This weekend we are on Lake Atitlan, about 3 hours east of Xela, in a highly recommended hotel called Casa del Mundo (House of the World). Lake Atitlan is reportedly one of the most beautiful places on earth and is the only lake ringed by 3 volcanoes. As I write this post, I am sitting on a tiny plaza just outside our room - and feeling like I am in Eden! All around me are lush beautiful plants, some flowering (like hydrangeas, impatiens, and hibiscus) and others are ivys encircling the door frame and hugging the posts, and still others are colorful coleus' and other hot weather plants that I can´t identify. Yellow and orange butterflies bob here and there. I can hear the far-away hum of a boat ferrying passengers on the lake below - and the ever-present bark of dogs somewhere. The air is fresh and clean, something we miss in Xela. Facing us, across the lake, rise three proud volcanic mountains. An extraordinary scene!
Volcanoes overlooking Lake Atitlan
Our room is one of the most charming I´ve ever seen, a little peaked-roof, cliffside hide-away that seems to hang mid-air far above the lake. Its wood-framed screenless windows open freely out to the magnificent vista of blue water surrounded by the tall cone-shaped mountains. Incroyable! (no, wrong language). Incredible - that´s better!
Our little aerie overlooking the lake
Inside our charming room, filled with beautiful Guate furniture and weavings
What a contrast this idyllic scene is to the challenging trek to get here! We arrived last evening at about 7pm. - in the dark and the rain on an overloaded ferry that really shouldn´t have taken us. But we had a reservation for the family-style dinner at Casa Del Mundo - and were already late. The restaurant was holding a couple of seats for us. So we squeezed ourselves on.
The boat that brought us to Casa del Mundo, empty in this photo but woefully overcrowded that night.
We had left Xela at about 3pm on a shuttle van with only one other passenger, a young Laotian-Australian man traveling alone. The shuttle had picked us up at our home and then proceeded on the 3 hour ride from Xela to the lake-side town of Panajachel. It was raining, at times heavily, as we descended through the mist-shrouded mountains on the Pan-American highway. Our driver, who had introduced himself as Lucas, seemed like a nice man and a careful driver, but it was clear that he was hurrying,. passing slower-moving trucks and ¨chicken buses¨. Having no really good map, we weren´t sure where we were but eventually we stopped at a Texaco rest stop. Lucas hustled us off for ël bano¨. Bruce and I took the opportunity. When we emerged, five minutes later, the van was gone - and our luggage with it! All the warnings of danger and thievery flooded our thoughts. We waited for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes for Lucas to return. I was pretty sure that he was a nice guy and not a thief and that the rush of hurried Spanish as I was leaving the van was the clue to his disappearance. But not knowing for sure and having a bit of a deadline for arriving at Panajachel in time to catch the boat to our hotel (the only access) - all put the pressure on. Using our new cell phone, Bruce called the owner of the shuttle company and determined that Lucas was, indeed, dropping off the other passenger for a connection and would be back soon. That delay and another caused by a landslide made for a hurried, stressful ride in the dark on the twisting, narrow, rain-slicked side road to Pana.
The dock at Panajachel
We were dropped off at the dock and immediately made our way over the cobblestones and down to the boat that was about to leave. The launch was a low, narrow, open affair with just a piece of heavy plastic to protect anyone in the bow from the rain. That included us! We had to hunch over to be protected by the plastic. Our wheeled suitcase seemed very out of place among the workers and students returning home, packed close together - maybe 25 of them. We learned later that the load maximum is 14. I loosened my jeans belt in case we ended up in the drink and I had to swim to shore!
The boat plied its way along the coast in the dark. Every once in awhile I lifted the plastic roof from my head and took a peek. I could see the twinkling lights of small towns (pueblos) around the lake and climbing the vertical mountainsides. In between the towns were stretches of darkness.
