We arrived at Lake Atlitán. The town was left without electricity. - How are they? - Well thank you very much. - The largest Mayan population in the world lives in Guatemala. - You have to cook it well and then put it here. - And I asked for a plate from here in Santiago. - Which is called "skate". - Good morning, my beautiful people, how are we? Good day! We arrive at Lake Atitlán. Especially... how is the town? - Panajachel. - That. - State of Solola. - We are in western Guatemala. - Or in the antiplano, as they say. - And here we are in the Airbnb that we rent to stay. - That we wanted to show him. - Because we were surprised by the size of this house. Yes. For only $35 I think. I think because of the low season. - Exact. We got this. Well, actually, two beds. A bathroom. Follow me the good ones. - It is a house for ten people, more or less. There is TV, fan, everything. And there is the fully equipped kitchen. - Barbarian the Airbnb. The only thing that happened to us was that last night the town lost power. And also the water works to light. Otherwise it doesn't go up, or how does it work...? - It works by pump. - To bomb. - We don't have water or electricity. - And we don't have electricity to cook either. Clear. - Because the kitchen works with electricity. - So, now what are we going to do? We're going to town. - There we found a place to load. - And then... - There it is. - Look how cute. - And then we set off for the town. - To get to know the city, the lake, everything. - And tell you a little about what this place is about - so incredible in Guatemala. - They told us that the town here and the area - works with hydroelectric energy. - And it seems that they are having problems with... - I don't know if it's the water supply or the network. - Because there seems to be a lot of water here. - Inclusively, there is a rainy season from April - to October when it rains every day. - He only makes a stop in July. - But afterwards, it rains every day. - We reached the limit that it is recommended to come and visit this place. - What is now. - Next month the storms and the rain are coming. - Here you have to be careful because there is a lot of tuc-tuc movement. - Of cars, of buses, but there is no sidewalk. Shall we cross? - Let's cross, my love. - Here comes the police, look. - It looks like they're going to work. - Let's see if we can cross, which is not easy. - We are looking for a little place to have breakfast here in town. - But it is not easy to find that it has light. - And we need light to be able to charge the phone and make the video. - Otherwise we won't go today... - Bye! - Bye! - Bye! - Bye! - Bye! - Bye! - Otherwise we won't have a video today. - There is a very popular place here that sells chickens in Guatemala. - It's a Guatemalan franchise. Camper chicken. - "Pollo campero" it's called. - The truth is, he is very rich. - Last night we went there and managed to charge the phone. - Ha! The free range chicken is open. - Hello. - Sit down. - Thank you. - We managed to charge the phone there. - In Country Chicken. Very rich, really. And it cost 88 GTQ Q for the two breakfasts with drinks. Those are like 11 EUR. Now we are in the center, that street goes all the way to the lake. - We are... well, as I said before, - Panajachel. - But why did we come here? - Panajachel is the starting point for most of the tourists who come here - to get to know Lake Atitlán. - Why is this lake so famous - or do Guatemalans tell you "go see it"? - First, because it is considered the most beautiful lake in the world. - And second, because it is surrounded by 12 magical indigenous towns. - In this region that we are now, like Panajachel too, - inhabit many Mayan tribes. - They speak different languages. - From what we could understand, three types of Mayan languages are spoken. - Different, each with their own dialect. - And Panajachel is, more or less, at 1,500 meters of altitude. - And we are surrounded by three volcanoes. - And they will also see, as you can see, - Mayans wearing their typical costume. - Each tribe has its own clothing, suit, colors. - And each town that we are going to visit today has its own customs as well. - Each one is specialized in something. - And well, that's what makes this place a mandatory stop in Guatemala. To get here we had to take three buses from Guatemala, the capital . And not normal buses, - The grills. those grills as they call the truck. I also heard they call them "donkeys". Could be? - I had not heard that, my love. We left from Peri-Roosevelt. It is a shopping center but it is the exit of the city. So, there are several. And there we grab one that takes us to Los Encuentros. From Los Encuentros to Sololá. And from Sololá to Panajachel. - Panajachel. - I think we both spent 8 USD each. And it took like 3-4 hours. - I think that here is the descent to the public beach. - But I'm not sure. Wow. - Wow, how cute. And as you can see, the stalls are still opening. Because... what time is it? Like eight? 8:30? - It is 8:30. Because what happens here is that you have to wake up early to be able to travel in beautiful weather. - Yes.
