The 90km road between Antigua and Lago De Atitlan took us much longer that we expected.
This is a Volcanic region so every road is either steep uphill or down and is always twisty and windy. All your traveling time estimations based on the distance are useless.
In addition to this, we really got ourselves lost in the towns of Patrizia and Patzun, thanks to Google and a local Police Officer who sent us the wrong way down very narrow streets.
Luckily a local guy on a motorcycle took pity on us and showed us the way out of town, we eventually got back on track.
At one point we even had to do a small river crossing.
Lago de Atitlan is a huge lake that sits in the crater of an ancient Volcanic eruption. Most of the main towns in the region are situated on the lake shoreline. It is approximately 18km long by 8 Km wide and has an area of 130 sq KM. It also has a maximum depth of 340 m
Because of this, the access to these towns always involves tight twisting and very steep downhill approaches. Thank God for Low Gears and Exhaust Brakes. Without these we would have been in real trouble.
Some of the towns were actually too steep and dangerous for our vehicle so we headed to the rather touristy town of Panajachel, which we knew was a more feasible approach.
Parking on the edge of the lake gave us magnificent views across the lake at the towering Volcanoes Atitlan, Toliman and San Pedro
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| Atitlan Sunset |
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| Thanks Sandie |
As mentioned earlier, the towns around the perimeter of the lake are hard to access by road, so the preferred mode of transport is the small community run boat/ferry service that criss cross the lake constantly, stopping at all the major towns and Villages.
By an unbelievable coincidence, we found ourseves parked next to our old American friends Sara and Ben, whom we had last bumped into in Copan, Honduras in March 2023.
In true Overlanding tradition, when two or more nationalities meet, lots of alcohol is consumed. "Beer Oclock" as it became known seemed to get earlier and earlier.
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| Karsten, Sandie, Sara, Ben and Pat |
The 40 minute boat ride to the the western town of San Pedro La Laguna was pleasant but wet as it bounced through the waves splashing loads of water through the side windows onto your lap.
You arrive at a small wooden dock that can be tricky for getting in and out as the boat rises and falls with the swell of the waves.
From this point on everything in San Pedro is seriously uphill. We had plenty of places to visit so opted for a Tuk Tuk that struggled to ascend the steep streets.
The pleasant Catholic Church of Saint Peter ( San Pedro ) was our first stop.
The Views from the Mirador across the lake were pretty impressive
The Bird shown in the painting is the Quetzal. its the national bird of Guatemala.
It is estimated that there are now only between 20,000 and 50,000 left Worldwide.
We have yet to see one.
The small museum called Tz'unun Ya is run by local people from the Tz'utujil people who are part of the wider Mayan community. The small entry fee was well worth as the hand crafted displays and films enlightened us to this historic culture and how it is being preserved in modern times. We also learnt about how the lake was formed.
Upon arrival at the Museum, they asked us to sign the visitors book and supply our dates of Birth. Feeling a bit suspicious of this I instinctively supplied slightly inaccurate dates. At the end of our tour, they presented us with Mayan astrological charts based on our false dates of Birth. Feeling totally embarrassed and foolish, we didn't have the heart to tell them and simply thanked them and left.
So if anyone was born exactly 1 year to the day before me, I have your chart and your future is looking good.
About 40 km away through winding roads and tight villages is the market town of Chichicastenango, which is famous for Artisanal Crafts and locally grown produce.
Colour is everywhere here. It's in everyday dress, paintings on walls and even in the Cemeteries.
Unfortunately, the day ended with Pat being stung on the face by a Bee. Obviously, this could have been a lot worse, It could have been my face.
Another town at the western end of the lake is San Juan La Laguna. Its famous for its textiles, Honey and crafts.
Pat arranged to spend a morning at a local family run weavers learning how to use a hand loom.
Another nearby weaving centre gave us a tour of their cooperative industry and demonstrated to us how the locally picked cotton is spun into twine and then dyed using various Herbs, Plants and Trees Bark.
Whilst Pat was doing this, I visited a honey making centre that employ very small stingless bees.
