Lake Atitlan

Lake Atitlan is a beautiful lake surrounded by volcanoes in the central highlands of Guatemala. It has been compared in it´s natural beauty with Lake Como in Italy. Getting there is a winding bus ride through rugged mountains, across valleys, and through cramped little towns with impossibly narrow streets.

The lake is stunning and has several towns along it´s shore. Mayans have lived in this area for thousands of years. After when the Spanish arrived they used the Lake as a sort of command post for the Catholic conversion of Mayans and exploitation of the natural resources for Spain. Despite this dramatic intervention in there way of life, Mayan culture has maintained a cohesion culturally, and religious traditions are now a blend of Mayan and Catholic traditions. The churches have iconography of both traditions and the ceremonies are a blend....in some churches the mass is said in both Spanish and the Mayan dialect.

The small towns around the lake are mostly Mayan with a smattering of expats and Ladinos (mixed race, Spanish and Mayan). The Mayans cultivate crops and makes and sell crafts and products using the rich colorful fabrics so distinctly Mayan. Gourmet coffee is also a specialty of the region.

The principle town on the lake is Panajachel (Pana) which is a crazy blend of hotels and restaurants and markets and taxi cabs that will run you over. I took a day long tour of the lake visiting three small towns. On the ferry I met a mother-daughter travel team from Illinois now living in Florida and Oakland respectively. We hung out for a chuck of the day.