Because in the afternoon everything gets cloudy. And it may rain. - Wow... Good. - We arrived. - Eh... - Looking at the lake for the first time. - Lake Atitlan. - For the first time. Let's see, it's so big... Oh, no, it can be seen. - It's giant. But look how good, there is a person cleaning the beach. - AHA. - Voluntarily. - There the seller offered us the public boat. - And several types of routes. - You can go one way, 25 GTQ Q. - Round trip, 50 GTQ Q. - And they go to San Juan, San Pedro and San Marcos. - But to Santiago, where I want to go, they don't go. - So let's go from there. - Surely. As you can see, the lake is blue. Beautiful. - Yes, it is very cute and beautiful. You can see the other side a bit, but no... - I think that on the other side we will be able to see the volcanoes better. Yes. - That you can't here. - And also tell a little more about the history of this lake. - Because it's so amazing and important. - Because it's not just a lake. - There are many things here. - Ready, friend, thanks for waiting for us. - Guatemalans are very friendly and calm people. - Exact. - Do you know why they call him "chapines"? - The word that came out chapines - is because they are sparky and they are very cool. - That's what we talked about. - Ah... - Very calm. - Sparky and good vibes. - Sparkles. - Well, did you see? - It represents what you are. - Yes of course. - Dresses? - Chaspides, sparkles and good vibes. - Sparkles. - Sparkles. - 'Chispudo' means that they are good batteries. - Good batteries. - Yes of all. - They... - They are there for whatever is needed. - Of course, if, for example, if you want something but you can't find it, - here if you can't find it, we do it, or... - Someone will help you find it. - It's another thing I noticed. - They are very united and help people. - So now I learned where the word 'chapín' comes from. - Yes, chapín, sparkle. - And the truth, it makes sense and has everything to do with the Guatemalan people. - Here we go. And we went through here... You have to wait a bit for it to come out. They are gathering people. Touch it if it's hot. - Let's see... - Oh, it's very transparent. - It's refreshing, it's nice. I shoot. We arrived in San Juan. - The boat was very calm. - If you pay attention, all the boats have a roof. - Look. All. Yes. - There is a phenomenon, which Lisanna was going to talk about earlier, - called Xocomil. - Which is when the hot air collides with the cold air, - the winds, - and they form eddies and turbulence in the lake. - And that usually happens in the afternoon. - Because we are in a volcanic region here - and the weather can change at any time. - So, they always tell you "if you come to Lake Atitlán, - "come early in the morning." - "And come back before 4 PM." - That the boats operate until that time. - Because if they catch the Xocomil It's quite complicated. It's going to be like turbulence. - Those are the same winds that one catches in the air - when passing through a mountain range with the plane. Look at that beautiful walkway. To get to the town. - Yes, the little entrance to the The town already has enough handicrafts to buy. The earrings. Beautiful. - Look how beautiful. - San Juan is one of the 12 Mayan towns - that surround the lake. - Why did we choose San Juan? - Many will wonder, right? - Because there are 12 to choose from. - But it is one of the favorite destinations for tourists who want to visit. - Mainly in textiles, looms and painting. And as you can see, there is art. Look how beautiful this is. - Hello! , friend! - Hello. - Hello. - Do you speak English? - Hello. - Welcome, friends. - Thank you very much. Thank you. - Do you speak Spanish? Perfect! - Welcome to the gallery. - I am the artist of this gallery and I work different types of art. - I have what is traditional. - This part is folk art. - How are you? - Good. - How are you? - Fine, thanks. Thank you so much. - My name is Matthew. - My name is Matthew. - Welcome. - Good morning. - What did you think, sir? - Oh, excellent. - I'm trying to learn. - It's cute. - The Mayan languages from here by the lake, oh, it's very good. - You speak Tz'utujil. - Tz'utujil. - Tz'utujil. - Kaqchikel and Quiche. They are