El Lago de Atitlan

Early last week we had planned to take a trip to el Lago de Atitlan. On Saturday, Ali and I got up around the same time we usually do for school so that we could catch an 8:00 shuttle with Morgan, Kayla, and Michael. While I was in the middle of my shower, the power went out. Fun fact: many showerheads in Guatemala are powered by electricity. They have earned the nickname “suicide” shower heads, because if you happen to touch one on accident during your shower, you will receive an electric shock. Of course, when the power went out, my hot water source did too. The shower quickly changed to ice-cold and I had to hustle to get out of there! This was made all the more difficult because the bathroom does not receive a lot of natural light. I fumbled around in the dim and freezing conditions until I was able to successfully make my escape.

Just after 8:00, while Ali and I were still waiting for our shuttle, a dog came over and provided us with some entertainment. He was very friendly and apparently liked to sing, because he started howling at nothing in particular. A little later he was let into a nearby gate. We were glad to see he had a home, because so many of the dogs here are strays.

Ali and I were picked up last. Morgan, Kayla, and Michael were the only other people on the minibus, which was a definite plus. The trip to Lake Atitlan is just over 2 ½ hours long. The farther into the trip we got, the cloudier it became. We were all hoping that it would be a little clearer by the lake, but it didn’t look promising. We traveled through the highlands on winding roads. Almost not surprisingly, we were being passed by chicken busses, though we would catch up to them when they would make stops.

As we got within 30 miles, the clouds thinned and the lake came into view, almost as if a curtain had been pulled back. It was stunning! The driver was kind enough to pull over and let us get a few pictures from a vantage point before we continued the descent. Not far from the pueblo Panajachel there is a tall waterfall right next to the road. It wasn’t quite as impressive as Victoria Falls, but pretty nonetheless.

When we arrived in Panajachel we stopped in at a little café near the lake. It specializes in making very delicious fruit smoothies! After our late-morning snack we wandered toward the lake, browsing through the merchandise of the vendors and taking pictures like there would be no tomorrow. To get to our hotel we needed to cross the lake by boat to another pueblo called Santiago. We knew that because we looked very touristy we would be ripped off, but even after circling around we were not able to catch a break. We ended up going on a private shuttle boat with a guy that we had originally turned down.

Even though we could clearly see the other side of the lake, it took over half an hour to cross it, and not because the boat was going slowly. The ride was fun! I don’t remember the last time I’ve been in a speedboat.

Santiago is in a bay off of the main part of the lake. As we passed through the mouth of the bay, we noticed a lot of trees growing right out of the water. There were also local people fishing using canoes and nets, which made me a little nostalgic. Santiago itself wasn’t that impressive, but our hotel was around a little peninsula on the outskirts of the pueblo. We docked successfully and disembarked to check in at Posada De Santiago (www.posadadesantiago.com). Morgan gave the boat driver a down-payment for a return trip Sunday afternoon, though he was clearly concerned that the driver wouldn’t come back.

The hotel was gorgeous! The pool was very close to the lake, with an elevated hot tub looking out over the water. Up from the pool was an open-air chalet (complete with a bar) for hanging out and taking in the view. To get to the main restaurant/lobby you need to walk up stone pathway and cross the street. We checked in without a problem and made it to our chalets. The hotel consisted of multiple 3-person chalets. They were fully booked at the time, so we had had to reserve one of the suites. Ali, Kayla, and Michael took the suite, while Morgan and I took the “Casa del Sol” (The Sun House). The accommodations weren’t exceptionally fancy, but the space was clean and comfortable. Outside each chalet there were hammocks strung between two trees, giving the entire hotel a Caribbean feel.

After settling in, we changed into suits and went back to the pool, where we relaxed in the sun and had a drink. We lazed around poolside for much of the afternoon, with a gorgeous view of the San Pedro Volcano across the water. Morgan and Michael took a canoe and explored the bay.

Around 5:00 we started heading up to our respective chalets to shower and get ready for supper. When Ali studied in Guatemala two years ago she came with a friend to the very same hotel. Her friend somehow knew an older American couple named Jim and Nancy. They have been living in Guatemala ever since Jim lost a multi-million dollar lawsuit in the States. They offer hikes and horseback riding and a 5 to 7 course meal to people visiting Santiago. Ali promised us that the food was exceptional and worth the cost, so we decided to take her word and try it ourselves.

At 6:30 Jim arrived in his battered-up Jeep to take us to his place, which was about 15 minutes away. There weren’t enough seats in the car, so I ended up sitting on a pillow in the back. I think I might have got the better end of the deal with that one…

Jim and Nancy’s house is amazing. Jim designed it himself and built it out of stone that he quarried nearby. Nancy is 100% American Indian, though I unfortunately cannot remember which tribe she is. There is a lot of interesting art splashed on the walls, and the living room boasts floor-to-ceiling windows that face towards the garden. Jim is constantly re-designing and adding to their house. In very Swiss-Family-Robinson-style, they have covered skylights in their bedroom that open up to reveal the stars. At one time they also had a butterfly garden attached to their bedroom. Because they moved to Guatemala during the civil war, Jim also installed a “safe room” in the basement. At one time there was a passageway from the bedroom to the basement, which is reinforced with thick stone walls. Currently they have 14 or so dogs, but back in the day they had more than 50, most of which were attack-trained.

The evening started out lighthearted. We had a drink and talked about Lake Atitlan. Jim said that the lake lies on seven fault lines, making it one of the most unique lakes in the world. The depth of Lake Atitlan is constantly changing. At the moment it is in a rising trend. It has been reported that the lake can fluctuate as much as 6 meters (about 20 ft.) in a year, which is astounding considering how large it is. Jim explained how this is possible, but much of it went over my head. It has to do with rain drainage and different depths turning over and faults shifting to release pressure.     

