14 44 15 N 91 09 37 W
Don and I got up early in the morning and went down to the Lake to bargain for a trip around the Lake – there are many tourist offices that organize these trips for you but double the price to include their commission. Once our group had each paid the fare fee and been firmly seated in the rocking boat, the owner left with the outboard fuel container in hand – ½ an hour later he returned with fuel for the trip. We spent the next 7 hrs on a small boat visiting 3 towns. San Marcos La Laguna – a tiny town deep into mystical spiritual energy including holistic therapies, massage and mediation (what Don called hippy town). An older English lady grabbed me and once she confirmed I spoke English ask if I was frightened and should we be leaving the area – it took me a while to work out what she was so upset about – at 5am I growled at Don (thinking he was having some sort of nightmare and had his feet on the wall and rocking the bed) at the same time he growled at me - it was an earthquake !! We loved it and wished it would happen again. Apparently there was a second quake while we were on the lake that we did not feel. We calmed her down much to the relief of her husband and explained that it is not unusual in this area and if the locals were not worried then maybe we shouldn’t be either.
The next town was San Pedro La Laguna. A steep climb gave us wonderful views of the Lake. We spoke to an Englishman working in a local café – he was a geologist, the earthquake had happened very close and was 5.6 on the Richter scale – the second one being a 5.3. Lake Atitlan is very close to where 3 tectonic plates converge. The last major destructive quake was 1976.
Our next town was Santiago Atitlan which had very persistent hawkers – the tourist trade simply has not happened this year and the locals are feeling it. Their beautiful embroidered table cloths, runners, shirts etc are being sold far below what they would normally expect in order for the locals to eat. I want to buy everything mainly because the colors are so vibrant – happy – but we can’t carry a heavy load and it would only go into storage so we practice our most frequently used Spanish words “No Gracias”. That would be “grassy–arse” – with the emphasis on the arse. I find it difficult to say as I keep picturing a child sliding down a wet grassy slope !!!
Dinner
Visiting Guatemala is incredibly inexpensive. Our accommodation, although not luxurious, is clean and the toilets flush – most showers have hot water (unlike El Salvador) and cost between $12 - $14 per night for the two of us. Lake Atitlan has several restaurants on the lake edge each three stories high with the top floor boasting spectacular views of the lake and surrounding volcanoes. For soup, main meal and a beer or orange juice it cost $4.00. Breakfast $2.00. Most bus rides are under $1. Guatemala is a beautiful place and I would recommend it to anyone with an adventurous spirit.
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