Going to Lago Atitlan with Gellerts and Carlos

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This is my next item on my list of "Top Things to Do in Guatemala if You're Visiting for a Short Time." (See Dec 24 entry for my list). I have already posted an entry on Lake Atitlan last October, (see "Zipping Along over the Jungle" on October 14), of our time at Hotel Atitlan. This time we decided to stay at a different place than Hotel Atitlan, a tiny village inn located "across and to the right" of the lake and is not accessible from our "usual" town of Panajachel.

We took a little launch (a boat hilariosly named Titanic) across the lake to the docks of San Marcos, and walked about 100 feet to the entrance of Posada Schumann, a lovely little set of stone cabins overlooking the lake. We spent some time walking around in the afternoon, up and around the sloped roads and paths. At one point we noticed a bunch of people carrying huge sacks of red coffee beans. We stopped to chat to one of the men there, who told us he was a buyer of the coffee, and the locals were bringing down their haul for the day. (I am always amazed at the heavy loads that the indigenous women can carry on their heads!) This is the coffee picking season, and you can see all around you in these high locations (San Marcos is at almost 7900 feet) lovely red beans, bunched sort of grape-like, on the coffee trees.

We had our dinner at the Posada Schumann, and I recall Nick saying it was one of the highlights of the trip to Atitlan, just for the sheer geniality of the kitchen crew. The restaurant is a 5-6 table affair, so very small, and we were the big group for the night. Our "hostess" had a big smile and was very sweet as we made our meal selections, mostly ordering one of my favorite meals here, pepian. What's funny about that is that the dish requires a long time to make (it is a type of stew) and we watched in the kitchen as they started peeling potatoes! Ah yes, we're on Guatemalan time. Our beers were warm, but so was the ambiance and we had a great meal.

The next morning the lake was like glass, and we took some great family shots at water's edge. We also walked along the water a bit to the neighboring hotel, an ecolodge called Aaculaax and is a great sight, created by some Germans basically using used glass and other cast offs. Some day we are going to come back and stay here, and hang out with the hippies.

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Photos

Bringing in the coffee harvest
to be purchased on the spot.

Posada Schumann
Simple but comfortable!

Nick and Tamara at the dock
as the sun set on Lake Atitlan

Our gang of kids on the dock
by Posada Schumann