Month: February 2020

Lingering Lakeside

Posted on by Schalonda

Lake Atitlán, GuatemalA

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San Pedro La Laguna

One of the things I wanted to do more of during my travels was yoga. I imagined that I’d spend weeks or months immersed in yoga and meditation, like a true tree-hugging, woo woo yogi. While researching Guatemala, I learned that Lake Atitlán might be a place to start if I wanted to make that dream come true. As it turned out, a week at yoga camp was too pricey for my budget and while volunteer opportunities are available at some of the retreats, they’re not something you can find last minute.

Even though I wouldn’t be immersed in hippy training, I couldn’t pass up a lake visit, the pictures were too beautiful. Atitlán is not a singular destination, it’s a magnificent lake surrounded by a dozen different cities, towns and indigenous villages, both large and small.
I stayed in the “party” town of San Pedro for a week, traveling to the hippy village of San Marcos and the more touristy Panajachel by boat.

My first few days were spent roaming the woods of San Marcos with my new friend and fellow Sumpango kite festival attendee. Together we hiked to the Yoga Forest for an ashtanga yoga class and kirtan song ceremony. A spectacular view of the lake, volcanos and jungle with the sun setting behind them made a flawless backdrop for my yogi dream.

When my friend headed back to Philly, I spent the next few days roving the lake towns on my own. Grabbing a lancha to Panajachel for a day trip, investigating the short trails of the San Marcos nature reserve, up at 5am for an Indian Nose hike to watch the sunrise, followed by some worthy wandering of San Pedros streets to discover the charming Parque Puerta Hermosa.

Between Flores, Antigua and Lake Atitlán, I spent over five weeks in Guatemala. I felt especially comfortable in Antigua so thoughts of putting it behind me to get back on the road were joined by anxiety and fear. However, if I was to see to South America anytime soon, I would need move on. I can’t stay in Guatemala forever so I booked a shuttle for my next stop, El Tunco, El Salvador.

Ambling Around Antigua

Posted on by Schalonda

Antigua, Guatemala

I arrived in Antigua, Guatemala on October 9th with an intention to stay a while but with no real ideas about how long or what I wanted to do or see while there. I just knew that at some point, plans would need to be made for what came after Guatemala.

I spent my first day enjoying the cool temperature and getting some sleep after the long journey from Flores. On day two or three, I can’t remember, I discovered that November
1st was All Saints’ Day & Day of the Dead in Guatemala and I might not want to miss the traditional kite festival, so I decide I would stay and attend. This might also be when I decided that i’d visit Lake Atitlán after the kite festival.

Between my arrival date and November 1st, I spent a lot of time walking the cobble stone streets, taking pictures of church ruins, looking for cheap restaurants, searching for cafe’s with good WiFi, bakeries with chocolate croissants and generally doing a whole lot of nothing. October is rainy season in Antigua so I enjoyed lots of time staying warm and dry in my AirBNB enjoying books, drawing and watching Netflix.

Besides hunting for ruins, WiFi and pastries, there was that time my travel buddy and I hiked a volcano (see Fresh Wounds), another time I satisfied my creative appetite with an outstanding watercolor class and finally, there was the half day I spent at the kite festival in Sumpango, a highlight of my time in Antigua. I enjoyed my first picocita, Guatemala’s version of the michelada, I learned about the pre-columbian tradition of building and flying giant, vibrantly colored kites, I witnessed family members of the departed clean and decorate gravesites, I got a few impressive kite close ups and I got to spend the day with some really nice people, including a Philadelphia native that I would soon hike to a Yoga Forrest with.