Lake Atitlan by Zipline

Lake Atitlan has been described as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.  I love our house, "our lake," and our view of Sioux Mountain across the lake at home, but when I saw the pictures of Pasajcap at Lake Atitlan, I thought, "Wow, that is a view! If we are going to be in Guatemala, we have to go there."





We spent six weeks in Antigua - the longest stretch of our year - and we are glad we did.  It might have been my favorite place.  We will spend the month of March at Pasajcap, near San Marcos, Atitlan.

Adventure of the week - Travelling to Atitlan:

We've had lots of fun adventures in Atitlan so far: Kayaking, Hiking from Jaibalito to Santa Cruz, Swimming in the Lake, and Jumping/Diving from the huge dock at the property.  But honestly, I think the adventure of getting here is tops for the week.  Lake Atitlan is located in the western highlands of Guatemala (volcanoes, mountains).  While the roads in the area have been improved - concrete now instead of dirt -  the crazy steep, winding descent from the Panamerican highway near Santa Clara la Laguna to San Pablo la Laguna might be the most memorable.  Here's a screenshot of the Google map for that section of the road.  I am thankful that we had a careful driver.  No guard rails in Guatemala!

As mentioned, we've also been hiking, swimming, diving, and kayaking this week.  Here are a few of our favorite pictures of Lake Aititlan so far:

The garden at Pasajcap:

The view from our condo.  The 12 foot windows slide fully open, so even though you are inside, it feels like outside.  You can hear the birds, the boats, and the waves.  Meritt took this picture.

Meritt jumping off the dock:

Hiking from Jaibalito to Santa Cruz with Grandma and Grandpa:

My favorite - taken from my kayak in the early morning light.
A man fishes with a hand line from his traditional wooden fishing boat.

Misadventure of the week:

Atitlan is in a remote location in a third world country.  It is beautiful but there are some drawbacks.  Our flat at Pasajcap is nearest the town of San Marcos la Laguna, Atitlan.  My stomach has been queasy, and I felt like puking in San Marcos a couple of times this week.  

San Marcos is supposed to be all birkenstocks and zen with yoga, hemp, chia seeds and granola, but honestly, I'm not feeling it.  We went to a place for mango smoothies, wheat bread and falafel for my birthday... it was tasty, but I left hungry, and we had to chase away the stray dogs that kept sneezing on us under the table. 

Atitlan attracts hippies, yogis, vegans, and wanderers for sure.  There is apparently a special energy here due to the physical beauty.   But for my part, I hope not to go back to the town of San Marcos all that often.  The smell of sewage in the street (running into the lake) and flies sitting on the produce in the "market" was just about more than I could handle.  We are going to have be very careful not to get sick here.  Maybe we've just gotten soft from the easy life in Antigua.  Next time we need groceries, we'll take a public boat to one of the larger communities on the lake - San Pedro or Panajachel - and hope for a cleaner and more enjoyable shopping and dining experience.