Everyone who we mentioned our Guatemala trip to had told us to visit Lake Atitlan, and so off we went. Getting lanchas across the lake to access the various towns along its shores was an adventure in itself as the lake is 130km²! Many towns are still populated by the Mayans so we heard snippets of indigenous languages and noticed the women in their traditional dress. It was also on the lake that we found out our brother got into Cardiff Uni to study Mechanical Engineering so Rhys well done!
We stayed in these cosy tipis on the side of the lake, with amazing views of the three volcanoes and the whole lake spread before us. Each night we had a family dinner which was really social and Beth enjoyed meeting her new best friend, the puppy. We woke up early to do standup paddle boarding for sunrise which was incredibly serene. We had the lake all to ourselves as we set off in the moonlight, the sky gradually turning blue as we sat in the middle of it all. I also tried morning yoga which was surprisingly relaxing and it was good to stretch out after days of doing absolutely nothing.
We travelled to the market at Chichicastenango which sprawled across the streets of this town twice a week, displaying all sorts of produce. It was busy but we managed to haggle for some textiles before grabbing a quick rice and beans for lunch. The next day we caught the boat to San Marcos for the cliff jump, which was actually 10m high but so much fun. The best technique was to go for the pencil jump in an attempt to stop anything from whacking the surface. All in all, the lake was worth the hype and the view never ceased to amaze us.
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