Next stop, Santiago Atitlan. A larger village, tucked away in enclave in the lake (a bay?), between two volcanoes (San Pedro and Toliman). This was a little busier of a town, more vendors waiting for visitors, overall not as quaint and not as inviting. We went to the church, walked around, had a cup of coffee and ran into friends (!), but were ready to go.
On to the final stop- San Antonio Polopo. Precious place. Very small, completely empty of visitors- there was one other boat docked. And the people seemed to be living life there without completely focusing on the tourists. Up a steep hill to the church, which we could see from far off in the lake- bright and shining.
It struck me here that there were people (and especially kids) enjoying themselves. There were people swimming off the dock. There were three little boys on the see-saws. And as we were walking down a steep hill, there were two little boys laughing and playing- they had a plastic banner from a bar (Gallo- the local beer), and one would sit on the banner while the other would pull him down the hill. A makeshift sled on a small hill- the entire trip took 5 seconds. And they would walk back up the hill with the banner. Over and over. And all the while giggling. It made me laugh just to see them enjoy themselves so much!
I loved this place. In Panajachel, I bought a little something from a girl who was selling handmade crafts. She looked so precious, and she was just 9! She spoke like the ladies- with a slight whine when they are trying to convince you to buy something to help them out. And she was a little mini-adult, telling me how she had worked so hard to make this or that. Anyway, in San Antonio I got to see kids playing! I loved it.
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