** Lake Atitlan Rentals, Santa Cruz Guatemala **

Click on Question for an Answer

1. About transportation from Antiqua in a shuttle bus.
2. Directions to the right boat and to the house. Also the time of the boats.
3. Because I do not want to bring turpenoid. This is what I clean my brushes with. Is there a hardware store or a artist supply store in Panajachel? OK...it wasn't asked frequently but it was asked....
4. Yoga classes
5. shopping for food.
6. Classes on Spanish, Weaving or Cooking.
7. Also will you be there and where will the keys be?
8. Are there electrical outlets where we could play a CD tape of music to which to dance?
9. Is there Internet Service... What about Cell phones
10. I am uncertain of the way to travel to various villages. I know we canwalk to the Villa Sumya in 10 minutes. Do we take a boat to variousvillages? Which villages would you recommend and which restaurants would you recommend?
11. What amount $ do you recommend we should tip? And when? Ie boat, taxie, restaurant, maid?
12. Is it possible to have someone cook an authenthic meal for us at your house?
14. Do you know the time the banks are open for exchange?
15. Do you have a map of Panajachel
16. What came first? The Chicken or the Egg?

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

1. What about transportation from Guatemala City/Antiqua in a shuttle bus.
Any hotel can point you to a shuttle service which will take you to Panajachel. Ask for Muelle De Tzan Juju..see next question. If you want to reserve a ride from and to the airport etc, we've used Xocomil Tours. They can be reached at xocomiltours@yahoo.com or 502.5710.3903 - 502.7762.2005 - 5298.6415. Their website is www.Xocomiltours.SaveLakeAtitlan.org

2.Directions to the right boat and to Sha Ryan Ka. Also the time of the boats.
The docks (muelle) in Panajachel are called Muelle De Tzan Juju (pronounced moy-yea day tsan who-you). All drivers will know this dock.
Muelle de Tzan Juju

Have exact change and expect to pay 10 Quatzeles (as of 5/18/09 Q7.62 = $1.00) when departing the boat. You may have to pay up to Q5 extra for each piece of luggage depending on the operators.

Shavda's place is straight up from the dock. There's no missing it. It's greenish with lots of wood and stone and a for rent sign at the base of the the path leading to the house.Click here to see house
If you have a lot of luggage you may need to get a private boat. Many times you can share costs with someone else. This can cost around Q150.

NOW... at times the boat captains won't want to stop at a private dock and will only want to leave you off at Paxanax's public dock. If you have a lot of luggage offer them 5 or 10 Q more to let you off at ShaRyanKa.. it's only 100 yards or so more but not pleasant if you have more luggage than you can carry in one trip or if it's heavy. If you do get of at Paxanax's dock then just turn left.. going in the direction the boat was going to start with and walk 100 or so yards until you come to ShaRYanKa.. it will be right after a magnificent home with a large stone wall (they are $1500 a night ... nice neighborhood by the way :-)

The following are images from the air of ShaRyanKa and the dock in Panajachel, Muelle de San Juju:

Please note that at the present there is a house to the left of Sha Ryan Ka. They also have a dock but typically isn't counted by the boat operators since they have a private boat.

3. Because I do not want to bring turpenoid. This is what I clean my brushes with. Is there a hardware store or an artist supply store in Panajachel?
There are hardware stores in Pana but as of this writing no artist supply stores.

4. Yoga classes
There are many offerings of Yoga, Feldenkreis and art classes. Some practitioners are seasonal so schedules are pretty organic but readily available as classes approach. In the near future we will have links on our website to practitioners and other services
<Future Link to services>

5. shopping for food.
There's an open air market in Panajachel. Any cab (three wheeled TukTuk) will be at the dock waiting to take you for 5Q (don't ask.. just give it to them on arrival..keep exact change). There is a "higher end" gringo market, Challo's, which is on the way to the open market off of Calle Santender on your right hand side.

6.Classes on Spanish, Weaving or Cooking.
Most of these classes and even the possibilty of just living with a Mayan family can be arranged through Pedro 5355 8849. See their site at the following link.
www.tours-atitlan.com/spanish_school.html

These links are for Spanish classes in Pana if you want to make the trip.
Jardin De America www.jardindeamerica.com Jabel Tinamit www.jabeltinamit.com
<Future Link to services>

7. Also will you be there and where will the keys be?
The keys will be with either Shavda, Duende or the Guardian unless other arrangements are made.

8.Are there electrical outlets where we could play a CD tape of music towhich to dance?
All outlets are AC 120V 2 prong. (typical of U.S.A. and are referred to as Edison plugs there) If you have 3 prong plugs please bring a 3 to 2 prong adapter.

There is broadband available through Tigo ( a national phone service). The initial outlay is Q195 ( 7-8 quetzale = $1 USD ) for the broadband card for the computer which includes 2 weeks free access and Q145 - Q299 per month access charge aterwards. These cards get EDGE and sometimes 3G at Paxanax

Internet is also available at the Iguana Restaurant in Santa Cruz (15min walk). They have computers for your use. If you bring your own, at the time of this writing they have do not have wireless turned on so you must have an ethernet card in your laptop (most laptops do .. at least they used to). The internet connection there is quite slow and will not allow downloads of photos, movies and other large attachments (the internet provider will actually disconnect them for 24 hours if this happens.) In Panajachel, a 15 minute boat ride away, there are several providers with varying types of access. We use Mayanet off of Calle Santender.

CELL PHONES
You can purchase a local cell phone for roughly Q200 ( $26 US Dollars) and cards that allow you air time at much cheaper rates than the roaming charges one typically gets on cell phones. The company that works best for our area is Tigo.

10. I am uncertain of the way to travel to various villages. I know we can walk to the Villa Sumya in 10 minutes. Do we take a boat to various villages? Which villages would you recommend and which restaurants would you recommend?
From Sha Ryan Ka you can walk to:
Santa Cruz -15 minutes..easy walk except for one spot. Artists, musicians and alternative creatives, many who have a spiritual bent.
Jaibalito - 1 hour.. a bit of an incline before it plateaus.

There are numerous restaurants in Panajachel and a few in Santa Cruz. In Santa Cruz, The Iguana, Isla Verde, Arca De Noe and Bistro Jacaranda are main stays for the gringo locals. In Pana there's The Bombay Cafe and La Terraza. The Deli, upper and lower.. the lower's a lot nicer but the food's the same. Guajimbo's also is a place you can trust for decent food.

11. What amount $ do you recommend we should tip? And when? Ie boat, taxie,restaurant, maid?
We tip 10% in restaurants. For other personalized services tip what you feel comfortable with. Just remember the only income down here is from the tourist trade and your generosity.

12. Is it possible to have someone cook an authenthic meal for us at your house?
All things are possible here.

14. Do you know the time the banks are open for exchange?
Banking hours are pretty standard 9-4 weekdays and 9-12 Saturday. Bring your passport to exchange money.

16. What came first? The Chicken or the Egg
The Chicken. Eggs don't come. (You can thank Shavda for settling this)