Glorious Guatemala! Part 2: Panajachel & Lake Atitlan (Pueblo de Santa Cruz)

 After a lovely week in Antigua, enjoying both my heavenly Airbnb and the fabulous town itself, I took a shuttle on a windy-but-scenic, three-hour ride through the countryside to the neighboring, famous area of Lake Atitlan. I had heard it was as beautiful as Antigua, but in a different way... I was not disappointed! The first day there was a bit hazy and didn't lend itself to great photos, but the second day cleared up and was a photographer's dream! I have divided my two days at Lake Atitlan into two different posts, precisely because I want to include a mess of photos without overwhelming you, my faithful reader! If I did not SO love my sweet home in Oaxaca, I would seriously consider moving to one of the delightful pueblos that are situated around the enormous lake. I only had time to see two--one each day--but have heard that there are many more worth exploring, so I know I will simply have to return there one day! 

These two adorable "chicos" were hanging out on a street of Santa Cruz, the first and closest pueblo I visited via ferry boat. I wandered up very steep streets and was privy to the simple, humble lifestyle of the local people here. Santa Cruz has the fewest gringos in residence, relative to other pueblos around the lake. 


Saturday, March 6th: 

I took the shuttle from a hostel in Antigua to Panajachel, the main--and largest-- town on Lake Atitlan. It was--not surprisingly-- a very touristic town. The streets were full of vendors selling their wares; very humble hotel/airbnb's (like the one where I stayed) as well as very fancy villas; many bars and restaurants (including ones boasting vegetarian fare and fabulous live music). I arrived around midday, and after settling into my very basic (and almost claustrophobic!) hotel room, I set out to find the ferry dock... not hard to do at all, since I knew the direction of the lake. Once there, I asked about the closest destination, which happened to be the simple, non-touristic little pueblo of Santa Cruz. And so it was that I took my first lake ferry boat ride...quite an adventure in itself! Once I arrived, I had a great hike up the side of a steep mountain to get into the heart of town! There was not much to see there, other than the locals, the lake and surrounding mountains. Still, I enjoyed the exercise and seeing how the humble lake people lived. Satisfied with my two hours of wandering around, I returned to Panajachel, delighted to meet some other gringos on the boat who were from California--San Francisco, to be exact!  Once back on land, the four of us proceeded to enjoy an afternoon drink in an upscale restaurant, overlooking the lake, with a wonderful Mexican band to entertain us. Later that eve, I found a restaurant in the town that happened to serve a dish of baked tofu and veggies--quite a rarity!-- and settled in to a nice meal and more live music. This time, the entertainment was provided by talented gringo expats playing oldies-but-goodies!  All in all, a very fine day at and around the lake!



A classic view (but hazy) from the Panajachel dock, looking at the volcanoes across the lake. Lake Atitlan is famous for being a region of volcanoes, same as Antigua is. 


Selfie on the ferry: these boats were basically semi-enclosed speed boats that fled across the waters and were VERY bumpy rides...wet ones too, if you were on the windy side next to an open window! Quite the adventure, to be sure... I don't generally get seasick, but this ride was SO bumpy that even I was feeling more than a little queasy!  Fortunately, the ride to Santa Cruz and back was only about 10 minutes. 

The views from the boat--looking out over the lake and surrounding land--were always phenomenal!


View of the lake and its most prominent volcano from the deck of a little cafe in Santa Cruz. 


The one hotel for tourists, situated right at lakeside in Santa Cruz, with lovely mountains behind. Might want to stay there my next time around...



Looking upward at the main part of the pueblo as I began my steep ascent...






In the main square at the center of Santa Cruz: not much to it--the requisite church, an open square (and marketplace on this day) and a couple small tiendas. 




Little girl on the steps of her casa, enjoying an afternoon treat of shaved ice.


You can see how I got my exercise that day, going up and down narrow and steep steps like these, taking me to different parts of the pueblo.


Enjoying the view looking back down...as you can see, people are quite poor in this town, and most of their "casas" consist of huts with these corrugated tin rooftops.
 


A strange fact of both Guatemala and Mexico is that, quite the opposite of the U.S., most of the poor people live in the hills... and simultaneously have the best views, of course! I wonder if this will change over the course of time, as one DOES see new construction of large houses going up in their midst here and there. 


It is a marvel, how they manage to build a town on such a steep mountainside!



A clever way to dry laundry, as I imagine those tin roofs get VERY hot under the Guatemalan sun!


Descending, looking back up at the town nestled in the side of the mountain, peaks towering over them, lovely clouds hanging in the sky....


Back in Panajachel, with new friends from SF (whom I met, traveling back from Santa Cruz, on the ferry boat). We spent a pleasant couple of hours at a lakeside restaurant, drinking refreshments and enjoying live music from a fabulous Mexican band. 

Our exquisite view of the lake--and setting sun--from our table in the restaurant.


Dinnertime, on my own, in another restaurant, eating a great vegetarian meal and being entertained by this expat trio. I talked to the female singer, who told me that they have lived at the lake for about 30 years!  Basically retired, they perform in the restaurant for fun (and pocket change!) They were quite talented. 


It was a colorful, popular restaurant, right on the main street of Panajachel...cannot recall its name....


As with so many open restaurants and cafes, the local pooches come in to beg treats off of the diners. I gave some morsels of garlic bread to this cute canine, which he ate with great relish! He was quite a sweet little fellow...wanted to take him home with me!


My fabulous meal of baked tofu, rice and veggies! Delish! 

Comments

  1. JeanneApril 18, 2021 at 11:15 AM

    Interesting that the poor neighborhoods have the high dollar views! And it’s great you meet so many other expats also no the way.

    ReplyDelete

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