Santa Catarina Palopo, Lago de Atitlan. November 16, 2009.
I took a hike. A road goes east from Panajachel across the river, nice and flat at first and then rising drastically to accommodate the steep shores of the lake. At around the 5km. mark there's a designated lookout. Then the road drops for a couple of kilometers and reaches the town of Santa Catarina Palopo.
Another hillside village, not as picturesque as Santiago. Here, the women wear blues and greens. I walked around a little, then climbed back to the lookout to see about the sunset.
I'm leaving Panajachel in the morning. I liked it here. A person could stay. There was human contact - eccentric, middle-aged dropouts from the US and Canada with colorful histories, likely embellished. A cohort I could call my own. Still, I'm down here to see. I need new material. Sunsets and water and volcanoes; are you sick of it yet?
Okay. A couple more.
Santiago de Atitlan, Guatemala. November 15, 2009.
Mayan Village. On a hillside climbing up from an inlet between the Toliman and San Pedro volcanoes, Santiago de Atitlan is the largest of the Mayan villages dotted around the shores of Lake Atitlan. Even with the dominating presence of a large Catholic church that sits in a favored place above the town square, the villagers are resolutely traditional, women and men both wearing striking Mayan garments emphasizing the color purple and still speaking the Tz'utujil dialect among themselves.
There is a road into the village, no doubt rough, twisty and narrow, but most residents and visitors come by boat. The lakefront harbour is constantly active during the day with comings and goings.
The streets around the square were busy with buying and selling, much of it weaving and crafts aimed at the tourist trade, as well as the usual village-level mercantilism one finds throughout Guatemala.
Unlike most towns, due to its isolation, Santiago's steep, motley roadways aren't choked with auto traffic. This makes for a much more pleasant strolling ambience.
A certain class of tourist prefers scheduled group visits in comfortable cruisers. If it's just transportation you want, quick and dirty, find the lanchitas publicas on the Panajachel docks and ask for Santiago. It's 25 quetzales (about three dollars) and it's direct.
Panajachel, Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala. November 14, 2009.
Panajachel. Messy, touristy, strangely endearing.
Paradise under threat. A nasty, algae bloom is choking this wonder of nature. Atitlan, ringed by steep green hills and watched over by three towering volcanoes, is considered one of the most beautiful places in the world. Up close, the water is a murky green-brown, due to fertilizer run-off and a failed sewage plant. You can see the bands of algae in the upper photograph, taken high above the lake's heartbeat town, Panajachel.
Two volcanoes: Toliman, in front, Atitlan, even taller, behind.
A brown haze hung over the lake as dawn broke, possibly natural, or maybe due to a Guatemalan aversion to emission controls and properly tuned engines.
San Pedro, the third volcano, directly across from Panajachel.
I'm staying in Panajachel for the excellent little restaurants and taking boat trips to the villages around the lake. There are also trails for hiking. More soon. I'll keep the black and white picture up for now.
Early yesterday morning.