A beautiful lake endangered by pollution

Sometimes things are just that easy: we had agreed to meet our friend Eleonore in the Central Plaza from Antigua. Her flight from Ecuador via Panama was to arrive late morning in Guatemala City and she was taking a bus to Antigua. After checking, her flights were on time and she made it to destination around the time we anticipated. She just entered the cafe where we were waiting for her. Last time we saw her was at our wedding about a year and a half ago and like with all good friends, it seems to be yesterday. After she ensured us that she was not tired, we decided to leave that day to Lago de Atlitlan and spend the weekend there together.

A mysterious algae in the once crystal blue water

Nested between three volcanoes and the result of a huge volcanic explosion a long long time ago, even before Guatemala was a country, Lago de Atitlan is a picture perfect site, where you can visit little villages around the rim of the lake. The only unfortunate thing is that a few weeks ago, a brown/green algae started invading the lake, making it a much less picture perfect site. We got different stories about the origin of the pollution, like the sewer waters of the towns around the lake, or a factory that opened a couple of years ago and was dumping chemicals in the lake or a bacteria. Whatever the real story is, we felt a little pinch in our hearts when we saw the nasty color of the lake in addition to a non pleasant smell when we got closer to the lake. The government is working on cleaning the lake, with the help of international organizations but it will take a while, about 2 years we heard, to clean such a big amount of water.The site was still incredible under the blue sky; we were looking forward to taking a taxi boat and visiting some of the little Mayan towns bordering the lake. We just hoped we could know more or better to help giving back to this place its original state.

After walking down the main street of Panajachel, we reached the water taxi station and took the first boat that would take us to San Antonio. The air was warm, the sun bright and we enjoyed the views of the nearby volcanoes during our 40 minute boat ride. San Antonio was actually a little disappointing as it was mainly a single street for tourists with a less than clean rest of the town where there was really not much to do. Since we were not really here to buy souvenirs (and there was a lot of nice arts and craft but we just don't have the space), we decided to head to the next town after a quick and tasty taco lunch. The second town, San Pedro, was much nicer as we took a walk around through Papaya, Banana ans Onion fields. The place had also more of a traditional feel to it, where lots of people wear traditional clothes and the markets are fun places where you can buy all sorts of food and fruits. We spend a good amount of time walking in the streets, letting Eleonore get a feel for the country she just entered and for us, enjoying a different pace than in Antigua. We took one of the last boat back to Panajachel, taking the long route around the lake, that stops in all the other little villages. The surrounding mountains and volcanoes were lit by the bright and warm sunset light, providing the perfect touch to end a great day.

Welcome to the jungle...

Taking advantage of the rooftop of our hotel, the three of us opened a bottle of wine and relaxed while watching the city and surrounding mountains getting darker. It was such a rare moment to be shared amongst friends, who happened to be travelers at the same time for a year. We all felt blessed to have had the chance to undertake this adventure, talking about how the travel had changed us so far, opening our eyes to different perspectives, cultures and way of living. We talked about our best moments of the journey and some challenges we faced. This was the first time the two of us had a deep conversation with another traveler, and we felt we were not alone: traveling does open up your soul to something different and rare. It is a feeling hard to describe but that night, it was nice to hear an echo to our thoughts.

The next morning we started a hike to the nearby Parque de Atitlan. Originally a coffee plantation, the area was now also welcoming tourists to walk into the jungle covered mountain that was hosting the coffee trees. We followed the path into the deep green of the forest and arrived soon after at a monkey observation deck. The Spider Monkeys that were there put on quite a show for us: for half an hour, we watched them jumping from tree to tree, ascending and descending the trunks, and our favorite, the swinger monkey! For all the time we were there, admiring how fast and agile these guys were, he was rocking of a branch, back and forth, back and forth, with his arms or tail. It was so funny to watch that we had a hard time leaving to continue the hike. The rest of the park was beautiful alike, with suspended bridges to cross, a cascade, streams, lots of tropical flowers and colorful butterflies and of course the coffee trees. It was a jungle environment hiding a little marvel at each curve of the path. Reaching the top of the park, we got an amazing view of the entire lake and the volcanoes. Nothing could have been more rewarding for a hike in the hot weather.

We took the shuttle back to Antigua in the afternoon. On the way back, the girls talked some more while admiring the Guatemalan mountains. It was a nice break from the school routine, in a totally new place, especially shared with a friend. We were also looking forward to our last week of Spanish, all the more since Eleonore had decided to stay in the same family as us. We would be able to share all our meals with her for the upcoming week and spend some time together in the evening after the classes. A good way to close the Antigua chapter of our trip before heading to Honduras.