Weekend at Lake Atitlan

First thing you need to know about Lake Atitlan: It. Is. Beautiful. Second thing you need to know about Lake Atitlan: It. Is. Gorgeous.

Lago Atitlan is said to have gotten it name from the Mayan word translating into “the place where the rainbow gets its colors.” ‘Nuff said. And I think the Mayans were right.

Clear blue skies, tropical green vegetation, deep charcoal volcanoes, flowers in bright purples, reds, and yellows, all melt down under the fiery orange sunsets into swirly watercolors ready to be splashed across the land and sky the next morning with the brilliant white sunrise. Beauty.  

Located about three hours away from Xela, Lake Atitlan is the largest lake in Guatemala and the deepest in all of Central America. It was formed in the crater of a massive volcano, and nowadays is surrounded by three volcanoes and a multitude of tiny villages named after the twelve disciples. And let me tell ya the greatest thing of all, it perpetually stays at a temperature of about 80 degrees during the days of bright sunshine and dips down into a comfortable 60 during the breezy nights.

Kristi, Kyra, and I caught a microbus, van, and then tuk-tuk Saturday afternoon to wind our way down to the lake shore, where we spent our next three days and nights basking in the sun and relaxing by the lake. We arrived in San Pedro in time for a late lunch on a patio overlooking the greenish-blue water.

We spent the rest of Saturday afternoon hunting down a hotel and exploring the city. The two-month-long Guatemalan citizenship in me was a little disappointed to find out this historic town had been hijacked by the tourism industry, replacing its traditional markets with gas stations and bars and causing its citizens to trade in their Mayan and Spanish languages for a few particularly polished, though not usually grammatically correct, English phrases.

Entonces (therefore), we hopped on a tuk-tuk (see below) and rode over to another nearby village called San Juan. This sleepy little town, almost untouched by foreign influences, couldn’t have been any farther from the big city hustle and bustle of Xela and the never-ending instant gratification of the touristy San Pedro. Finding our way down to the fishing pier, we spent the last hours of sunlight lying on the pier talking about life until the sun disappeared to reveal the first stars I have seen since Texas.

We awoke from our starry-eyed lull rather quickly however during our tuk-tuk ride back jamming out to Spanish rap music throbbing with deep bass notes and adrenaline. We grabbed dinner at a pub and relaxed the rest of the night in solar hot tubs located deep within a jungle of tropical trees and flowers. Interesting fact about our dinner: Saturday was a dry day in Guatemala, prohibiting serving alcohol since the presidential elections were the following day (not a bad idea, if you ask me). But what’s a pub without beer? Entonces, the pub served everyone their drinks in coffee mugs. Creative.

Sunday we got to experience another breathtaking view of the lake, from the inside looking out! After breakfast we rented kayaks and paddled our way to the center of the glassy lake where we spent an hour floating, splashing, soaking, laughing, tanning (or in Kyra’s case burning..), and above all enjoying.

On the way back to shore, we found out the only thing cooler than running through a flock of birds taking flight is paddling through a gigantic flock of birds congregated in the middle of the lake! Surrounded by flapping wings on every side while gliding through crystal water, surreal.

Later that night we found a funky restaurant serving Mediterranean food. A large striped tent strung with Christmas lights and multi-colored paper lanterns gave shelter to straw-woven mats and a plethora of cushions as guests lounged on the ground. Here, we ate amazing hummus and pita bread, drank fresh fruit liquados or smoothies, and created a bajillion inside jokes.

Monday we got to experience the lake in yet another way, from within! We started off the morning jumping on the early morning boat to another small pueblo on the other side of the lake called San Marcos. The town of San Marcos is built like a maze, with small tunnels and walkways cut out of the overgrowing jungle that lead to different places around the town. Along the lakeside, the rocks and trees open up to swimming holes. At one point along the side, the people of the town had built a wooden platform perfect for cliff jumping.

The ledge of the platform stuck out above the cliff side below and was long enough for the running start needed to fling yourself into the air. It was hilarious to see the different shapes everyone’s body takes on when left to itself for a few seconds in the air before the water’s impact. Below are some of the best shots from Kyra, Kristi, and I’s jumps.