Lake Atitlan

For a special treat we went over to Lake Atitlan, one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. This calm lake sits under the shadow of several massive volcanoes and has picturesque traditional Guatemalan towns all around the waters edge. As a present from the Spreckleys and Bairds (thanks guys!) we stayed in a lovely stone cottage (complete with cosy open fire) in the town of Santiago and spent some time relaxing in the hot tub, wood fired sauna (followed by cooling jumps into the lake) before heading into the restaurant for delicious traditional food cooked with home grown ingredients.

Taking a tour around Santiago which is known as much for its beautiful embroidered clothing worn by the locals as it is for the history and character. Our guide (an 8 year old local boy) showed us the sights which included a visit to the house of Maximon, the local Mayan saint famous for smoking and drinking! He moves house every year which shares out the wealth generated through charging for pictures with this weird wooden statue.

Its hard to believe that less than 20 years ago this tiny town was the site of a revolutionary massacre of over 100 people. Many taking refuge in the local church, for which the priest was shot in the main square!

Last but not least we need to mention the swimming dog, taking a kayak out onto the lake about 500m from the shore we saw a dog swimming across the lake, we followed to try and help him, but after signalling some locals we realised he was just having some fun...