Tuesday, 5 November 2024: A Colorful Sunday at Lake Atitlán

I arrived in Guatemala on a Tuesday and realized by Friday that I would be stuck on the weekends by myself.  The other ½ dozen or so volunteers at the school are 50+ years younger than me so I doubted we would be hanging out together.  Ten years ago, I’d seen a lot of the city of Antigua in the two weeks I was here.  I didn’t want to sit around feeling bored and lonely.  Where could I go?  Violeta, the owner of the place where I’m staying, had recommended a travel agency four blocks from here.  Diana, the other volunteer staying here, gave me a flyer from the agency that listed trips.  A day trip to Lake Atitlán caught my eye because it is renowned as one of the scenic crown jewels of Guatemala.  The price for a day trip was $55 which included a modern mini-bus ride for the 2+ hour trip each way.  Once at the lake, you got a guided tour via boat to three towns.

I’m not much for tours but figured a day-tour would be okay.  So on Friday, I booked the trip with the agency.  And on Sunday morning (27 October) at 6:00AM, a mini-bus came by the place where I’m staying and picked me up at the front door.  It was nearly full, and I was stuck on the edge of the seat next to a big guy.  At least, I could easily see out a side window toward the landscape as it whizzed by. 

The130 square kilometer (50 square mile) lake is almost 2½ times the size of Crater Lake in Oregon.  It sits in the bottom of a huge volcanic caldera formed by eruptions 65,000 years ago (another source said 84,000 years ago).  At its deepest point, the lake is 340 meters (1120 feet) deep.    The sides of the caldera are so steep that only a few roads are able to connect the population of mostly Mayan ancestry with the rest of Guatemala.   

Unfortunately, the presence of the lake on so many tourist bucket lists, the growth of the local population, and the proliferation of vehicles (including boats) with gasoline and diesel-power engines have had negative impacts on the lake’s environment.  Tourism may be good for the economy but it comes with a cost.  Ain’t no free lunch out there.   

Since one picture is worth 1000 words, I’ll let the following photos and captions tell the rest of the story.  My apologies for the date/time stamps on some of the photos which I couldn’t crop out without losing important parts of the photo.  I hadn’t used this camera before and neglected to turn of the date/time stamp.

A mini-bus took us to the town of Panajachel, located on the east side of the lake.  In the front of the photo is a tuk-tuk.  These three-wheeled taxis come from India and are very popular in Guatemala.

We took this lancha (fast motorboat) from Panajachel to three towns on the west and south sides of the lake.

I took the front seat right up at the bow of the boat.  The tour guide suggested I sit further back because of the wind.    “El viento no me molesta,” (The wind doesn’t bother me) I replied.  Silly me.  What he did not explain was that the wind created waves out in the center of the lake.  The boat was heading straight into the wind and when we hit a wave, the bow would go up, then crash down hard with big splashes of water. I was soaked by the time we arrived at the first town.  Fortunately, I was wearing synthetic hiking pants and shirt which eventually dried out in the warm sun.

 

Many of the towns (bottom center of photos) along the lake are difficult to access by winding roads.  Thus, the quickest access is by boat.

The first town we visited on the west side of the lake was San Juan La Laguna.  It was chocked full of Sunday morning tourists and streets lined with vendors.  Not exactly what I had in mind but you pays you money and takes you chances.  

We visited a honey coop in San Juan La Laguna and received a short presentation on bees and honey production.  Then we were given popsicle sticks with samples of three kinds of honey.  OMG were they good!!!  I had to buy a little jar of my favorite to bring home for my waffles.

There were paintings along the streets of San Juan La Laguna of prominent community members.  This woman had been a community activist, and I found it interesting that she was born about 20 days before me.  Don’t you love traditional Guatemalan women’s dress?

At Casa del Tejido (house of fabric) in San Juan La Laguna, a local woman showed us how cotton is prepared and spun into yarn as well as how their colorful clothes and textiles are made. 

San Juan La Laguna’s catholic church dates from the 18^th Century.  I’ve heard that Guatemala is now only about 60% Roman Catholic as various evangelical protestant denominations as well as Jehovah’s Witnesses and LDS Mormons have made large inroads into the population. 

This prominent peak immediately northwest of San Juan La Laguna is called “Rostro Maya” (Mayan Face).  I didn’t see the face but I don’t have much of an imagination.

These fellas were cranking out some excellent street music on their Guatemalan marimba along the main street of San Juan La Laguna.

Dock at San Pedro La Laguna, the second town we visited.  We didn’t have much time there.  Note the powerful 250HP motor on the lancha on the left side of the dock.

Photos from 100 years ago at the dock of San Pedro La Laguna.  Lake transport has become considerably faster since 1920 but those row boats didn’t have much of an environmental impact.

The last town we visited, Santiago Atitlán, is located on a bay at the south side of the lake.  Looming over the bay is Volcán San Pedro, elevation 3020 meters (9908 feet).  None of the volcanoes around the lake have erupted since 1853 but who knows what might be cooking down in the devil’s fiery furnace. 

Street vendor’s wares in Santiago Atitlán.  There are so many vendors competing for tourist dollars (I mean, Quetzales) that I wonder how any of them can earn a decent living.

 

This was the only half-decent photo I got from the front window of the van on our way back to Antigua.  I suspect that these impressive cliffs are composed of volcanic tuff (fused volcanic ash).