similar, but different. - Is the same. - Yes it is the same. - Did you like it, Lisanna, how I speak? Very good. - In tz'utujil. Beautiful. - It is one of the three Mayan dialects spoken here. - But the tz'utujil is the most popular of all. Beautiful, I only ask you to learn my language too :) Look at this beautiful art. Look, Messi there. A lion. Look, a lady here. Wow. I can't even draw the little man... What is he like? - The little man with the sticks. That doesn't work for me. - With the little head. - Poor thing... Look at that dress! Oh... - Here in San Juan, Lisanna, there is a women's association - who work with looms and they make a living from it. - And they use that money to pay their children's school fees. - And maintain the community. Yes. - And they do all this by hand. This seemed beautiful to me. - Therefore, if we buy something here, - we will be contributing to those women. wow. - Wow. Look. - What a beauty. - I would love to see you, Lisanna, in one of these dresses. Or one like that, shorter. - And to you? - Yes. - Look, Lisanna, how cute. Yes. And up there too. The crocheted ones, my love. - Look at the crochet ones. - Do you want to try one on? Okay, yes. - Or type, we see and we see... Good. There are cafeterias. All. Look, a band. - This is the street of umbrellas. - Because it's full of little umbrellas up there. - And the street is all colorful. Woow... - And here you can also take a tuc-tuc to go to San Pedro. - That it is a town that is close. I loved. Look, Matthew. - So we're going to give you a tip. - Good morning how are you? - Well thank you very much. - Good morning. - My name is Matthew. - A pleasure, Matthew. - Good morning. - I tell them. - Argentina. - Up Argentina! - Thank you so much. - World Champion. - Champion, three. - Guatemala! - Where Messi. - Yes. - There is the photo of Messi. - Thank you so much. - What's it called? Your name? - I want to tell you something. - My name is Matthew. - My name is Arnold. - My name is Joan. - Namingo. - Thank you so much. - Greetings! - How good is the music. - What I did was learn the Tz'utujil language. - To be able to communicate with the tribe that lives here. - And it looks like it's working because I'm pronouncing it right. - Something that we are going to see all over San Juan is this type of painting on the murals. - They are very well known here. - And they were made to tell the story of the people who live here in San Juan. - Show your culture, your daily habits. - And your food. - So, we have to pay attention. - Because as soon as we tour the town we're going to see - these types of street art. We just got in but I already loved it. - It's just that he looks at the entrance to the town. - It's already an impressive shape. - Almost 50% of the territory of Guatemala - is inhabited by Mayan descendants. - It is a place where the Mayan culture could really be maintained. - The largest Mayan population in the world lives in Guatemala. - Most of the indigenous people who live here - are very intelligent. - Because they are bilingual. - All of them speak Spanish perfectly. - And his Mayan dialect too. Maybe trilingual if they work in tourism. - Maybe even trilingual. - What a beauty. - Lisanna, look how cute. Oh! Look. - My love. - If you look at this mural, - Yes. - What does it transmit to you? Peace. Like wanting to maintain all that culture. - Wisdom? - That beauty. And here is also an owl. - Let's see... - Ah, how cute. - There are the wings for Lisanna. Look. Aw... - How cute it is. It looks like it's from the street. - He looks like a farmer. Aww... I fell in love. We ask a tuc-tuc or moto-taxi - Yes. - How much would it cost to take us to the textile factory? - Where the women have the textile cooperative. He gave us 20 GTQ Q for the two of us. But you can also walk and that is what we are going to do. Because it's not very far. - It can be done on foot, there is no need to pay for the tuc-tuc. - He's quite... - Come on... - Did he bark at you? - Yes. Look at the coffee. Because they also have coffee here. And also honey and chocolate. - Here come the tuc-tuc. - Oh, look, see? And all the streets have the decorations. - AHA. - This is the town's Catholic church. - Because what happened? - All these little towns are Mayan. - But there was a time when they were only Mayans, 100%. - Before the arrival of the Spanish and colonization. - That this happened back in the 16th and 17th centuries. - When the Spanish arrived, they began to mix the Mayan religion, - that the Mayans had their own gods, - with the Catholicism that the Spanish brought. - This is how churches were founded. - As you can see here, this church has two