I'm writing this after I left Lake Atitlan. In fact I'm not even in Central America. When I was there, Guatemala was not my favourite place and I don't know why. Maybe my expectations were too high for one of the regions most hyped about countries. Now however, a world away from Latin America, all I can think about is getting back to that lake. Again, I'm not sure why.
I spent a week on Lake Atitlan. It's the most beautiful lake in the world according to Aldous Huxley, and the second most according to me (Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, NZ is my #1). Picturesque Atitlan is surrounded by three volcanoes to the south, and is home to around 200,000 people spread out over twelve communities. Only 80km away from Antigua, I had taken the long route, trekking three days from Xela with Quetzaltrekkers.
I spent a week on Lake Atitlan. It's the most beautiful lake in the world according to Aldous Huxley, and the second most according to me (Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, NZ is my #1). Picturesque Atitlan is surrounded by three volcanoes to the south, and is home to around 200,000 people spread out over twelve communities. Only 80km away from Antigua, I had taken the long route, trekking three days from Xela with Quetzaltrekkers.
I based myself in the backpacking hotspot of San Pedro. I think this is definitely the best place to stay as there are great places to eat, nice cheap places to stay (private room with great view, wifi and bathroom $8) and some fun (cheap, again) bars. Between the $1 Cuba Libres and fantastic selection of international food (Irish? Thai? So much good Israeli food?!) it is very, very Gringo. A lot of backpackers stop here for a few weeks to learn Spanish, and at about $150 a week this would be the cheapest place in Latin America to learn the language.
I was lucky enough to still have some trekking buddies around so did some exploring with them, including an amazing morning climbing Volcan San Pedro. There wasn't much to see up the top as it was covered in cloud, but on the way back down we got some pretty great views of the town (pictured above).
I was lucky enough to still have some trekking buddies around so did some exploring with them, including an amazing morning climbing Volcan San Pedro. There wasn't much to see up the top as it was covered in cloud, but on the way back down we got some pretty great views of the town (pictured above).
San Juan was the first village we stopped at on arrival from Xela, and is one of the smallest and most traditional. The main population are the Tz'utjil people, a sub group of Mayan who adhere to traditional lifestyle and agriculture practices. We were lucky enough to visit two cooperatives, one coffee and the other a women's weaving coop.
A little less Mayan and a little more European is El Artesano, a cafe owned by a Guatemalan family of Swiss heritage. We had heard of this place and one afternoon returned to San Juan to try our luck for lunch. It was closed. We did eventually get there, and it was amazing.
There are a number of small taxi boats which you can take to surrounding villages and we took advantage of this to explore as many as possible. One day we headed over the Santiago, the largest of the villages famous for its 35 churches and being home to Maximon, Guatemala's folk saint. I didn't like Santiago much. It was quite like Panajachel, the most accessible town when arriving from Antigua or elsewhere. Both villages have streets selling solely souvenirs and in Pana, there is even an all inclusive resort.
A little less Mayan and a little more European is El Artesano, a cafe owned by a Guatemalan family of Swiss heritage. We had heard of this place and one afternoon returned to San Juan to try our luck for lunch. It was closed. We did eventually get there, and it was amazing.
There are a number of small taxi boats which you can take to surrounding villages and we took advantage of this to explore as many as possible. One day we headed over the Santiago, the largest of the villages famous for its 35 churches and being home to Maximon, Guatemala's folk saint. I didn't like Santiago much. It was quite like Panajachel, the most accessible town when arriving from Antigua or elsewhere. Both villages have streets selling solely souvenirs and in Pana, there is even an all inclusive resort.
My favourite day on the lake was when we hiked from San Marco to Santa Cruz. San Marco is a village where the locals live up the hill and down by the docks are the tourists, staying for the yoga and meditation retreats. We took a taxi boat there, stopping for breakfast and a quick look around before finding the track which would take us along the lake. The scenery was stunning as we winded our way around the lakeside, stopping off for water and watermelon along the way. Our final stop on the walk was Santa Cruz, the only place in the lake where you can get your diving certificate. Here we wanted to check out Cafe Sabor Cruceno, which is a student run educational and training restaurant. Unfortunately the place was closed for the afternoon so we jumped on the next taxi to Pana, where we watched the sunset before heading back to San Pedro. The perfect day.
Even though in hindsight I would recommend staying at least a week on the lake, at the time I was only there for that long because I was waiting for Lucy, a friend who was travelling from Melbourne to join me for six weeks. Lucy had told me about the hotel La Casa del Mundo, in the tiny village of Jaibalito which we had passed when walking from San Marcos to Santa Cruz. It sounded like the perfect introduction to Lucy's stay on the lake and the perfect finale for mine so we booked a couple of nights here. Definitely a place catering more to couples rather than a couple of friends, but we still made the most of the lakeside hot tub, the views, and the fantastic restaurant with the best breakfast granola in the world.
This beautiful lake is my travelling paradise. I could hike, swim or do nothing all day. I could eat and drink like a queen on a backpackers budget. Aside from Cuba and Mexico, this is the one spot I would return to in Central America. I would book into a Spanish school and go for a few weeks. Perhaps one day I might.