Lago de Atitlán

My second stop in Guate (after barely making the shuttle that arrived at my Antigua hostel one hour early, fun packing session that one) was Lake Atitlán. I knew the lake was going to be big, but I was not prepared for just how big. I caught glimpses of it as our conductor loco zoomed down the narrow, cobblestone streets toward Panajachel, and got my first real look when I walked onto the ferry dock. Even ringed by clouds the water was a brilliant, deep blue, and with the Volcanoes San Pedro and Tomilán standing guard its massivity was even more pronounced.
But lovely as this initial sighting was it didn´t even compare to the view from my hostel, La Iguana Perdida. Located in one of the little towns ringing the lake, its front porch, with its pillowed sofa and trailing vines, looked directly out over the water. I thoroughly enjoyed munching my homemade yogurt and granola on that porch, and also managed to have a couple nice conversations there with Kieran, my Oxford amigo, who also was staying there with his Dutch friend, Karen. The dialogue that I most remember was after dinner, which was also homemade and served family style for the entire hostel. Groovy, eh? It is funny how no matter how educated you are, no matter how well-traveled, no matter how many grand ideas are floating around in your cabeza, the issue that matters most is your relationships. No gorgeous vista or exciting adveture can ever change that.

The next day I took a boat over to San Pedro, another touristy town, and spent an hour kayaking on the west end of the lake. This let me get an even better idea of the vastness of the terrain and rest for a bit in its tranquility. Unfortunately, it also let me see the garbage floating about and the locals washing their clothes on the shore, stuff that the guide books fail to note. Best of all, it let me meet Moshe and Ortal, an Israeli couple on their honeymoon who were kayaking at the same time. They were kind enough to offer me a ride with them via tuk-tuk back to my hostel to escape the impending rain, and then asked if I´d like to hang out later. I enjoyed dinner while they enjoyed cappuchinos (being kosher while traveling seems like a pain) as we talked about monotheistic faiths, cultural differences and once again, relationships. It was an awfully nice way to end the day.