This past weekend I ventured out to one of Guatemala's fine attractions, which had me on a 3:30 AM shuttle directly west from Antigua to Lake Atitlan. After a friendly 3 hour drive with my friend/driver, Nari, who works for a transportation service that Habitat for Humanity often uses with out volunteer groups, I arrived to Panajanchel, a small town located on the lake.
Before catching my ferry across the lake to the small town of San Pedro, I was confused by the knocking noise I heard around me as I stood in the hotel parking lot where my driver and I stopped to pick up a group of Habitat Volunteers. At 6:30 AM not even the sun had fully risen, so I was rather surprised to hear anyone up and about. Sure enough perched atop a parked car I found our culprit not more than 20 feet away from me...
The lake is an absolute wonder. Surrounding the clear waters are 3 volcanoes: Volcan San Pedro, Volcan Toliman, and of course Volcan Atitlan. I was lucky enough to catch my morning ferry across the lake as the sun was beginning to rise above the impressive lake and it's breathtaking background of volcanoes.
Not a bad way to start the morning...
I was fortunate to pass this nearly perfect weekend with nothing less than flawless weather. While initially taken aback a bit by the fact that there is not much more to do than lounge around the small town of San Pedro, I soon came to find out that this is exactly what we need more of in our lives. A lazy paddle to a beach across the lake in kayak, a casual stroll through the neighboring port town of Santiago, a friendly game of P-E-R-R-O (adaptation of the basketball's H-O-R-S-E) with a neighborhood kid, and a few cold beers while watching the Super Bowl was just what this gringo needed...
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