Blogs from Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 94

The group took a 12 hour bus ride to Lake Atitlan on 12th day of our Guatemala Encompassed tour - rumour has it there was a 5 hour bus route but that this road is patrolled by hijackers. Lake Atitlan (or Lago de Atitlan in Spanish) is Guatemala’s number one tourist attraction due to its scenic excesses - a bevy of towering volcanoes, rolling hills and small traditional Mayan lakeside villages surround this lake which appears blue through grey to green depending on the position of the sun. The lake is itself a collapsed volcano that at its deepest point is 320m deep and with no visible outlet it discharges its contents to the Pacific via a vast network of underground caverns. We arrived a little behind schedule at about 6pm. This meant that our boat ... read more

Jamies first three adventures on Santa Maria... read more

6/19/06 A few facts about Lago de Atitlan that I didn´t have time to mention: The lake is very calm in the morning, almost like glass and then in the afternoons is very rough. According to my guide book, the Mayans believe that their god (or one of their gods) is accepting a drowned soul into the lake, hence the roughness every afternoon. Very interesting! The lake is an old volcanic crater that is enormous! The views are spectacular. And it is still hard to wrap my mind around the poverty that surrounds such a beautiful natural phenomena. After walking around San Pedro La Laguna, we took a boat to Panajachel, bought bus tickets for the ride back (got a little queasy on both ways of the trip for about 20 minutes, urgh! but all went ... read more

I am writing from Lago de Atitlan, the most beautiful lake I have ever been to surrounded by volcanos and tiny villages. We took a bus from Antigua to Panajachel (about 3 hrs) and then a boat ride across the lake to San Marco, a quiet island whose focus was yoga, massages, and inner peace. There is no other way to describe it than breathtaking! It´s how I imagine Hawaii is but with less people and more time to think. The village maybe has 100-150 people in it, most if not all are Mayan, carrying baskets on their heads in typical Mayan clothing. By the way, not sure if I´ve mentioned how tall I feel here, but quite honestly I feel like a giant. It´s great!!! (brooke w.- can´t imagine how tall you felt!) The 3 ... read more

hola from san pedro. so far this is my favorite place. san pedro is the second largest village settled along lago atitlan. very tranquil... the lake is amazing!!!!! blue...surrounded by volcanoes and mountains....villagers floating by in their small boats. i left antigua on tuesday via bus. it is a 2 hour bus ride from antigua to panajachel, lago atitlan. i arrived in panajachel on tuesday evening and spent the night there before taking a bus across the lake to san pedro on wednesday morning. i settled into a room with an amazing lakeview and a PRIVATE bathroom at hotel sak' cari. to get to the hotel you have to walk down narrow dirt "streets"...it is like a big maze...i've never seen anything like it. the days here are great...sunny, warm. the evenings bring thunder & lightning ... read more