San Pedro - Candyland for tourists

Exactly one month since I arrived in Guatemala I am leaving Xela to go travel.

First stop: San Pedro la Laguna - one of several charming towns located on Lago de Atitlán (Lake Atitlán).

I arrived to San Pedro by chicken bus around 1:30pm and was immediately directed to an alleyway of cheap hotels right near where the bus dropped me off.  I really didn't want to look around at that moment with my huge backpack (it's as big as another person), and the first hotel was cheap at about $3.50 a night, so I took it.  The bathroom wasn't pretty, the toilet was leaking into the shower drain, but it had cable TV.  So I put down my bag, paid for a night, and started walking toward the water.

View of Lago Atitlan

Man building dock on lake

 I went left down a road where I saw a couple signs for hotels because I knew I wouldn't be staying at my current one for more than tonight.  This road, as another American traveler pointed out, feels like your winding down the path on the Candyland boardgame.  Much of it is a tight alley that makes several sharp turns with a different ethnic restaurant and themed hotels around each bend - Clover Irish restaurant, Coco's bar, Zoola's hotel and restaurant, and one of my favorites, Yo Mama's Casa.  Most of the hostels were about Q50 ($6) for a bed in a dorm and shared bathroom, but with some searching I found a spacious, clean room with private bath, hot water, and a hammock out front for Q40!  Score!  I spent the next 2 nights there.

The next day I took care of all the necessities - had a french toast breakfast for $2.50 (I love comparing prices here to the States!), went to the ATM, bought a bracelet, chatted with some locals and tourists, and ate some more.  Oh yeah, and I read on the hammock at my hotel.  Let the real vacation begin!

The day after I went on a horseback ride to a beach on the lake.  It was one hour on horse in each direction, which was perfect.  All I remember from the last time I rode a horse was how much my backside hurt the next day, but thankfully not this time.  Unfortunately because of the recent heavy rains the lake is extremely high at the moment, so high that it has covered a new park they built by one of the docks, and it's creeping into the bars that are closest to the water.  So there wasn't much of a beach to speak of and I wasn't about to swim in the lake with all the runoff and who-knows-what in there.  But it was worth it for the horse ride.

Horseback ride with guide

I also went to the house of a local artist, Pedro Rafael Chavajay, whom Jean wanted me to meet.  She had comissioned him to do a painting and they are family friends.  First I met the wife, Debora, who screamed and hugged me as soon I mentined Martín and Jean's (Juanita) names.  I had some tea with her and she looked very disappointed when I told her I had to leave to meet a friend for dinner, because Pedro hadn't arrived yet.  I promised I would return later, which I did around 9pm.  Pedro welcomed me and took me on a tour of his gallery, he has done some really amazing pieces.  He explained his imagery and techniques, and he was actually working on Jean´s painting at the time.

Next morning - shuttle to Lanquín.

P.S. - This is where I noticed the droves of Israeli travelers in Guatemala.  There were several hotels and restaurants that were run by and catered to Israelis - like Zoola's and Hummas Ya.  The hotel receptionists and tour guides here in general know Spanish, usually a Mayan dialect, some English, and Hebrew!