My new love.... Lago Atitlan

Yes, it's true. I've fallen in love again. Who wouldn't fall in love with this?
On Saturday Dave and I did a full-day tour to Lago Atitlan (Lake Atitlan). The lake is near the middle of Guatemala, so we had a two-hour bus ride there and back. It's a very large lake surrounded by mountains and three volcanoes. Many people say it's one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I would have to agree.

We visited four pueblos along the lake. To give you an idea of just how big it is, the boat ride from one pueblo to the next took at least one hour each time. I was once again quite dismayed when Dave fell asleep rather than admiring the beauty surrounding us. :)
Lago Atitlan is a tourist destination, so we were surrounded by European tourists and Guatemalans trying to sell things. It was difficult for both of us to handle the begging, especially when it was children. It's also much warmer at the lake than it is in Xela, which was refreshing. We had sunshine until about noon and then the clouds began to set in. You'll be able to see the difference in the photos from early and later in the day. The tour began in Panajachel.
We traveled via boat to San Pedro, which is a very interesting little town. Pedro called it a hippie town, and it was easy to see why. There were hippie-looking people all over! He also told me that I would have no problem finding drugs in San Pedro (not that I was looking for them!). He said to be careful in the cafes because there would be a piece of cake for Q18 and a special piece of cake for Q20. We successfully avoided any drugs during the visit!
The volcano next to San Pedro has very rich soil that is used to grow coffee. You might be able to see some of the fields in this photo. (Click on it for a larger image.) We were able to learn a little about the coffee production.
The next stop was Santiago. The Guatemalans here were very pushy with trying to sell things, so this was not my favorite stop.
One cool thing about Santiago, though, was that I was able to see the memorial stone for Stanley Rother. He was a Catholic missionary to the pueblo during the civil war and was killed by rebel forces. The Guatemalans in the area consider him a martyr. I read a book about him, so it was cool to actually see the site.
We bought a coconut from a man and I drank the water/milk inside of it. Here he is cutting the top open, and me drinking it.
The final stop before returning to Panajachel was San Antonio. This was my favorite stop, and it was also the most rural. We visited a local family who weaves for a living. I bought a small scarf and was able to take a picture of the woman who made it. The soil is not as rich in San Antonio, so the people harvest onion, rather than coffee. The whole town smelled like onion, which I thought was cool because I love onions!

Here's a photo of our boat
Look at the shoreline to see the Mayan women doing their laundry in the lake
And a few other random photos from the day
Here's a little bit from Dave:
Ok today we went to lake atitlan. it was amazing. it wasnt as big as lake michigan but it took an hour and a half boat ride to get across to the city on the other side. i fell asleep. the city was cool. we saw the machine to get the bean out of the coffee. very cool. the only downside was that we kept getting begged upon and they wouldnt take no for an answer no matter how many times you said it. one woman i think was very angry with me. i may be under a curse. im not sure but she was very angry.