pieces. - Look. - An older part, which is the part where the two bells are. - Which is smaller. - And they opened another piece to the side - to expand the size of the church. - Why is that? - Because when the settlers arrived here, mainly, - the town expanded. - After a long time it became very touristy. - And people no longer entered the original church of the town. - So, they had to double the size. - Now we are going to visit her inside and they are going to see how she turned out when she grew up. How cute... - It turned out well. - Notice. - Before it was just this little piece here. - Now it's all this. Wow... - What a nice smell the church has. There is a smell of cinnamon. - Yes. - This is the street of hats. - This street is behind the cathedral that we just visited. - And this is where the largest exhibition of murals is - in the open air. - Where you can see more works than in any other part of the town. - And here you will really see, if you pay attention, - the colors of the clothes of the tz'utujil. - Which are red. - The prints they use. - Red, blue and black skirt. - These are the colors of the tz'utujil. - And here also always several colors on top. - Of your clothing. - That's what this tribe stands for. - And there are plenty of flowers. - Very colorful and flowery. - And here is a gym, which is also a school. - Which is full of murals. Look how nice they have painted the chairs. With the colors. Ah, look, the baby sheep. They really have done an amazing job. - Hey, look. - Look. They come as 3D. - This is a jaguar. - Which means the strength of the Mayan warriors who had to hunt. - There's the quetzal. Daddy Rooster. - Look, freedom. And that? - That's really cute. That's me. - That looks like you, my love. Yes. We bought this natural blackberry ice cream. 5 GTQ Q each. That's not even 1 USD. It's good? - Yes, and they are natural. - 100% natural. That's lovely. - It's really sweet. Yeah? - Laugh sweet. - It looks like it has honey. Oh... - Look, my love. - Here is a community, an artisan cooperative, did you see? - What they offer. - They have everything painted out here. - "Tz'utujil Ancestral Culture". - What is the language I spoke today. - Look at the skirts. - Ah, look at the pants... - Oh, I love the pants. Everything is 150 GTQ Q. - Oops, I'm going to buy one. - I want one as a souvenir because I love this. - I like this. It's XXXL. It says here. - Let's see if they have for me. - Hi, ma'am. How are you? Good day. - Hello good! - What are you doing, ma'am, here? - Right now I'm fixing a scarf. - A scarf... - You have to put this on it so the thread doesn't slip. - This has to dry. - Ah... - It has to dry up, it's a gruel. - What is it? Like... - A flour gruel. - Flour gruel. - You have to cook it well and then put it here. - So that the threads do not slip and, if the threads move, - they leave knots when weaving it. - Ah, leave knots and there they ruin the scarf. - Yes, it will no longer look fine, but rather rustic. - Are you tz'utujil or from another tribe? - Tz'utujil. - Oh, did you see? - Here in San Juan we are only t'utujil. - Yes. - I was born here, that's why I know Tz'utujil very well. - If I, ma'am, buy here, I am contributing to your community. - It isn't true? - With the cooperative. - With the cooperative? - Yeah, uh-huh. - Are they a cooperative because there are several women? - Yes, we are several women. - I'm going to see if I can find a P. There are all the women from the cooperative. And each garment has the name of the woman who made it. So when you buy it, that money, every 15 days, goes to that woman. And here I think we can also see cotton. And how do the colors come? For example, this is carrot. I am surprised that you can get fruit colors. "Cactus mealybug". Wow. "Rosemary leaves". "Beet". - The P was too small for me. - Yes. "Annatto seeds." Look what a beautiful color. "Guava". - Lisanna. That one is better in size. - It's good, isn't it? - I saw it, there are gentlemen who wear long pants like these and I say - "no, I was passionate, I want one of those pants for myself..." - I love how they are, they are very different. Mateo bought the pants. It cost, more or less, 17-18 USD. You only lack the hat and you look like those tourists who go and buy the whole outfit. - I liked it all. - Look. - Yes, it's very cute. - Now we are going to start the impossible mission of Lisanna. - Choosing something to buy... - It's not easy... - My name is Mateo. - Thank you. - 'Let's talk', he says. - How are you? - Fine, thanks. - Come on, Lisanna, in Estonian. Hello! How are they? I'm okay. I speak Estonian. - Did you understand? - I didn't understand. - Right now I'm