Panajachel, Guatemala

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Road to Panajachel is not for the faint of heart, or those suffering from motion sickness. After surviving 3 hours of winding roads in a mini-bus, the gorgeous lake Atitlan presented itself. Panajachel (or Pana - tourists' way to pronounce it) is a pit-stop for everyone traveling to other villages around the lake. It is a touristy stop-over with a few streets and lakeshore lined up with restaurants and market stalls selling anything that, even remotely, tourists can think is "made in Guatemala", though much is not. Nevertheless, we had a nice (Regis) hotel with stone hot tubs in a lush garden, which, along with a relaxing massage, rejuvenated us completely. One thing stood out and that was our dinner at an Uruguayan restaurant, Guajimbo - I highly recommend it: delicious churrasco stake, good wine, and nice live music. The next day, our adventure started with what became our main mode of transportation for the next five days, boats or "lanchas". This water taxi is an experience on its own, as you never know what it's going to be like, or how much is going to cost (varies, based on mood or something). Most of the time, you're crammed on a boat for half an hour or longer with way too many tourists (think boat can take 15 and there are 25 people) and locals holding bags, or themselves, for dear life, eagerly awaiting their village. There are supposed to be direct boats from Pana to each of 7-8 villages around the lake, but we didn't see them, and you would never know the difference since all boats looked alike. So, you sit (somewhat) and enjoy (if you can) and wait (and wait) from one village to the next till you get where you want, which for us was San Juan la Laguna.

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Photos

Agua de jamaica
hibiscus tea/juice