Some of these bee species were literally no bigger than mosquitos, others were the size of small flies.
Their man made hives were about the size of an upturned shoe box.
San Juan itself was a lively busy town.
Another nearby town on the lakeside is San Antonio Palopo. It's famous for its Pottery. Pat wanted to take part in a pottery day but when we arrived, there where no available courses and the pottery was very underwhelming.
The town, however, was very pretty.
The 40 minute TukTuk ride to get there was an experience. the return Journey in the back of a Collectivo Pickup truck was equally interesting. Pat got in the front and I got thrown around in the back until I felt sick.
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| Painted Houses of Santa Catarina Palopo |
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| Painted Houses of Santa Catarina Palopo |
Every year there is series of Open Water Swimming Events that take place at three locations in Guatemala. The first one being at Lago De Atitlan in March, and the other two at Laguna Santa Izabel and Laguna del Pino later in the year. These events cater for all age groups and have several different distances from 750m to 6km.
We weren't aware of this event until literally hundreds of competitors and their families descended on our peaceful lakeside location in Panajachel.
It was a really great spectacle to watch with a carnival atmosphere.
We managed to get to know a few of the competitors.
Unbelievably, three of them actually came first in their classes, and the other came third.
If only we had placed some bets.
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| Alan representing Guatemala and New Zealand |
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| She couldn't keep her hands to herself |
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| Alma 1st in 1500m 50 to 59 Years |
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| Alan 1st 6 km |
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| Alma |
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| Alma 1st Place |
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| 1st in the 3km over 60's. Not bad for 75 years old |
Right by our camp was the "Reserva Natural Atitlan" Stand by for loads of Butterfly Shots.
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| Mexican Silverspot |
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| Julia Butterfly |
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| Blue Morpho |
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| Rusty Tipped Page aka The Brown Siproeta |
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| Owl Butterfly |
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| Monarch Butterfly |
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| Mexican Longwing |
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| Pink Spotted Cattleheart |
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| Zebra Longwing |
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| White Nosed Coati |
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| White Nosed Coati |
There were a few camera shy Spider Monkeys hanging around.
Having spent 26 Nights together on the lakeside we all had to eventually go our separate ways so a posh farewell meal in the Hotel Atitlan was the order of the day
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| Pat, Sandie, Karsten, ben, Neil and Sara |
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| Hotel Atitlan |
The Fuentes Georginas hot springs is located 2500m above the the town of Zunil in the Province of Quetzaltenango.
The last 8km drive up the single track road to the entrance was hampered by thich cloud. We litterally had about 3m of vision, which didn't bode well with Pat as there were cars and Chicken buses heading towards us
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| We found the Hot Spot. Thanks Sandie for the pictures |
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| Might have spent a bit too long in there |
The road back down was more pleasant through rich farming land
The Quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala. It features in nearly every part of their Indiginous history and their currency is even named after it.
Unfortunately, due to their beautiful feathers being a prized addition to national costumes and a diminishing habitat, their numbers have decreased drastically.
There are however, a few places, that with a little patience, you might be lucky enough to see one.
El Refugio Del Quetzal in Qutzaltenango is one such place. This Comunity run sanctury is well kept and they allowed us to camp out in their car park.
It is However, many kilometers up a very steep road. I think I was in first gear for nearly 45 minutes.
Pat and I spent 9 hours over 2 days being bitten to death in the middle of the Jungle hoping to see them.
Having briefly seen two in flight at the start of the day, it seemed like forever before we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of a pair at their nesting site.
Sorry that some of the photos are a bit poor quality, but it was along shot.
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| Orange Striped Sister |
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| Western Flycatcher |
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| Here She Comes , Only took 5 hours |
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| Female |
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| Female |
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| Female |
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| Female |
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| Male from a Long Distance |
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| Male |
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| Male |
This is our last stop in Guatemala and we are heading back to Mexico in the next few days.
When we entered Guatemala, we were given an entry stamp for 90 days. We will be leaving on day 88 and I am certain we will be back soon.
Hasta Luego.
