Lake Atitlan: first stop Guatemala

After leaving San Cristobal I had intended to make two more stops in Mexico before departing, but since 7/7 of the group were all moving to Lake Atitlan, Guatemala next, I thought I'd appreciate travelling with a group for some time.

Crossing the border was fortunately stress free and after a 13 hour bus ride, we arrived in Panajachel, the largest town on the lake. We then need to take a private boat taxi across to a small town, Santa Cruz.

On my first day in Santa Cruz I wander into the town to realise there was nothing here. Fortunately, that wasn't the selling point for the lake. The lake was a picturesque location surrounded by inactive volcanos and mountainous landscapes.

While I stayed in an adjacent hostel, the group I travelled with stayed at an aptly named hostel, Free Cervesa (beer). Every evening if you sign up for their family dinner consisting of 3 courses for the price of £8, you get 2 hours of unlimited beer before the meal.

Atitlan was a lovely place to chill by the lake. I spent most of my time reading in hammocks and enjoying the odd Cervesa.

Here I also got my first take for serious hiking. We hiked San Pedro volcano, a 3 hour, continual uphill climb in 30° weather with 2 hours back down. I only brought a litre of water so this was a genuine struggle, but without doubt worth it.Read more