Guatemala:Lake Atitlan

After Antigua I headed to Lake Atitlan.  It’s a very large lake that’s elevation is similar to Denver (mile high) but very differently, there are 3 volcanoes adjacent to it.  And that is hardly the only difference.  When we think of lakes our thoughts immediately drift to water activity, fishing, motorboats, sailing, swimming, kayaking, etc…  This lake had almost none of that except motorboats used strictly as water taxis between towns.  The water taxis take locals and tourists alike in one direction or the other to the various small towns that surround the lake. Each town has a very different feel and I visited several of them during my visit.

I started in Panajachel which is considered the big city by lake standards.  It had a couple beach bars, a guy selling coconuts, and a great view of a couple volcanos. Other than that, even though you are just steps away from the water, you wouldn’t think you were near a lake, and could be in any small town in Guatemala. This was a common feeling most everywhere I visited along the lake.  In Panajachel there were no beaches or places to swim and I later learned for good reason.  Swimming is not recommended in many places due to the sewage flowing into the lake from towns like Panajachel.  I spent a few days there with some German friends I met on the Acatenango hike so I still had some fun, including a make your own pizza workshop (it was delicioso).  

From Panajachel I went to San Juan, one of the smaller towns.  Once you exit the dock in San Juan you are greeted with a very narrow sidewalk like walkway, and a gauntlet of shops selling mass produced tourist trinkets.  Once past those there is a steep colorfully painted, carless road to walk up as you make your way to town.  Both sides are filled with more tourist trinket shops, restaurants, and most importantly, coffee shops. And once in town, well it again feels like anytown Guatemala. No acknowledgment it is sitting on a lake that was once considered for a natural wonder.

While there I did go to a beekeeper tourist attraction.  As I walked in I reflected on the Galapagos when I knowingly jumped into water with sharks, I felt this was similar, why was I voluntarily exposing myself to something like this (answer: there was little else to do in San Juan).  

Well, have you ever heard of stingless bees?  Now you have.  As I learned, there are 33 varieties of stingless bees cultivated around Guatemala.  As I got the tour I happily stood near the hives and let bees land on me.  The worst result from one varietal, was a pinch on the skin much like an ant.  There was no harm but it took everything I had to avoid the natural instinct to swat and squish.  I don’t think that would have gone over well.

The next town on my tour was San Pedro, another of the larger towns known for its partying.  There are a few blocks down by the water where 90% of the gringos in town never venture away from.  There you have great views of the lake, overpriced western food, bars, hostels, and for the first time that I saw on the lake, the opportunity to kayak.  However, after taking one look at the sewage infested water I decided to pass.  I stayed in a hostel away from the tourist section so it felt more like a town anywhere in Guatemala.

My next stop was Jaibalito, and I finally found my lake paradise.  Jaibalito is probably the smallest town on the lake.  Similar to the walkways in other towns, a small sidewalk wide concrete path led away from the dock.  However, this one did not lead to any road.  All it led to was a few restaurants, a couple hostels or hotels, one other path horizontally cutting through town, and peacefulness.  The hostel had a deck to look over the lake and stare at a volcano, and socialize with other guests.  I finally felt like I was relaxing at the lake.  As I walked around the walkways or just stood at the pier admiring the view, locals continually said hello and several times, even in my gringo state, asked if I lived here.  It was fantastic.  In addition, the town had easy access to hiking trails joining the connecting towns.  The 30 minute hike to Santa Cruz was a morning requirement since Jaibalito happily didn’t even have a coffee shop.

With regret  I left Jaibalito for San Marcos, a town completely gentrified by neo hippies.  The narrow sidewalk walkways through town this time housed shops pushing holistic therapies and health food.  Instead of Guatemalan trinkets, stores sold hippie clothing and jewelry, and of course every restaurant was vegan focused.  Posters for wellness retreats and yoga classes dotted the building walls.  There was no need to speak Spanish here.

Unlike Jaibalito it did have a coffee shop and I am forever grateful because one thing I had been craving and unable to satisfy was a good bagel.  And this coffee shop not only baked their own, but baked possibly one of the best bagels I’ve ever eaten (actually make that 3).  

