Santa Catarina Palopó

Panajachel, the village where we're staying, is the most touristy one around lake Atitlán. It is prefect to take advantage of the good infrastructure, restaurants and nightlife, and at the same time well connected to the more traditional villages.
Today we take a boat trip to two of those villages. In San Antonio Palopó we're welcomed by Olga, who speaks a rather simple Spanish (around the lakes, the languages most spoken are the Mayan dialects Kaqchikel and Tz'utujil). She gives us a tour through a ceramic workshop and a weaving mill. Both places are the opposite of spacious, but the workers don't mind is looking around and asking them questions. The weaving ladies even dress me in their traditional garb.
The second village we visit is Santa Catarina Palopó. It's a very simple village, but in a local campaign all the houses are being repainted. Some of this effort is already visible today.Read more