going to tell you something. - (Speaks in Mayan). I don't understand either... - I don't understand either? - Don't you understand anything, Lisanna? No. I'm in Guatemala. - I love Guatemala? I am in Guatemala. - What is 'ma olen'? - 'I'm'. - Guatemalan women? No, 'I'm in Guatemala'. - Aaah... - Aaah... - Well, my love. - Is he cute? - It's very cute. - To the beach? - Yes, good. - Let's take him. - It's beautiful. - Well, we are going to leave the viewpoint for another day. - Because he won't give us the time. - We want to get to Santiago. - That it is a town that is not so cultural. - Touristically speaking. - But you can see more of real life and everyday life there. - So, let's put some things aside. - We are going to try to bathe in the lake there in Santiago. - And we are going to take a tuc-tuc to San Pedro. - We are not going to visit San Pedro either, because it is one more place for parties. - More night tourism. - With Lisanna we are not to go out at night. - So, we're going straight there. - The tuc-tuc should charge us 10 GTQ Q per person. - To go to San Pedro. - Happens. - Here? - Yes, come in. - Forward. - Thank you. - My name is Mateo, I'm from Argentina. - You speak? - Yes, I speak Tz'utujil. - Well, we arrived at San Pedro. - It was very fast, I think it took us 5 minutes. - He charged us 10 GTQ Q per person really. - And now we are in this little town that I had already told you about. - That it is a hippie town with a lot of nightlife. - It is called San Pedro because it is on the slopes of the San Pedro Volcano. - That's why the city bears that name. - Let's go through that beautiful door. - Which would take us inside the town's Catholic church. - And we are going to try to catch the boat - in order to reach our final destination, which is Santiago. Everywhere we go they ask us if I'm Mateo's sister or girlfriend. I don't know why... - Ah, but they have a terrible urban market here. - My love. - Do you know another very crazy thing about here? - That you, perhaps, will like that information. That? - Here in San Pedro there are more Spanish schools than in all of Guatemala. - The gringos come here to learn Spanish. - And they take classes with natives. - And they stay to live in the house of many indigenous people. - And they do community work. I think I once saw a TikTok from a foreigner. Did you see the famous places? Mexico, Costa Rica. He went to Lake Atitlán to learn Spanish. - Yeah. - Dresses? - I think... - I think we have to go straight. - Or not? - Straight, my love, over there. - Look, my love, the yellow coconuts. - Coconuts, friend? - Thanks my friend. - Did you see, Lisanna, the yellow coconuts? Yes. - They are taken. - You had told me, my love, that they are not taken. I never saw. - Let's hit it straight then. - Well. - Over there. - Until now we talked so much about the towns and we didn't talk about the main thing - what we came here to do. - What is Lake Atitlán. - What is the most famous thing about the place, the most important thing. - The most mystical. - A Mayan lake full of history. - This lake is more than 85 thousand years old. - It was formed by a volcanic eruption so strong - that it formed a caldera. - That caldera is when the magma is so heavy - that the volcano's lift can't stand it and it goes down. - It hit the ground at a depth of more than 330 meters. - What is wrong with this lake? - It is the deepest lake in Central America. - And with the passage of time, as there is water under the earth, - this lake was formed. - This lake is also very mystical because below, - between the 70's and 80's, - a Guatemalan diver was swimming through these waters - and found handicrafts, temples and remains of cities under the water. - From the Mayans. - The Mayans already lived here. - Thousands of years ago. - I'm going to jump into the most mystical lake in all of Guatemala. - Subscribe to the channel, people. - I do it for you. - May all the positive energy that comes go to you too. - Whoa! - How fresh the water! - Sweet water, Lisanna! - Woohoo! - We arrive at Santiago de Atitlán now. - Let's eat quickly before the rain comes. - And I ordered a very special dish from here in Santiago. - Which is called a skate. - Because is special? - Because the Mayans fished for this little fish that you see here. - It's very small, you can hardly see it. - They take it out whole, like this. - And they put it in salt. - At that time there was no refrigerator, there was no refrigeration, nothing like that. - They put it in salt inside this sheet with tomato sauce. - They would take this and take it from the shores of the lake - to the center of the city, and they would sell