Lake Atitlan

Tuesday, Apr. 5, 2011--Quetzaltenango to Panajachel, Lake Atitlan

It took 3 chicken buses, but I made it here.  Actually one was leaving just after the other, so I got here in just under 3 hours which is the estimated time for taking a bus straight through.

I have another nice room at the Utz Jay Hotel.  It is the second floor of a bungalow building.  The beds have native-weave bedspreads, the tables have similar coverings, there are windows around 2 sides letting in lots of light, and I have a large private deck with blooming bougainvillea on the trellis.  I'm playing a bit more for rooms on this trip in comparison to previous ones, but I am getting good value compared to the rooms that are a bit cheaper.  This one is $29 per night.

My trip is going at too fast a pace.  I'm here for only one day.  Yes, I will spend a total of 4 days around Lake Atitlan, but it would have been nice to have spent at least 2 nights at each stop.  For future trips, I need to plan the itinerary before buying the ticket so that I am not constricted by time as I was this year when I bought a ticket for two months and then tried to fit everything I wanted to see in the countries I am visiting within that period of time.

My friend Wes will join me the last 16 days of my trip.  I had planned the sequence of cities/stops (but not the number of days in each) before he visited during spring break.  They formed a loop, so I told him I could go either clockwise or counter-clockwise so he could choose which way would provide the most interesting last 16 days for him.  He chose to visit Tikal, Belize, and the Atlantic coast of the Yucatan.  Now that I have completed 10 days of the trip and know what to anticipate for the next 6 days, I think he probably made a poor choice.  I think the part of the trip I have been following now is probably much better than being in Belize will be.  So far, I am very impressed with where I have been and the experiences I have been having.

Luncheon specials are the best meal deals here.  There can be several courses, or a big platter of food is offered for a very reasonable rate.  Today, I decided I should take advantage of that.  Although I was not that  hungry after having had breakfast, at 14:00 I ordered the Menu of the Day at a local restaurant.  I got a bowl of vegetable soup and a plate that consisted of lomito (a piece of flank steak charcoal broiled), baked potato filled with gooey cheese, guacamole, picante sauce, and garlic bread.  It was tasty.  That filled me so that I haven't needed anything since.

Lake Atitlan is beautifully ringed with the hazy outline of volcanoes.  The lake is large enough that there are big waves on it.  Panajachel has a very nice water front walkway with places to sit and watch the sunset (which I did tonight).  Otherwise, the city is nothing special--just LOTS of stalls and wandering women and children selling weavings, lots of restaurants/bars, and lots of travel agencies selling tours.  It has a nice, casual atmosphere, however.  There is lots of live music in the area.  And the prices here are very reasonable for such a popular tourist destination.  Almost every restaurant/bar has happy hour with 2-for-1 drinks until about 23:00.  Trees are flowering here, and the air is quite fresh, although the temperature does get a bit warm in the middle of the afternoon.