Our trip to Pana and Lake Atitlán

We get out of school each Friday at 10:00 so that we can get out on the road to one of the many places to visit in Guatemala.  This week as soon as we were done we hopped on the bus and headed to Panajachel and Lake Atitlán.  We were lucky, and caught the best busses EVER getting there!  They weren´t crowded at all, and we all had seats.  What a miracle!

You come down the side of a mountain and Lake Atitlán comes into view.  It is spectacular!  It is surrounded by three volcanos - San Pedron, Toliman, and Atitlán. President Kimball once said that Lake Atitlán is the site of the Waters of Mormon, and it is well known as the most beautiful lake in the world.  This is what you see as you come down the mountain: 

The afternoon was absolutely beautiful, so we hired a boat to take us out to one of the pueblo´s on the other side of the Lake, Santiago. 

The ride was amazing, the view was spectacular, and the weather was perfect!  It only cost us about twenty dollars each, sooooo worth it!

The pueblo of Santiago is really cool!  It is a very old pueblo, and only 10% speak Spanish.  The other 90% still speak one of the ancient mayan languages, though I can´t tell you which one!  

We wandered the streets of Santiago, saw the oldest church in Central America, and even met Moximan, an incredibly popular idol on Santiago.  They move him every year for his protection, and you have to hire someone to help you find him.  You also have to pay for a picture.  The offer him lots of beer and cigars, if you look closely in this picture he is smoking.  It was a very odd experience.  We call this our ¨Family Picture¨.  It makes me laugh every time I see it!

Just like most days in this beautifully green land, the sky opened and we got DRENCHED before we could get off of Santiago.

We all huddled under Krista´s umbrella (super grateful that she had bought it just an hour before) while we waited for our boat to come around. 

Even in the rain, the lake is absolutely phenomenal!

 When we got back to Panajachel the rain had stopped enough that we could wander the streets and take advantage of the market that goes along the sides of the streets.  It was great!

We found a cheap hostel to spend the night at.  You always ask to see the rooms before you decide if you will stay there or not.  I walked into the bathrrom, looked around and asked ¨Where is the shower?¨ Krista started cracking up because the shower was DIRECTLY over my head, you just couldn´t see it where I was (And there is no such thing as a shower stall!).  Hence the picture.  I felt like such a dork!