it. - Since it lasted three days, more or less, in salt, - they could walk (or there was a road, there was no means of transportation), - and it lasted so that they could market it. - Well, today we are going to try it. - Let me see it. - It has a very strong taste of fish. - It's very strong. - As if I was eating it almost raw, I would say. - And it's very salty. - I know that in the Mayan language this means 'bitter fish'. - And it's quite bitter. - It is not for every palate. - Let's see... Ah, I love it, because it reminds me of Estonia. - In the best Estonian style. Dry fish. - Yes. A lot of people might not like it. But this time I was surprised, because in my country they eat fish like that. Well, I asked for a more traditional dish. There is banana. Beans, tortillas, corn. Rice and guacamole. So let's eat! - This is the largest town of all those that surround the lake. - It has 60 thousand inhabitants. - This is where the largest concentration of the tz'utujil tribe lives. - Which is the language that we were speaking a little today, right? - All towns bear the name of "San Pedro", "San Juan", "Santiago". - "San Marcos", etc. - Because they are the twelve apostles. - That's why they were named like that. - And this is the town where one can really get to know - the local and everyday culture. - Because it's not so touristy. - That's why we came with Lisanna. - And because we want to meet one of the gods that they venerate. - His name is Maximón. - And we're going to look for him now. - I just found out that the lady who was there selling fish - also sold skates. The same but in the market. How much was the bill? - 100 GTQ Q. - That's 12 USD. Two meals and lemonade and beer. - With drink, USD 6 each. As you can see, in Chichén-Itzá we talked about a technique that they used to carry things. And it's the first time I can see it. I didn't know they still did. And it's awesome. Because it looks heavy but maybe that's how it balances, right? - It is an ancient technique. - And they continue to do it. Incredible. - I got goosebumps... - Well, people, after searching for a long time, - we found Maximón's house. - If you come here to Guatemala, you're going to hear a lot of talk - about this figure, this Guatemalan character. - That he is a well-known figure in Mayan culture. - Since it has powers to cure diseases, problems. - Among other things that you may be going through. - Maximón is a mixture of Mayan beliefs - with Spanish Catholicism. - Who formed this figure that is like a kind of "saint". - That it was not recognized by the Catholic Church. - But it is revered in the Mayan culture. - You can give him cigarettes, drinks, or money. - And in exchange for that, make a request. - To heal you or help you with any difficulty you are going through. - And something curious about this saint is that he is always dressed - in a suit, tie, hat. - In a rather unusual way. - There he will give it to you on behalf of the visitors. - They give him an offering of drink, money. - This is Maximon. - He is given an offering, a cigarette. - A drink, money. - It is an offering that is made to Maximón. - And a candle is lit too. We are waiting for the boat now to return to Panajachel. There came a volcano. First time we see the volcano like this. - Yes. - Fua... - That volcano is not active. On the way back, water began to enter the boat... - Well... - Everything was filled... I was afraid that now... - The woman who was sitting began to despair. - And there were people ahead like that and water began to enter their feet. - To those people who were sitting. - So I grabbed and "run, run, run." - And I went ahead because the woman was desperate, poor thing. - He leaned back and I put myself there. - And put pressure on the hole. - So that not so much water enters. Did you know that when we entered yesterday I saw the ship and said "that ship is kind of old, huh"? - It was kind of run down. Yes... - But I didn't imagine that water was going to enter the boat. Well... - Anyway, nothing happened. - Fortunately. - But they have to fix it. The light came back last night. So we could bathe and everything. And today a very long day awaits us. Because we are traveling to Semuc Champey. You will see it in the next video. It is a beauty. - Let's grab the grill again. - Let's make our way back. - So we have a very long road ahead today. And we wanted to thank you for watching the video. If you can give it a like, we appreciate it. Subscribe to the channel. And see you in the next one. - We love you very much, kisses. Bye! - Bye. - I went up, my love. - Let's go. - I hit my head... As always... At the end of the video Mateo hits his head...