      

Jim is one of those very intelligent people who seem to know everything about everything. Many visitors find his conversations insightful and intellectually stimulating. He admitted freely to us that he is an anarchist and loves debate. Unfortunately, I only lost respect for him the more he talked; his logic is too advanced for his own good. Though he has studied Hebrew and Greek in order to read the Bible in its original languages, he doesn’t believe the Bible is the Word of God. Sadly, he is firm evolutionist. More than once he referred to people as animals. I did correct him when he said that the New Testament was written 300 years after Jesus ascended. He also—correctly—pointed out that the New Testament word for “virgin” simply means “maiden.” (He was implying that Jesus has a human father). I countered that in the original Greek, it also states that Mary “did not know a man,” which is a lingual euphemism for “did not know a man sexually.” Thankfully, he didn’t press it.

Despite the heavy atmosphere, the food was delicious. We had five courses! The first was a salad with calamari. That was a new experience for me. My first bite was of a small, but fully intact squid. Surprisingly, it tasted good! The challenge was to ignore the texture. Our second course was a deliciously spicy red soup; our third was a regular leafy salad with homemade bread. The main entre was peppercorn steak with broccoli purée and pasta. I won’t even begin to try and explain how good it tasted because I know I won’t do it justice. For desert we had a raspberry soufflé, though the oven had malfunctioned so it wasn’t fluffy. However, it was still incredible.

By the time Jim drove us back to the hotel I was feeling very depressed. Though I could have debated with him until I was blue in the face, I knew he wouldn’t budge. He is a hardened unbeliever. It made me terribly sad to know I will most likely not see him in heaven. The evening was definitely a test of my faith.

The hotel bed was very comfortable and I slept very well Saturday night. Sunday morning we got up just after 7:00 and Nancy picked us up at 7:30. When we arrived at their house again there was a delicious coffeecake ready for us, with fresh juice! We had a much more casual breakfast before heading down to the horse stables. (Jim offered me a hat to wear, but when he told me its previous owner was a man who had shot himself over his wife’s grave I politely declined.)

Jim’s staff had the horses all ready for us. I was assigned the shortest and oldest of the bunch, a 24-year-old white mare named Esperanza (Hope). I had no trouble mounting her. She was a good, strong horse, though I would have enjoyed a little more of a challenge. When everyone was mounted and ready we set off. We traveled along the road for a little while before going onto a trail that led through a coffee finca (farm).

The scenery was stunning. It was unbelievable how green everything was! Jim pointed out things along the way, but as I was often in the very back I didn’t hear him most of the time. In one grassy area we saw an old stone pier that used to dock lanchas (boats), but now it is stranded seemingly in the middle of nowhere because the water is lower than it had been at that time.

Near the same area we encountered a cow that was making a lot of racket. Jim’s horse got spooked and started acting up, which set the other horses on edge. Esperanza was probably the calmest of the bunch. Jim lost his hat as he was trying to calm his horse, so I dismounted and retrieved it. Not wanting to be left behind, Esperanza started following the line of horses and I had to make a quick walking mount.

After that we had no major problems. We followed the trail through the coffee fincas, passed through maize fields and forests, and started climbing in elevation. Some parts of the trail were very narrow and rocky and steep; I was surprised how well the horses were able to handle the conditions! After a good hour of riding uphill, we joined a dirt road that led to a lookout. We dismounted to give the horses a chance to graze while we enjoyed the view. I just managed to capture a few good pictures when the clouds started rolling in. The edge of the mountain is a cloud forest. It generates its own clouds because of the effect of the ocean, sun, and altitude. On the rare days when it is clear, it would be possible to see the Pacific Ocean in the distance.

We enjoyed the scenery for some time, and then mounted our horses for the descent. It seemed to go much faster on the way down, and the weather was quickly changing from sunny to overcast. We just managed to get back when it started raining. Jim gave us a tour of their house and told us his plans for expansion and re-design. He really is innovative!

By the time Jim dropped us off at the hotel we were late for checkout, but thankfully the hotel didn’t charge us extra. We had a big lunch at the restaurant, with the most amazing brownie, ice-cream, banana, and chocolate sauce for dessert (named something like The Cholesterol Special).

After lunch we didn’t have to wait too long by the pool when we saw the shuttle boat returning. Morgan had been really nervous that the driver would just pocket the down payment and not come back, but he did—and on time!

We crossed the lake without incident and I explored some of the local tiendas before going back to the juice café we had snacked at the day before. I got a fresh mango smoothie, which was even better than the strawberry one I had had on Saturday.

Our shuttle arrived at 4:00, and this time it was full of other tourists. On the way to the lake we were the only ones in the van, so it was definitely not as comfortable on the way back. There was some confusion over some of the passengers, and two people were asked to get out and take a different shuttle so we could fit two others. I was starting to get nervous that we were on the wrong van. We finally left Panajachel and made it up to the waterfall when unexpectedly the driver turned around and headed back to the pueblo. He told us that we needed to pick up two more people (most likely the ones he had asked to get off the van) but all of us were wondering where they were going to sit because we were practically packed in like sardines. However, when we made it to an outlying gas station he turned around again and we drove right back up without the additional passengers. As you can imagine, we were all pretty annoyed.

The trip back seemed to take longer because of the uncomfortable conditions, but I met a young 3^rd Grade teacher named Katherine who is attending a different school in Antigua to brush up on her Spanish so that she can teach it at her school next year. She was really friendly and we had good conversation much of the way back. She’ll be in Antigua for another week yet.

When we finally made it back to Antigua, Ali and I were able to get out a few blocks away from home. We were both very tired, but glad to have made it back safely. All in all, it was a really enjoyable weekend!

“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”

Psalm 100:1 – 3