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As I said in my Feb. 16th post, Lake Atitlan is beautiful. Guatemala is pretty cool with 20 volcanoes. The Philippines has a load of volcanoes too, but not all close together like they are here. Lake Atitlan has three to look at with the gorgeous lake in front.
The main town at the lake is Panajachel, or Pana for short. It is the second most touristy town after Antigua. There are plenty of hotels, restaurants, and vendors. Below is a picture of their main church.
When we had dinner at the Sunset Cafe, we met a couple of Mayan women. Dean bought nuts from this woman, who weighed it out with an old fashioned scale.
I bought this embroidery work from this woman. It was quite the negotiation. I think she started out asking $60 and I got it down to $15. Then Dean asked her how long it took her to make it and she said a couple of months. Then I felt bad.
The next day we took a water taxi to Santa Cruz where Ronnie's friend has a hotel.
Water taxis are used by all the locals. Note the Mayan women's hair and outfits.
Santa Cruz is a steep hike up the hillside. We hiked it one day and the village itself is very steep. All the streets just keep going up, up, up.
This is Ronnie's friend, Rosa, owner of Casa Rosa. The hotel sits right on the lake. It ranges about $30 a night. If you decide to take your meals there, Rosa cooks them for you and you can eat family style with the other guests.
Her property is so lush with vegetation, you can't see the hotel.
There are often yoga retreats there. Rosa also has a small rental house for rent for longer durations. It is very nice and Western. Santa Cruz has a diving shop so that you can scuba dive the volcanic lake and a spa owned by some Americans. So you can get a nice massage from a certified CMT.