Before getting the bagel I enjoyed the pseudo hippie people watching.  I did a double take as a guy with a large tree branch/walking stick wearing mismatched wanna be hippie clothes walked in and searched for a place to rest his walking stick.  Ultimately he sat down at the table next to me, pulled out his computer and started to code.  I got a good laugh when his food order arrived and he flagrantly rejected the small plastic spoon the waitress offered. Instead he searched for and found a wooden spoon with which he proceeded to use as he ate from his large, single use to-go container that he subsequently threw away in the garbage.

Also in San Marcos I met up with a couple people I dove with in Utila and we went to the nature reserve next to town.  It’s another of the few places around the lake where you can sit and enjoy the view and even dip your body into the water if you dare.

San Pedro is known for having good Spanish schools and I decided after my recent espanol advancement, one last try with one on one classes would be good.  The main reason I wanted to do it though was the opportunity to live with a Guatemalan family for the week during my studies.  I would be living with a family in their home and eating all meals with them during the week.

I arrived on Sunday and met my family but not the other student I knew would also be staying there.  At dinner that night I started talking with a girl seated near me at a restaurant.  After she joined me at my table and we continued talking, Carina (her name) and I realized we were both starting classes the next day at the same Spanish school.  We then realized we were staying with the same family in the same house.  The next morning we discovered there was one additional student staying with the family, making us three.

It was strange with the homestay, not exactly what I was expecting.  It felt more like an Airbnb where the owners are renting because they can’t afford the house.   My family consisted of the mother, father, two teen daughters and an eleven year old boy.  Us students soon realized we were actually sleeping in the family’s bedrooms and they were sleeping at the sister’s or mother’s parents that had homes on each side of our house.  Each morning the kids would come into the house in pajamas to get ready for the day.  It felt awkward.

The mother was definitely a matriarch for the family.  She cooked all the meals, managed the home, worked in the family store below the house, and was our own personal Spanish tutor.  No English was allowed at the meal table and she constantly asked questions, prompting us to speak and practice our conversational Spanish, and gently assisted us with our grammar.

Carina and I bonded immediately but our friendship got cut short when she got kicked out of Spanish school.  Yes, that actually happened.  Who knew that was a thing.  Spanish school delinquent.  Actually, she was not happy with the way her classes were going so she made a request for some changes to the school manager.  Well, rather than making a couple simple changes the manager decided the best thing to do was kick her out for complaining (and refund all her money).  While strange, this didn’t surprise me too much based on some unusual responses I or others have gotten (to us) from Guatemalans during our time here.  The homestay parents were happy though because they were able to move back into their room.

Just like back when I was in school, Soccer played a big role during the week.  I enjoyed watching a Barcelona soccer game on TV with the host father and son and one night, a Spanish school friend and I went with them to watch the local San Pedro FC team play.  While I was expecting a capacity crowd filled with raucous local supporters, the stadium was just barely a quarter filled, and the majority were students from all the Spanish schools.  My soccer highlight though came the Saturday after classes were finished.  A few of us students and teachers played a 5×5 soccer game.  This was the first time I kicked a soccer ball in years let alone played a game.   But I gave a good showing and even got some compliments, and comments of surprise that someone from the States knew how to play.  My biggest surprise was that I survived the whole game without breaking, pulling, or tearing anything.  I couldn’t walk for two days after but it was definitely worth it, it was a blast playing.

A friend first suggested I go to Guatemala a few years ago and had called Lake Atitlan a paradise.  Since then I’ve had several travel friends visit it and all have raved about it. I wasn’t as impressed.  Overall I enjoyed my time at the lake but left a little disappointed, it wasn’t the lake experience I was expecting.  The towns, even though they sit on the lake, are totally disconnected from it.  Except for a few fishermen at sunrise, I did not see a single boat that wasn’t working as a water taxi (absolutely no sailboats).  Only in a few places did the water look inviting to swim.  However, the lake does have a natural beauty that I really embraced one morning when I woke up for sunrise.  Green forested hills, including three volcanoes, circle the lake.  Two more volcanoes, Acatanenga and Fuego, on a clear day can be seen in the distance.  Those views, that scenery, are what I will remember.

Bubbles up!!