A Spontaneous Tuc Tuc Tour of Santiago!

21st January 2023

On Saturday Hollie and I got a boat into Santiago with plans to stock up on essentials, get some cash out, and charge a few items. It was a blissfully calm day, and the lake was so crystal clear and peaceful. The boat effortlessly glided over the water and we took in the glorious sights and were just as amazed as the first time we had seen them.

We landed on the Dock and as usual were a magnet for sellers of crafts that we had to politely greet and kindly decline. A chap with a landyard on came over and started talking to us about a tour of Santiago. Visiting 5 sights and lasting an hour, he showed us pictures and our ears pricked up when he mentioned the Maximon – a Mayan god that in the words of Rachel the ozzy who we met in Granada ‘you give him loads of booze and fags’ ( I hope you read that quote in an ozzy accent).

This chappy told us we could do the tour for 150 Quetzales each. Which quickly turned to 150Q for both. We told him that we needed to get our shopping done first, but may come back.

As we have tourist written all over us, plus Hollie was wearing socks and sandals… within less then 30 seconds, another chap approached us, offering a Tuc Tuc Tour. We said that we had heard about it from someone else, and the chap said ’25Q each’! We told him that we needed to get cash out, and he said he would take us to the ATM…Hollie said ‘shall we do it’ and so we did!

A fraction of me was a little apprehensive that we had no real clue where we were going, I had my laptop, my phone, the French couples phone and really did not want to be taken somewhere and robbed. We only withdrew a small amount of cash, and Hollie hid it in a pouch in her bra. I asked the guide his name, and he replied Pedro, and we told him ours. He really was a very sweet man, with 3 gold teeth that had patterns in. I suggested to Hollie that we give him 100Q, but she said she was just thinking of a 10Q tip.

Pedro drove the Tuc Tuc up a hill, and it really sounded very reluctant to get us to the top (must be all the cake we’ve eaten), but it got there eventually. We had made it to the first stop, a view point of San Pedro Volcano.

It was a stunning view of Atitlan Bay, and what luck to get the view we did of San Pedro volcano on such a clear day.

We sat back in the Tuc Tuc, looked at the pictures Pedro took of us, and Hollie said ‘I think we should give him 100’.

We drove around a bendy road, and over some nasty speed bumps until we were looking down on another view point of the bay. Pedro pointed out all the locals who were washing their clothes in the lake. He said there was a public park and that we could go down to have a look.

The park had this incredible view and a wall of beautiful bird paintings!

We walked back to meet Pedro and onto the 3rd stop, a memorial for the civil war that lasted 10 years! It stopped in 1990 In Atitlan, but carried on for another 6 years in the rest of Guatemala.

Pedro said that he lived here during this time, and he was grateful to be alive.

The 4th stop on our tour was to visit the Maximón, also known as San Simón, who represents light and dark. (this is all from Google BTW). He is considered a trickster—both a womanizer and protector of virtuous couples. According to legend, the village fishermen traveled frequently for trade and enlisted Maximón to protect the virtue of the wives they left behind. It backfired. Instead, Maximón is said to have disguised himself as a loved one so he could have sex indiscriminately.

We entered as there was a priest doing a ceremony. We paid 5Q each, which Pedro gave to the guy in the blue jacket next to Maximon, who stuffed the money under Maximons scarf. This guy is also responsible for lighting and giving cigarettes to Maximon and tapping them and putting them out….. All that second hand smoke doesn’t bear thinking about!

We paid 10Q to take these pictures, but that was the only thing that had a seperate cost to the whole tour.

The final stop was to a Catholic Cathedral. It has 20 steps to represent the 20 days in the Mayan Calendar. Only approx 10% of the population in Santiago still worship the Mayan relgion.

Inside it was huge. There were figures of holy people all around the sides of the church, mostly all wearing Christmas outfits. The front was a beautiful scene of colours, flowers and gold.