About two weeks ago I made a trip to Lake Atitlan for the weekend as a friend of mine, Don Alvaro, knows someone who owns a hospedaje there. I´ve been to the lake before but have never been to San Juan before - it´s one of the twelve villages on the lake and doesn´t really have any tourists.
I`ve been pretty busy over the last few weeks with my job as a guide for the school and general socialising so it was a good opportunity to spend a few days kicking back from the world, eating fresh fish from the lake and reading a bit of my book (I´m currently reading the Alquimist in Spanish).
After catching a bus to Panachael I caught a Lancha to San Juan. The guys on the boat seemed mildly surprised when I didn´t get out in San Pedro (where tourists generally go) and asked to be dropped off at San Juan. Upon docking in San Juan I took a tuk-tuk to the hospedaje. San Juan itself isn´t really anything to write home about but my room at the hospedaje had a great view overlooking the lake. I spent the morning relaxing in a hammock on the roof of the hospedaje and reading my book.
The afternoon was spent doing a walk around the shore of the lake from San Juan to San Marcos. According to Lonely Planet, it is "apparently" dangerous to walk around the edge of the lake between San Juan and San Marcos but I´ve done it a couple of times and nothing has ever happened to me. The great thing about walking around the lake is that the colour of the water changes depending on where you are and you also walk through coffee and fruit plantations. The lake is really at its most picturesque between San Juan and San Marcos, with three volcanoes surrounding the lake appearing on the background as you head towards San Marcos. Nearer San Marcos I saw Santiaguito erupting in the background which was quite cool (have a look at the photo album "Lake Atitlan" to see the photo). Upon arriving at San Marcos I needed a swim the lake to cool off - San Marcos is one of the few places around the lake where it is easy to dive into the lake and take a swim. After three hours of walking I decided it was probably more prudent to take a tuk-tuk back to San Juan.
The evening was spent eating a nice caldo de mariscos, talking to Don Alvaro´s mate (who apparently owns a radio station in Xela which i´ve never heard of) and polishing off a litre of Gallo.
I´ve decided that Lake Atitlan is probably my favourite place in the world - a huge lake formed in the cone of a volcano that imploded, surrounded by three towering volcanos and verdent scenery. If you get the chance, go there...