As we approached the dock for Casa del Mundo, I saw a flashlight quickly zig-zagging down the side of the mountain. We got out of the boat and a young man appeared, holding the flashlight. He easily hoised our heavy suitcase onto his back and led the way up, up, up the beautiful stone staircase built into the mountainside. Bruce and I were huffing and puffing even without luggage! As we neared the main office/dining room, we smelled delicious aromas and could hear the sounds of happy conversation coming from a candlelit room. It was such a magical and comforting welcome after our rather harrowing trip. We dropped off our suitcase and backpack in our room and hurried to the dining room for a delicious meal, family style, at one long table. Across from us was a young couple from Vermont, on their honeymoon. Beside us was a young Spanish-speaking couple. The rest of the room seemed to be filled with English speakers, mostly young. I had my first glass of wine in nearly a month. It felt very decadent!
So we have today and tomorrow to relax and absorb this beauty.
Our room is one of the most charming I´ve ever seen, a little peaked-roof, cliffside hide-away that seems to hang mid-air far above the lake. Its wood-framed screenless windows open freely out to the magnificent vista of blue water surrounded by the tall cone-shaped mountains. Incroyable! (no, wrong language). Incredible - that´s better!
What a contrast this idyllic scene is to the challenging trek to get here! We arrived last evening at about 7pm. - in the dark and the rain on an overloaded ferry that really shouldn´t have taken us. But we had a reservation for the family-style dinner at Casa Del Mundo - and were already late. The restaurant was holding a couple of seats for us. So we squeezed ourselves on.
The boat that brought us to Casa del Mundo, empty in this photo but woefully overcrowded that night.We had left Xela at about 3pm on a shuttle van with only one other passenger, a young Laotian-Australian man traveling alone. The shuttle had picked us up at our home and then proceeded on the 3 hour ride from Xela to the lake-side town of Panajachel. It was raining, at times heavily, as we descended through the mist-shrouded mountains on the Pan-American highway. Our driver, who had introduced himself as Lucas, seemed like a nice man and a careful driver, but it was clear that he was hurrying,. passing slower-moving trucks and ¨chicken buses¨. Having no really good map, we weren´t sure where we were but eventually we stopped at a Texaco rest stop. Lucas hustled us off for ël bano¨. Bruce and I took the opportunity. When we emerged, five minutes later, the van was gone - and our luggage with it! All the warnings of danger and thievery flooded our thoughts. We waited for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes for Lucas to return. I was pretty sure that he was a nice guy and not a thief and that the rush of hurried Spanish as I was leaving the van was the clue to his disappearance. But not knowing for sure and having a bit of a deadline for arriving at Panajachel in time to catch the boat to our hotel (the only access) - all put the pressure on. Using our new cell phone, Bruce called the owner of the shuttle company and determined that Lucas was, indeed, dropping off the other passenger for a connection and would be back soon. That delay and another caused by a landslide made for a hurried, stressful ride in the dark on the twisting, narrow, rain-slicked side road to Pana.
We were dropped off at the dock and immediately made our way over the cobblestones and down to the boat that was about to leave. The launch was a low, narrow, open affair with just a piece of heavy plastic to protect anyone in the bow from the rain. That included us! We had to hunch over to be protected by the plastic. Our wheeled suitcase seemed very out of place among the workers and students returning home, packed close together - maybe 25 of them. We learned later that the load maximum is 14. I loosened my jeans belt in case we ended up in the drink and I had to swim to shore!
The boat plied its way along the coast in the dark. Every once in awhile I lifted the plastic roof from my head and took a peek. I could see the twinkling lights of small towns (pueblos) around the lake and climbing the vertical mountainsides. In between the towns were stretches of darkness.
As we approached the dock for Casa del Mundo, I saw a flashlight quickly zig-zagging down the side of the mountain. We got out of the boat and a young man appeared, holding the flashlight. He easily hoised our heavy suitcase onto his back and led the way up, up, up the beautiful stone staircase built into the mountainside. Bruce and I were huffing and puffing even without luggage! As we neared the main office/dining room, we smelled delicious aromas and could hear the sounds of happy conversation coming from a candlelit room. It was such a magical and comforting welcome after our rather harrowing trip. We dropped off our suitcase and backpack in our room and hurried to the dining room for a delicious meal, family style, at one long table. Across from us was a young couple from Vermont, on their honeymoon. Beside us was a young Spanish-speaking couple. The rest of the room seemed to be filled with English speakers, mostly young. I had my first glass of wine in nearly a month. It felt very decadent!
So we have today and tomorrow to relax and absorb this beauty.
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