I recently had the amazing opportunity to visit Lake Atitlan, one of the main tourist attractions in Guatemala. It is a giant lake about two hours from Antigua. It is famous for the hills and volcanoes the surround it, along with several small pueblos, each with its own unique character and charms.
Five other students in my house and I woke up to catch a shuttle at 5:30AM. We got to the busy town of Panajachel at about 8:00AM and made our way down to the water. There, we paid Q25 (about $3.50) to take a small boat across the lake to the town of San Pedro, where we had decided to spend the day.
In San Pedro, we stopped for breakfast at a little cafe overlooking the water. Then we found a company with kayaks, and paid Q15 each for an hour on the water. In the kayaks, we were able to enjoy the pristine grandeur of the lake. We rowed across a small inlet to a beach. There, we swam for a few minutes before paddling back.
Next, we decided to explore San Pedro. We had gone through a travel agency for our transportation to and from the lake, but we hadn’t booked any tours for our time there because we’d wanted the freedom to explore on our own. This was a great decision, because I really feel that our time in San Pedro was one of my most authentic experiences in Guatemala. We walked away from the water up through the streets. The shops there were less tourist oriented, and we stumbled upon a marketplace in the street with everything from fish and fruit to clothing and flowers. Antigua is definitely completely different from the United States, but it is in some ways a tourist bubble. Most restaurants have menus in English and Spanish, there are American restaurants like McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts, and it incredible easy to find an English speaking tourist anywhere you go. The city itself is in some ways gentrified, and doesn’t always reflect that poverty that plagues most of Guatemala. In San Pedro, however, I really felt that we, as tourists, weren’t being catered to, and that we were just there experiencing a normal life for people. We got to practice Spanish at restaurants and in the street, and grew a lot closer as a group.
Eventually, we walked back down to the water and used the same company to take us back across the water to Panajachel. This ride was a lot bumpier than the first due to a storm blowing in, but it only enhanced the fun of the day. In Panajachel, we took a shuttle back to Antigua, arriving just in time for dinner.
