In the southwest of Guatemala is a beautiful lake called Atitlan. To get to the lake, you take a bus to the hills above, take another bus down into the lakeside towns, and hop on a boat to the town of your choice. The main transportation around the lake is by boat. Transportation by road is unfeasible due to the lengthy amount of time it takes to drive around the lake.
The towns along the lake are nestled on the steep slopes of the adjacent mountains. One of the most popular towns is Panajachel. This town is fairly touristic, but is a good base location for adventuring around the lake. From Panajachel, you can even walk along part of the lake to visit some of the other towns.
The mountains around the lake are
volcanic. Four volcanos: Atitlan, Santiago, San Pedro, and Cerro de Oro
line the southwestern shore of the lake. At sunset, these volcanoes look beautiful with the setting sun behind them.
The villages around the town have winding streets filled with pottery and textile shops. The textiles are beautiful and very affordable. We spent a whole day just visiting these shops. The blankets, table runners, and clothing are beautifully colored. At one shop, a mother and daughter pair dressed me in the traditional clothing of the Mayan women of the lake. With a large shirt, wrap-around skirt, and tight waist belt. This experience alone convinced us to buy a couple of items from them. At another shop, we found a beautiful blanket for our bed.
While in Panajachel, we stayed with a Couchsurfing host. For most of the time, we were alone at his house, since he had left to visit a friend on the other side of the lake. Our time at the house was interesting. His dogs were starving since he had left very little food for them. His kitten would sneak in the house at night and keep us awake. And on the last night we were staying there, we arrived after dark to find a padlock on the gate. Fortunately, we were able to clime the wall into the house and get our backpacks.
