Saturday 25 June 2011

Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala



Lago de Atitlan
Lago de Atitlan is a large endorheic lake in the Guatemalan Highlands. The lake is shaped by deep escarpments which surround it and by three Volcanos on its southern flank which make it an extremely beautiful location. It is also further characterised by towns and villages of the Mayan people, predominantly Tz'utujil and Kaqchikel.


We started our lake tour in San Pedro de Laguna, noted as a lively but attractive town on the opposite side to Panachel, we stayed only for a day and decided against doing anymore volcano hikes after our last effort in Panama. The next destination was a small village called San Marcos which is very laid back and offers plenty of holistic treatments and massages and also the opportunity to see traditional Mayan life. During our time here we hired a kayak and decided to do some tomb-stoning. This was probably the stupidist thing I've done since coming away but seeing Rich jump in again and again I decided to follow suit...it ended up with me being severly winded and bruised! Never again!

Lucy contemplates the 30 foot drop.


Our little cabin in San Marcos


A traditional Guatemalan dish from Casa del Mundo

The next day I treated myself to a massage before we left to go to Panachel. On our way there we stopped at the most famous (but reasonably priced) hotel on the lake - Casa del Mundo - for lunch. They told us that the lake has risen 5 metres in the past year alone causing problems to all the houses close to the water.

Our final stop was Pananchel, a busy and touristy town. We stayed here for only a night so that we could catch a shuttle to our next destination.

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