Log 6: El Lago de Atitlán

On Saturday, June 11^th we went to Lake Atitlan, of which Aldous Huxley said, “It really is too much of a good thing.” The drive was about an hour and a half from Tecpán by bus, and we left bright and early to head for a nature reserve at the lake’s edge. The drive itself is worth the trip—we came around the edge of the lake on winding roads, and the views were spectacular, even with a cloudy day. The lake itself is quite large, and is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes jutting straight out from the water’s edge.

At the nature reserve, we took a short hike up the mountain. We crossed hanging bridges (six at a time—the asserted capacity of the rickety things) that hang over a little creek trickling down the mountain. We walked into a butterfly preserve, and caught a sight of a turtle relaxing in a little pond. Ted proceeded to scare the turtle, which proves definitely that the turtle might itself be afraid, even if it must be feared. The NSF should give us buckets of money for this important scientific discovery! After the butterfly preserve, we marched along a beautiful path through the woods to the lake’s edge, where we were afforded a little respite and a gorgeous view of the clouds spilling over the mountains into the lake’s basin.

After the nature reserve, we ferried across the lake from Panajachel, one of the larger and most touristy towns on Lake Atitlán, to San Juan la Laguna for lunch. The ride across the lake took about twenty-five minutes, and the choppy lake made for an exciting (and only slightly scary!) ride. San Juan has a much more relaxed pace than Panajachel, and it was just what we needed after a long hike. When we got off the boat, we walked up a very steep hill past several shops and stands. We stopped in a women-run weaving collective, Corazón del Lago, based in San Juan. Their store beautiful scarves, blankets, tablecloths, and other exquisitely crafted textiles. We then went to Alma de Colores, which had opened especially for us, for a late lunch.

Alma de Colores has quite an important mission—the owners exclusively employ differently-abled people from San Juan and surrounding towns. In Guatemala, as in many parts of the world (including the US) differently-abled people are often forced to the outskirts of society, and have difficulty finding life-supporting work. The owners are thus enabling people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to earn a living in this rural area to do so. The restaurant serves delicious, largely home-grown vegetarian food with a beautiful view of the lake—check them out at www.almadecolores.org/, and if you’re in the Atitlán area, visit them for a wonderful meal!

After our lunch, we mosied back to the lake’s edge, and crossed back over to Panajachel for a little more sight-seeing. Unlike San Juan, Panajachel is much more of a tourist trap, but we found a nice little place for tea near the water, and had some relaxing down time before heading back to Tecpán. As we walked back to the bus, we managed to sneak in some time at a local bookstore, where we were able to buy some Kaqchikel dictionaries, a Tz’utujil grammar and dictionary, and more! We left Lake Atitlán exhausted but content travelers. Words really can’t do justice to the beauty of the lake, so if you’re in Guatemala, go.