Blogs from Lago de Atitlán, Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 21

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James´s camera is lost, perdido, for now. We´ve finaly figured out how to use Diego´s camera for the blog. To answer a whole bunch of emails at once....YES Carolyn Myss does have issues...don´t we all,,,no, ¨James¨¨shall we say, was not team teaching with her...he was team boxing with her?...or more like, she with hiim..it´s difficult for Dr Myss to take a compliment...James tried several times...finally, at an airport in middle of india, he complimented her on the color purple she was wearing =one of Jame´s favorities, and she called him a goofball and yes he is a clown.James and Diego two of the biggest clowns, PAYASOS, in Guatamala...then he tried again, and said to her, JUST SAY THANK YOU...she said THANK YOU. End of conversation...with authorities, etc with dr upledger they seem to like to take ... read more
lake attitlan
on the boat


Hola! Right now I am at what is said to be the most beautiful lake in the world, lago de atitlan. It is a huge body of water surrounded by volcanoes and many small villages that you can take boats to and visit or stay for the night. When I first arrived here I went to the village Santa Cruz La Laguna. It is a very tiny village, and most of the people don´t actually speak spanish, they speak in their mayan village language, I forget the name of it. Anyways, while there I stayed at this place on the water called La Iguana Perdida (the lost iguana). It was a really nice place with great staff, and a great Saturday night party. Every Saturday night they host a cross dressing party where everyone staying there ... read more
Cross dressing party...
the girls...
San Pedro La Laguna


OK, first of all I want to let eveyone know that I´ve added a few pictures to the blog entry about our jungle trip. If you were curious about some of the stuff I talked about in there visit it now for additional pictures! I left Antigua on the 16th. Ryan, I, and a girl named Sarah travelled to Lago de Atitlan which is a huge lake a couple hours northwest of Antigua. There are several towns on the lake, and we´re staying in San Pedro. It´s very cool being on a lake, the lake is huge, windy and we had to take a boat over to the other side. The bus from Antigua took us to Panajachel and from there we got on a boat and eventually to San Pedro. We´re staying at a place ... read more
Lago Atitlan


Websites and guidebooks told us not to go near San Pedro on Lake Atitlan as it is a hotbed of armed robberies and rapes. So how did we manage to end up there digging in to a rare fried breakfast complete with crispy bacon? Well, as some of the small roads around the lake are too dangerous to travel on, we reckoned we would be safer on a boat! We booked an all-day boat trip around the lake. The first place the boat stopped, for breakfast, was San Pedro! Anyway it seemed quiet enough and we had a beautiful view of the lake from our cafe (we didn't stray far from the boat!).... read more
Cross at San Antonio
Couple on pier
Three boats


Trying to get some photos from the last few days... Got out of Quetzaltenango after more wrong turns...if there's a one-way street, I'll always find it...and head down the wrong way!...endless bumper to bumper, trucks, cars, bikes, down narrow, dusty, bumpy, crowded little thoroughfare, sudden turns for a few blocks, back on the straight, cutting along the inside to pass, trucks trying to run me into the gutter, cars pushing at the back wheel, pedestrians dodging out of the way, dirty, dusty, shop fronts or whatever covered in dust, no signs at all, just hope we're on the right road!..get a good passing break and stream past half a km of traffic while they're stopped for roadworks, huge potholes and puddles...always a dangerous move as you can't tell how deep its going to be...finally turn off ... read more
on the ferry back in Baja
on the balcony
Our humble donga


I got here to the town of Panajachel yesterday and immediately found a cute hotel and fell asleep. I had an tiring day on a series of chicken buses getting here. It wasn't bad, just long. After a long nap I looked around the town which isn't much to speak of. It's a gringo tourist town with booth after booth lining the streets with Mayan, Mexican, and Caribbean tourist kitsch, hotels, restaurants and travel agencies. I can eat well here with many of the restaurants serving Plato Vegetariana Tipico (including tofu), but it's not Guatemalan food by any means. The lake itself is breath taking and I understand why so many Americans wound up moving here and then telling their friends. The lake is a collapsed volcano crater filled with water. The surroundings are beautiful. Today ... read more
 Panajachel
 Hello from an internet cafe


Sadly our timing has meant that we are visiting the lake during the rainy season, so we are unable to see to the other side nor the full glory of the volcanos that surround it. It does mean that the lake and its surrounding hillsides look very eerie, almost like a movie set... We opted to stay in Panajechel, as our accommodation is around $2 a night!!! The cheapest so far - however, it does mean that we have had to use an outside toilet and neither of us has been brave enough to venture into the shower (three days later and we are starting to smell....). It has been a bit overwhelming staying here, as you are constantly approached to buy things - if they want me to buy anything else, they can carry my ... read more
Lake Atitlan
Cheap accommodation!
Ola!!!


Hola! A funny few days in Guatemala since I last wrote! And an interesting turn in events... read on! As I mentioned, I was heading onto Lake Atitlan, which Aldous Huxley famously described as the most beautiful lake in the world. Surrounded by steep volcanoes and allegedly over 300m deep, it's certainly pretty stunning, but for me, Titicaca in Peru will never be surpassed. Sorry, Guatemala fans, just the personal opinion of a jaded old traveller, and based more on a emotional than visual level. But still, very lovely indeed! To try and tap into the spirituality of the place I headed to San Marcos to check into Las Piramides, a new age meditation centre and retreat on the far side of the lake. Arriving at the dock by boat there are no roads visible, few ... read more
Don't go there, girlfriend!


Over the course of the last couple nights, I was befriended by one of the longer term gringo inhabitants of Lago de Atitlan. We'll call him Joe. I think Joe liked me primarily because I was able to go head to head with him and not fall down, resulting in a couple of expensive nights and a couple of rough mornings. Nevertheless, as the Dirty Willies flowed (Dirty Willies - rum and ginger ale, known elsewhere as Quebec Libres), Joe told me a bit about himself and a few of the odder denizens of this navel of the world. Among the more sinister aspects of the lake of which he informed me, the revelation that there were many mercenaries and/or assassins living there surprised me. Perhaps it shouldn't have, Central America being the home of American ... read more


...read this instead: Executive summary and if you have time: Full report ... read more




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