Guatemala | Boating Around Lake Atitlan

With a lake the size of Lake Atitlan and mostly dirt roads encircling it, it's either a 20 - 30 minute boat ride to the small towns along the lake or several hours in a bumpy car ride. We opted for the boat. Each town along Lake Atitlan has a distinct quality and justifies a visit.

Panajachel

Panajachel, a back-backer type of town, is the main jumping off point for the lake. It's the most direct town from Guatemala City and a main boat terminal. It's filled with shops, stands, restaurants and bars. Along the waterfront are a series of plastic chair-style bars with views of the lake. Down side streets are market-style stands with leather goods, textiles and trinkets. While in Panajachel we stopped in for lunch at El Patio and because it was a Monday were able to have the house specialty, a Caldo de Pollo (chicken soup) with vegetables and fresh tortillas. Maybe the best meal of the week and only a few dollars.

 

Santiago

First up was Santiago at the south side of the island. This is one of the largest villages on the lake and we went to walk through the traditional Mayan Sunday market. It was astonishing! Not only were we the only non-Mayans at the market, we were probably the only people over 5 feet tall. We were giants! The market had a great energy and people hardly noticed we were there. On our way out I stopped at one of the galleries on the main road and took home some art from the gallery owner.

 

San Juan

Next we stopped in San Juan, a smaller town known for art galleries though it was hard to know why. We wandered through the open-aired market, stopped into an artisan collective at the top of the hill and explored some of the streets before taking back off on the boat. This was the stop that I was most looking forward to and was surprisingly the least favorite of the day.

 

San Marcos

Our last stop was San Marcos, a yoga/backpacker enclave that was completely unexpected. It had a Bali vibe to it and people were out and about. On a recommendation we checked out Lush Hotel but unfortunately had missed the breakfast. The property is gorgeous. It's filled with tropical plants against whitewashed buildings. We walked the sole street in San Marcos, explored some of the back alleys covered in lush jungle foliage and had a light seafood meal on the water.