left-wing rants, gives test to her students so that she can read the paper and have breakfast, speaks of cultural difference or goes backpacking across the world. And enjoys Canada as her new home.
Coffee, Jesús and the Lake
After following Jesus’ path for a short time (climbing to heaven was tiring), we went back to the lakeshore where we took the coffee path. Close to the Santiago dock, hundreds of coffee beans were been laid to dry on plastic sheet. On the other side of the lake, close to the Panajachel dock, we saw the actual beans, still on the trees. Of course, I took pictures, like the gringa I am.
Villages Around Lago de Atitlán
By the Panajachel dock, the water looked calm, but as soon as we reached the centre of the lake, the lancha was jerked around. I was seating at the front, trying to hold a blue plastic cover to protect me from the water. Nice try, but I was soaked by the time we arrived. No matter what you take, a bus, a car, a tuktuk or a boat, transportation is always an adventure here.
¿Y la comida?
A lot of you are curious about the food in Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. Rest assured: there is some and we are not starving. Quite the opposite actually.
El Lago de Atitlán
From Antigua, the ride to Panajachel took a couple of hours. It started raining mid-way and the van’s windows fogged up. I looked at the windshield: the road was blurred but for a tiny clean patch right in front of the driver’s eyes. Not that he cared about the lack of visibility: he was too busy chatting on his cellphone.
Chicken Buses and Jesús
I have this theory that the crazier the driver, the more “feel good” religious stickers and inscriptions the bus will have. And trust me, when said driver negotiates yet another sharp turn in a narrow mountain road, even an atheist like me is pretty happy to know that “God blesses this bus.”
Happy New Year, From Guatemala!
Happy New Year, aka “let’s blow shit up” day in Guatemala!
Antigua is well-known for its New Year parties and it didn’t disappoint. The town was packed with travelers and locals, mostly from Guate. Some family-friendly entertainment took place in the picturesque “Arch Street” but the rest of us were too busy playing with a lighter and firecrackers to stop and watch it.
Market Day in Chichicastenango
Thursday was market day in Chichicastenango, aka Chichi for travelers and locals alike. For both visitors and sellers, the day started early and it involved a long bus ride uphill in twisty mountain roads.
I love markets. Sure, I usually don’t like to wander around raw meat stalls very early in the morning, and walking in packed alleys can be a tiring exercise. But markets, from Beijing’s Silk Market to France’s quaint Saturday food frenzy, tell a lot about a country’s culture.
Faces of Antigua
The gap of wealth within Guatemala is also fascinating to observe. Antigua attracts wealthier travelers from all around the world more than backpackers, but it also attracts local tourists. On one hand, you have the locals who barely get by—the kids who sell candies in the chicken buses, the Maya girls who sell necklaces etc. And on the other hand, there are groups of Guatemalan tourists who, cameras in hands, have their pictures taken by the “exotic” Mayas.
Antigua, Guatemala
In Guate, each company has its own terminal and they are scattered throughout the city. Además, to make things even more confusing, they don’t really have a name. “How am I supposed to explain the driver which terminal we want?” I asked Feng. “Just tell him we want to take the bus de pollo,” he deadpanned. Unfortunately, “chicken bus” doesn’t translate as easily. I settled for “bus regular”.
Thrillseekers in Guatemala City
Everybody makes mistake. We did a bunch of times. Like the time we got robbed by guys with machetes in Volcán Agua, Guatemala. Or when we got mugged in Panamá City.
We like to think we are wiser now. But sometimes, things are simply out of our control.
