On the way to Chichi market I got chatting to English Fernanda & swapped travel stories - good, bad & scary including one of an American lady she met who was on a shuttle in South America that was stopped and all were robbed of their possessions.  They then went through their passports and took the Americans aside and beat them! Another good reason to be Australian!

We arrived at the markets just after 10 (3 hour ride that went quick with the chatter) and had 4 hours til our next shuttle to get our shopping fix.

It was a Thursday and the markets were not too crowded (they are also open Sunday which is apparently the bigger day)so was good to wander freely without squishing past folk, also maybe safer as we'd recieved lots of warnings of pick pockets. 

Most of the items at the market didn't interest me - lots of handicraft, jewelry etc - all very similar to what I'd seen in other Latin American countries.

The textiles were amazing though and them and the masks were all beautiful & brightly coloured.

I made my mission of the day to get a bright coloured blanket and some masks - our strategy was to check prices earlier but to wait to later in the day to buy when prices are supposed to be cheaper (according to Lonely Planet).

Within the first half hour I found myself crawling around the floor of a stall, agonizing over which 3 masks I wanted to buy!

I nearly paid $30 for 3 when Vicky came along & reminded me of our strategy .... I tried to leave the stall but couldn't, 'Oh miss c'mon I need money to buy my lunch!'.

Finally when she dropped down to the equivalent of $10 for 3 I caved and spent the next half hour trying decide between dragon faces, monkeys, tucans, dogs, foxes, chickens, coati - in the end I decided on the last 3.

We wandered round the market more & did some more bartering. Checked out the church, took photos & had some lunch.

With 45 minutes left we went to do some hard core bartering on our blankets ... 

Some started at $600 Quetzales (approx $72 AUD) - but after trying a few different stalls, lots of arguing and only minutes to spare ... I was the proud owner of a Queen size (or 'Mas Grande') rainbow coloured blanket for $200 Quetzales ($24).

While waiting for our shuttle a tiny little dirty faced local boy came up to me insistently selling some items I had no interest in. He was so tiny that I asked his age - 5 years old!  

I couldn't see if his parents were nearby or if he were just wondering around alone - I gave him a small amount of money & asked if I could have his photo - he agreed & posed with no smile - the saddest little expression on his face :-(

Our shuttles arrived & we shuffled our bags about as some were going back to Antigua but we were headed for San Marcos in Lake Atitlan.

In the shuttle we met Colorado teachers, Katie & Alyssa.

When we arrived in San Marcos we set out with them checking out a few hostels but decided on sharing a bungalow for 4 at Hotel La Paz.  A very cute rustic room with 2 beds below and a small set of stairs to 2 beds in the loft.  

I opted for the loft as now paranoid about snoring I thought I may not bother the people dowstairs if noise rises - later found out damp banana leaf roofs that smell are not so good for asthma! 

We booked in straight away for the sauna then Vicky and I went out to explore the town.

When we came back the sauna was due to be ready so Katie & Alyssa went to check it out. When Vicky & I caught up with them we found them inside what looked like a pizza oven with the wood fire out the back.

We had to climb in through a small glass hatch doorway at the front, (which was starting to remind me of hansell and Gretel!) and sat in the concrete benches on either side