Antigua (see previous entry) was shaped by a long history of volcanic activity. That holds even more true for the next destination: the majestic Lago de Atitlan. The lake used to be a volcano. Literally. Now it's a 8 by 14km wide hole, that goes 300 meters under normal ground levels. So what happened? In the words of Matt of Matt Geo Tours: Geology! 85.000 years ago a massive volcanic eruption left the surface so unstable, that the cauldrum of the volcano imploded. The result was a massive sinkhole. This sinkhole filled with water, and there we have it: a beautiful lake at 1500m altitude, surrounded by volcanoes.
None of the volcanoes surrounding the lake are particularly active. At least not in the obvious way. There is no Fuego here. However, that does not mean there is no risk to the people living here. Exactly because they are so dormant, they are understudied. There are little to no plans are in place in case one of the volcanoes decides it's ready to rumble. During our stay neither San Pedro nor Atitlan or Toliman gave any sign of life. Let's keep it that way. As it is, the combination of the lake and its volcanoes make for a very pretty picture.
As peaceful and majestic as the lake itself is, the first impression is anything but. Instead of one major town, Atitlan has several small ones. Panajachal ('Pana') is the main from a tourist perspective. As the earliest of the villages to recognise the added (monetary) value of temporary residents, the town is flooded year round by travellers. Most of them are Americans. This influx of tourists also makes Pana almost impossible to avoid, as its popularity makes it the destination for most shuttles and busses. Truth be told, the view from the docks is nice. Otherwise it's either full of shops selling Guatever and Guat's up-shirts or restaurants that try to lure you in with the cheapest cervezas. We gave it another chance after initially passing through it. But even then we left quite soon. I would probably avoid it if I'd ever return.
Knowing Pana's reputation beforehand, we instead opted to stay in San Juan La Laguna. Both in terms of location (opposite side of the lake) and atmosphere (tranquil) it's the counterweight of our initial point of arrival. Though there are roads, travel around the lake is mostly done by boat. More specifically by lancha, a sort of oversized passenger-speedboat. They run regularly as long as there's light, though traffic gets less in the late afternoon. Regularly here does not mean they have a schedule. How regularly they run depends on how fast the captains can fill the boat. If you're the first to get into a lancha, it may be a while before you actually get anywhere. And what you think as full, may not be full in the eyes of the one who in 'commanding' the ship. There's almost always room for more, so scoot!
The captains are said to be somewhat of a shady bunch. We can confirm. When taking the boat back from Santiago to San Juan, things got a little 'unclear' in San Pedro, the stop before ours. Since San Pedro is more touristy than San Juan, everybody had left the boat but us. Though we agreed beforehand in 50 quetzales, the price jumped to 75 when he realised he had to make the five minute trip to San Juan just for us. It took some haggling to get the 'captain' to bring us - reluctantly - to San Juan at the agreed price. It's minor, but it gives a glimpse into the mindset of those operating the boat system at Lago de Atitlan.
There is little you can do though. Though San Pedro was a short tuktuk-ride away, other towns on the lake shore were harder or even impossible to reach without using the lanchas. And it is worth it to visit the other towns. Each is a different mix of locals with different Maya heritages and customs, and visitors looking for a certain vibe. San Pedro for example is a sort of Pana light. More relaxed, but distinctly touristic. Santiago is a step further towards normality. The docks are dotted with stands selling the usual, but further into town it feels more genuine than Pana or SP. San Marco is an odd one. As a hippy hotspot, it attracts the most eccentric visitors. At the same time the vibe is relaxed. The small streets and lush nature give it a certain charm. Locals and tourists mix in a sort of mutual understanding, giving one plenty of options in terms of food, activities and accommodation. All of this is of course only based on a few hours in each town. Maybe party place San Pedro would grow on me, while the shakras of San Marco would drive me to madness.
To put it all into perspective, we climbed the so called 'Indian Nose'. On this relatively low mountain peak you can see the entire lake area plus the line of eight volcanoes that shaped the region. This is where the aforementioned Matt of Matt Geo Tours comes in (sorry Matt, I don't know your last name). As much a passionate geologist as a guide, Matt actually gave us a lecture on how the lake came to be and how plate tectonics works. If you're reading this and plan to stay at Lago de Atitlan, be sure to book a tour.
Next stop: Quetzaltenango or Xela for short. And that's 'sheela' not 'kseela'. Took me ages to get that right.
Lago de Atitlan as seen from the Pana docks Crossing the water is one infamous lanchas.
