Adventures in Atitlán Day 1: San Lucas Tolimán
After years of hearing how wonderful Atitlán is, I finally had the opportunity to see for myself!
Lake Atitlán, located in the Sololá Department of Guatemala is one of, if not the most beautiful and well known attraction of the country’s entire Western Highlands region. About 50 square miles of surface area, the lake was formed many years ago from a collapsed volcano.
It is surrounded by a number of settlements and villages, and I’ve heard it’s technically possible (though not advised) to drive all the way around it; due to road conditions, however, it would take around 8 hours.
That said, travel is made much easier and faster through a system of water taxis (lanchas) that run back and forth to the various settlements. In addition to being breathtakingly gorgeous, the area around the lake is rich in traditional Mayan culture and tourist-friendly.
The 12 primary villages are named after the 12 apostles and each is known for something unique. During our trip, we stayed in San Lucas and made day trips to San Pedro La Laguna, and Panajachel.
Our “host” drying his coffee on the hotel roof
Day 1 of a wonderful Atitlán adventure began with the most important part of any trip…finding a good coffee shop!
Café Jade did not disappoint and immediately became part of the daily agenda!
After “caffeinating,” we went for a walk along the lower cove of the lake where there's a playground for children and a clever laundry center…3 actually… which the Rotary club installed to promote lake conservation. (As seen in the photos, there’s a significant algae problem.)
Unfortunately, many people continue to use the lake for washing their clothes and some even for bathing.
Walking along the lake, we saw students heading home for lunch break spent long enough walking around, taking pictures and playing with some small children along the trail that we caught the same group of students on their way back.
I think we must have looked very out of place in their village because there was a lot of staring and giggling!
After a BIG climb back to the top of town, we had lunch then went for a lovely scenic drive.
Above: Overlooking San Lucas Tolimán Below: This picturesque area along the road offers some beautiful views, even on a hazy day.
A colorful walk around town
Walking along the waterfront…
I was whisked into a vendor’s stall, dressed in a suit of typical attire, then required to model it.
Especially nice touch those shoes and jeans showing below the skirt…Hahaha!
After an evening stroll through the central park, it was time to grab a few hours of sleep in preparation for a super early start to Day 2!
