San Pedro and San Marcos on Lake Atitlan

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Man, it has taken me a while to get this up and running, so I appologise.
I have been in Guatemala for three weeks, as far as I can recon, but the days just seem to blend into one another, so it could be longer.

though, I know I have been on the lake for about two weeks.

Lago Di Atitlan is a large lake, surrounded by lush green volcanos. The lake itself is actually a collapsed volcanic cone, which filled up with water thousands of years ago. The scenery is truly spectacular, and it is a nice change for the fast-paced world of Toronto and my life back home.

Here, there are no roads. Only small motor boats to take you from village to village. It takes about an hour to cross the lake. In good weather. When it's windy, everyone on the boat (or Lancha, as it is called) gets soaked, and one gets some pretty sweet tailbone bruises from big waves.

Most of the time the weather is amazing. I have been spending my time between two towns across the bay from eachother on the south side, which means we get sun, hot and warm all day. Pretty sweet. My tan is deepening and my hair is growing long.

My first stop was San Pedo, where I spent about five days waiting for Mike and Aden to arrive. Aden caught some manner of stomach bug in San Christobal, Mexico so they were delayed a few days. San Pedro reminds me of my days in Anjuna Beach in India.
Lots of hippies. Lots of dreadlocks. Lots of bad reggae and trance music. Still, it is an enjoyable, relaxing place. My bamboo and thatch hut cost about $3 a night, and delicious food at unfortunately-named restaurants such as The Buddha Bar or Munchie's Cafe cost about the same.

When the Collinge brothers finally did arrive, my partied it up in San Pedro. While there is nothing to do during the days but lay in your hammock, the nights are full of adventure. But, being the good lads that we are, we soon tired of this, and discovered something much more satisfying...

Cliff jumping!!!!

Sure, my mother warned me about it probably hundreds of times, and we were extremely careful about looking for rocks and chatting with the locals "es peligrosso?"
but our fears were calmed. The best spot for sunning and swimming is across the bay in San Marcos, where we quickly set up camp.

Much smaller than San Pedro, with a very laid back yoga and new age kind of scene, it is a nice place to spend a few days, or weeks, or months. People find it hard to leave. And once you arrive, It is easy to see why. There are no roads in San Marcos, just dirt paths meandering between the few hotels, restaurants and the small Pueblo. People here seem to share a common bond, and are all very friendly and laid back. Who needs television when you have the spectacular lake to feast your eyes upon.

My days consist of waking up, walking the paths looking for oranges and avacados (they grow EVERYWHERE) and heading to the rocks for a swim. We have made friends with many of the locals, most of them characters we will never forget.

But time is pushing on and we have many places to see, and adventures to be had. IT is sad, but soon I suppose we'll have to pack our things and move on.

In other news, I did laundry yesterday with an old washboard and bucket. A new experience that left my clothes smelling clean and fresh and my hands bruised and blistered.

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Photos

lanchas on the lake
the main mode of travel.
bumpy and wet, yet hard to beat.

Party time at Hotel Unicornio
um.... don't ask.

Mike and Aden get some air
ten meters may not look like much in the written form, but it sure gets your heart racing when you're standing on the edge.

Volcan San Pedro
Keeping a watch on our peaceful village