Lake Atitlán

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” It’s pretty well known that the best thing to do in Guatemala City is to get out of Guatemala City. We took a quick flight over and the sunset in the air was unreal with volcanoes in the landscape. It was $14 extra to pick your seat on Volaris Airlines, so I do not have a pic unfortunately. Just take my word for it for now until we hit the volcano hike later.

After much research we heard it’s not recommended to be on the road after dark so we stayed the night at a Marriott 9 minutes from the airport and booked the first morning shuttle to Lake Atitlán the next day. We actually celebrated when we made it to the hotel safely. Thank you Jaun Jose.

All the services we looked at were via Antigua, and could take 3-5hrs depending on traffic, roads and type of transfer. It was 1 hour to Antigua, then 3 hours to Panajechel (pronounced Pana-hat-chel), which is the stop for Lake Atitlán. *Side Note: “Chicken Buses” are much faster, but if you value your life, it’s not worth the risk. It's basically a tricked out school bus that just flies down the road carting more locals than you can imagine. That’s obviously the cheapest option for travel, so we went with the mid-level, semi-reliable, shared shuttle for ~$24/person. A private taxi would cost ~$100 USD. Oh, and Tuk-Tuks were there too! These are little motorizes rickshaws that are used as taxis around the lake, that were all over Thailand.

Lake Atitlán is a beautiful volcanic lake in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. I actually heard it's an inverted volcano (the lake) surrounded by other volcanoes. How mind-blowing is that? It's surrounded by small villages of Mayans. Panajachel is best known, and used as the main entry point, but more off the beaten track are spots like San Pedro La Laguna for all the buzz, and the "less party, more meditation" village of San Marcos. We traveled and explored all three of these, but there are many more scattered around the entire lake. Panajachel is where the private shuttles, taxis, and chicken buses let off. From there you catch a water taxi to wherever you are heading. Bouncing around from town to town was easy. You just walk out to the doc and a water taxi will be by in a few minutes like clockwork. *Side Note: 1 USD = 7.73 Quetzales. Walking from town to town is not advised, and around the holidays you are especially at risk for getting held up by Mayan guys with machetes. We were nervous before coming after hearing that, but when we got there, it really didn't feel unsafe at all. We even heard that those guys are usually "shunned" in the community because they rely so heavily on tourism. Also, never heard of anyone actually getting hurt... just toss a fake wallet and be on your way.

View of the lake at Panajachel, before heading down to the water taxis

“I’m in love with cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve never met.”

We spent New Years Eve on San Pedro. This was 25Q and about 20-25 minutes boat ride from Pana. San Pedro is more of the "party" spot and hub for backpackers. We heard Sublime bar was where it was at, and boy did it deliver. The place turned into a club, and at midnight flashes of fireworks illuminated the lake. Sparklers were being passed around. Everyone cheering and dancing. We met a group of Danish people and found that their tradition is to literally jump into the new year. So we joined by standing on tables and jumping down when the clock hit midnight. And the firework of choice was firecrackers and what sounded like M-80 bombs. All. Night. Long.

We hopped a water taxi over to San Marcos and found it was basically hippie heaven. Reminds me of Ubud in Bali, Indonesia with it's healthy vibe, and it had some pretty stellar views of the lake:

San Marcos

San Marcos is where you can find fresh meals, juices, massages, yoga, Reiki healings, and more. *Side Note: water taxis stop running at 5pm, and the water tends to get choppy by the afternoon, anything after that will have to be a private boat for twice as much. That makes for good kayaking in the morning or after most of the boats stop running for the sunset. Less choppy!

We loved everything about this magical place. There are trails and volcano hikes, plenty of shops, Hotel/Hostels, and oh so much culture! Pro Tip: Book your first night accommodation if you need to feel secure, but go explore and negotiate for where you want to stay the rest of your trip. We added to our stay because we loved it so much and our second spot was half the price of our "pre-booked" hotel.

The power went out at least 3 times while we were in San Pedro... judging from the pic on the right, can you imagine why?

True story: walking back from dinner one night we heard a "pop" sound right above us. All the lights went out and as I pushed Keri to the side, I felt something hit my hand. Turns out it was a rat on the wires above, electrocuted itself and fell down, hitting me in the hand along the way. Glad it wasn't Keri's head. I know, I know, I'm a hero... and it's probably good luck there, right?

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes”

Traveling down to the lake was a humbling experience. The poverty was heartbreaking, and eye opening to say the least. Children and families (mostly women and children) sat long the sides of the road just waving to cars. You wondered where in they slept at night, and if they had a meal at all that day. Very sad. At the lake, women walked around selling bread, kids sold jewelry and other textile souvenirs, and men would sell fruit and nuts. You felt bad haggling with them because you knew this is their only source of income. *Side Note: taking pictures of children is a bad idea since there are child trafficking issues, and flirting with Mayan guys is prohibited as they can only marry Mayan girls. All the women and little girls wore traditional clothing, and yet the guys seemed to get away with jeans and a shirt.

The Mayans are known for textiles.

Lake Atitlán was magical. Next stop, Antigua to hike the volcanoes!!