A Weekend at Lake Atitlán

For my final weekend in Guatemala, I decided to take up the invitation of some of the WK interns and finally pay a visit to the Lake - which I had drooled over only a week before. And it was a great decision - if only because I got a pretty solid understanding of how the folks who did the lunar landing must have felt!

After meeting the group in Tecpan (us weekenders: Grace, Christina, and Lauren) we caught the first of the three chicken buses that would take us to Panajachel. Affectionately known as 'Pana' to almost everyone, this is the biggest town on the lake. Consequently, it's also the most touristy. The main street is jam-packed with restaurants, hotels, and a bumper crop of little shops selling everything from hammocks to postcards to leather bags.

A glimpse of the available offerings. We were so overwhelmed by the profusion of choices - we didn't actually buy anything!

We ate lunch at a cute cafe with a tree growing through the roof - I had a tempeh (!!) sandwich with a mango smoothie.

Then we walked down to the pier to get a boat across the lake to the town we would be staying in - San Pedro la Laguna. But the boat we were shepherded into was half the price Christina was used to - and when Lauren asked for a receipt they told her that to get one the price would double. OK, we thought, Let's just hope for the best. Happily, we were dropped off without incident in San Pedro - albeit at a rickety little pier on the outskirts of the town. Ah, we concluded, this must be the reason for the lower price - these boat guys must not have permission to dock at the main pier.

The view from the Pana pier

A gorgeous lake day!

Walking into San Pedro, I was struck by how it was unlike any other place in Guatemala I had been before. With all of the trappings of a cute beach town crossed with a hippie spiritual sensibility, it didn't just feel like another country, it could have been an alternate universe!

Coming from places like Patzun and Tecpan, where foreign people are near to nonexistent, in San Pedro I couldn't help gawking at all the tourists. Shirtless men, women in bikinis, dreadlocks and tattoos - I hadn't seen any of that in almost a month! As we walked through the city to the hostel we wanted to stay at, the roadside vendors hawked crystals and tarot readings alongside the standard earrings and coin purses.

Upon reaching the hostel, we were told it was all booked. Oh well, we thought, this place is filled with hotels, undoubtedly we'll one that will take us! Four full hotels later, our spirits were noticeably damper. But we finally found a haven at Casa Felipe - a backpacker's hostel with a 6 bed dorm which suited the 4 of us just fine.

Then, the real work began. We had a lot of eating and shopping to do.

Smoothies, excellent smoothies. Perfect for recharging and getting ready to shop.

From the left: Christina, Grace, Lauren

Real pizza! With arugula!

At dinner, which was in a prime piece of real estate perched on the lake, we noticed a Ferris wheel looming in the upper slopes of the town. Inspired, we decided to track it down, along with the fair to which it belonged. After asking directions several times, we finally found it. The fair was in celebration of the feast day of San Pedro - the patron saint of the town.  Though it was mostly kid-based, we had to have a go on the Ferris wheel. 

At the fair.

Christina & I on the Ferris wheel. This was before the operator cranked the lever and sent the whole contraption hurtling around at about 80mph. At one point, I was coming out of my seat! And when the lights blinked out for a moment, I panicked. But here I am, alive and telling the tale!

Back at the hostel, we quickly fell int an exhausted sleep. Only to be awakened at around two in the morning by the snores of the 6th person in the dorm who had come in during the night. It was the noise level of a chainsaw. The next morning, Lauren said she didn't think she could have screamed louder! As you might expect, we were a bit sleep deprived that day. 

We spent Sunday morning in the next town over - San Juan. Smaller and quieter than San Pedro, San Juan was home to a host of women's cooperatives and independent artists. We browsed and purchased some more, and I filled a bottle with lake water for my cousin who collects water samples from around the world.

Then it was a tuk-tuk back to San Pedro, and a chicken bus back home!

I am so pleased that I got to go to the lake - it was one thing that I had wanted to do even before I got to Guatemala. And though it was not what I expected, it was a lovely time all the same.

Kaqchikel word of the day: choy (CHOYH) - lake.