Lake Atitlan: The next Big Thing!
From Antigua I took a shuttle for 150 Q, because otherwise I had to take 4 different chicken busses to get to the lake. I don’t like to log around my bags like that, so I paid for the convenience. We arrived in Panajachel, the main town on the lake.
Panajachel is full of souvenir shops and restaurants. It really does just tailor to tourists, because it is a great starting point to explore around the lake. From the public beach you have a great view over the lake and the surrounding volcanoes. From here you can take a boat tour or a watertaxi to explore the other towns around the lake.
But first I took advantage of the proximity of the chicken busses to go to Chichicastenango. First we got on a chickenbus to Sololá, then one to Los Encuentros and finally a van to Chichicastenango. We paid a total of 17 Quetzales for 1.5 hours on the bus. Thursdays and Sundays, this mountain village is transformed into Central America's largest artisan market, where you'll find pottery, colorful textiles, carved wooden masks, flowers, incense and other Mayan goods for sale.
It’s one of the largest outdoor markets in Latin America, not only Guatemala’s biggest and best market, but also its most historic. Halfway through our visit we refueled at the Villa Cofrades Coffee shop that is located inside the covered market.
A less obvious stop along our way, was the cemetery of this town, which has the reputation of being one of the most colorful cemeteries in the world. You can see how Mayan traditions are intertwined with Christian ones and I like seeing how different people around the world commemorate their loved ones. Once we made it back to the market it was time for lunch and I can gladly say the food was safe! We then headed back to where the bus dropped us off to take the busses back to Pana.
