El Lago

For the last few days I've been enjoying a little lakeside relaxation. After the chicken buses, I checked into a fantastic little place in Panajachel. I feel a little guilty....I had a private hot shower and cable TV (I even watched Oprah on Monday!). The lake is absolutely breathtaking. There's no way for a piss-poor writer like myself to describe the unbelievable beauty of it...every viewpoint, every time of day.

On Monday evening while trying my damnedest to get the perfect sunset shot, I met Manav and Amit. They're Indian but have lived in NYC for the last 5 years.....and were traveling through Guate for a couple of weeks. I have to mention them specifically because their stories were so hilarious. They had rented a motorbike in Antigua and set out to Atitlan and then were going to drive across the entire country to Flores and Tikal (about 10 hours non-stop). In their first day they had already blown a tire and lost their brakes. Their story was really more of a farce based upon the motorcycle diaries but without any kind of philosophical, change the world kind of politics. They had also been ripped off for some really bad weed in Pana. They were just damn funny guys. I really hope they make it to Flores...I'd like to catch up with them on Friday.

Back to my exploration of the lake....So far, I've been to Pana (pretty much a tourist hole), the market in Solola (really fantastic - all of the locals come into town for market day dressed in their traditional clothing- authentic in comparison to others), an afternoon in Santiago Atitlan (a boatride across the lake - Also a hole) and now I'm in San Pedro. Pedro is a big stoner, backpacker hang out. While the views of the lake are fantastic, the town in general is gringo-ville and everywhere you turn you get the hard sell for something. Later today I'm off to San Marcos and then back to Pana for the night (and the nice hotel-oh the guilt!) Tomorrow I leave the highlands to go back to Antigua....I'm kind of looking forward to it.