The view from the lanchas: volcanoes!
None of the volcanoes surrounding the lake are particularly active. At least not in the obvious way. There is no Fuego here. However, that does not mean there is no risk to the people living here. Exactly because they are so dormant, they are understudied. There are little to no plans are in place in case one of the volcanoes decides it's ready to rumble. During our stay neither San Pedro nor Atitlan or Toliman gave any sign of life. Let's keep it that way. As it is, the combination of the lake and its volcanoes make for a very pretty picture.
As peaceful and majestic as the lake itself is, the first impression is anything but. Instead of one major town, Atitlan has several small ones. Panajachal ('Pana') is the main from a tourist perspective. As the earliest of the villages to recognise the added (monetary) value of temporary residents, the town is flooded year round by travellers. Most of them are Americans. This influx of tourists also makes Pana almost impossible to avoid, as its popularity makes it the destination for most shuttles and busses. Truth be told, the view from the docks is nice. Otherwise it's either full of shops selling Guatever and Guat's up-shirts or restaurants that try to lure you in with the cheapest cervezas. We gave it another chance after initially passing through it. But even then we left quite soon. I would probably avoid it if I'd ever return.
Knowing Pana's reputation beforehand, we instead opted to stay in San Juan La Laguna. Both in terms of location (opposite side of the lake) and atmosphere (tranquil) it's the counterweight of our initial point of arrival. Though there are roads, travel around the lake is mostly done by boat. More specifically by lancha, a sort of oversized passenger-speedboat. They run regularly as long as there's light, though traffic gets less in the late afternoon. Regularly here does not mean they have a schedule. How regularly they run depends on how fast the captains can fill the boat. If you're the first to get into a lancha, it may be a while before you actually get anywhere. And what you think as full, may not be full in the eyes of the one who in 'commanding' the ship. There's almost always room for more, so scoot!
The captains are said to be somewhat of a shady bunch. We can confirm. When taking the boat back from Santiago to San Juan, things got a little 'unclear' in San Pedro, the stop before ours. Since San Pedro is more touristy than San Juan, everybody had left the boat but us. Though we agreed beforehand in 50 quetzales, the price jumped to 75 when he realised he had to make the five minute trip to San Juan just for us. It took some haggling to get the 'captain' to bring us - reluctantly - to San Juan at the agreed price. It's minor, but it gives a glimpse into the mindset of those operating the boat system at Lago de Atitlan.
There is little you can do though. Though San Pedro was a short tuktuk-ride away, other towns on the lake shore were harder or even impossible to reach without using the lanchas. And it is worth it to visit the other towns. Each is a different mix of locals with different Maya heritages and customs, and visitors looking for a certain vibe. San Pedro for example is a sort of Pana light. More relaxed, but distinctly touristic. Santiago is a step further towards normality. The docks are dotted with stands selling the usual, but further into town it feels more genuine than Pana or SP. San Marco is an odd one. As a hippy hotspot, it attracts the most eccentric visitors. At the same time the vibe is relaxed. The small streets and lush nature give it a certain charm. Locals and tourists mix in a sort of mutual understanding, giving one plenty of options in terms of food, activities and accommodation. All of this is of course only based on a few hours in each town. Maybe party place San Pedro would grow on me, while the shakras of San Marco would drive me to madness.
To put it all into perspective, we climbed the so called 'Indian Nose'. On this relatively low mountain peak you can see the entire lake area plus the line of eight volcanoes that shaped the region. This is where the aforementioned Matt of Matt Geo Tours comes in (sorry Matt, I don't know your last name). As much a passionate geologist as a guide, Matt actually gave us a lecture on how the lake came to be and how plate tectonics works. If you're reading this and plan to stay at Lago de Atitlan, be sure to book a tour.
Next stop: Quetzaltenango or Xela for short. And that's 'sheela' not 'kseela'. Took me ages to get that right.
View from the San Juan docks. Waiting here wasn't the worst!
The 'Indian nose' which is actually an Indian's face. Highest point is the nose, to the left is the eye socket. Yes, you need an active imagination.
Lago de Atitlan from Indian's nose. Literally from on top of the nose.
Lago de Atitlan's water levels have been rising in the last few years. Not everyone expected that.
In San Pedro, Jesus is the man.
In San Juan just a man.
Guatemala has loads of coffee plantations. The altitude (+1500m), climate and fertile volcano ash soil make for some excellent coffee. Above is the berry, below the drying of the seeds.
Our last view of the lake on our way to Xela!
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten