"Lake Atitlan is simply too much of a good thing.  It touches the limit of permissibly picturesque - the most beautiful lake in the world"
-Brave New World English novelist, Aldous Huxley

This would be our third trip to Lake Atitlan, but Sarah and I had never seen it quite like this.  After school on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we took a shuttle with Paul and Kati to Antigua.  We checked into the beautiful Hotel Casa Azul before heading to Red's.  This is where we had watched the Michigan State game, so we knew they one, sold Captain, and two, had internet access so we could make our football pool picks.  After a good Italian meal we got some rest for our big adventure trip to Lake Atitlan.

During an earlier trip to Antigua, Sarah and I stumbled upon an adventure company called Old Town Outfitters.  Their trips sounded amazing, so we immediately planned on taking at least 4 different trips.  The Atitlan "Pedal and Paddle" is their signature trip, and our first experience with them did not disappoint!

After a quick breakfast and coffee at Sarah's favorite coffee shop on earth, we went to the shop and picked out our bikes and gear.  We loaded up the bikes with Luisa, our guide, and her brother Oscar.  Oscar had the unfortunate seat with the bikes in the back of the truck.  We drove to within 25 miles of the main town on the lake, Panajachel.  Unloading the bikes, we prepared for stage 1 of our "triathalon."  Down below we could see our destination:  "the most beautiful lake in the world!"  During our first two trips to the Lake, the water was very gray due to rainy season.  However, this time it was back to the brilliant blue with the sun glistening on the water and the 3 powerful volcanoes cleary looming.  For more facts on the formation of the lake, see the entry about our trip in September.



The 25 mile ride into Panajachel was mostly downhill - my kind of triathalon!  Even though we dropped 2,000 feet, the ride had its fair share of uphill climbs, which Sarah enjoyed much more than I did.  We road through fields of corn and remote villages, forested areas and steep, winding, mountain roads.  Cruising downhill on the curvy road made me want to check out some of their other mountain bike trips.  The hardest part was keeping our eyes on the road, which meant resisting the temptation to gaze at the impossibly beautiful scene to our left. 



The road was fairly quiet, as it was thankfully not the main road into Panajachel.  As we passed two police officers on the side of the road, our guide asked them to follow us down just to be safe.  This addition to Oscar trailing us in the truck was pretty nice - our own police escort!  We stopped for lunch, and our guides made fresh veggie pitas and a tasty cookie/cream cheese/banana combo for dessert.  Perfect.  As we coasted into Pana, Luisa wanted to stop by a hotel to confirm a reservation for another trip, which meant one final killer uphill climb.  No chain!  I definitely would not have made it up had I not read Lance Armstrong's It's not about the Bike (highly recommended).

From Panajachel we took a public boat to our isolated lake-side hotel, arguably the most magnificent hotel on the lake.  Casa Del Mundo is perched on a secluded cliff with gorgeous views of the the three volcanoes on the other side of the lake.  After checking in, we had some time to relax before dinner.  Sitting on the balcony, staring at the volcanoes as the sun set, Paul commented on how it seemed as though you can feel the powerful energy emanating from deep inside the earth.  It was definitely a rare moment of clarity as we completely lost ourselves in God's artwork - opening the doors wide for true grace to pour in.

Every evening all the tables are pushed together at 6:30 pm, as all hotel visitors eat together.  We were happy to find out the night's menu included turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.  We had our Thanksgiving meal afterall!  On the drive, Luisa had called the hotel to let them know we would be using the hot tub.  This gave them plenty of time to stoke the wood-burning furnace that heated the water.  Our hot soak was a perfect end to an unforgettable Thanksgiving Day.

After watching the spectacular sunrise and fueling up with a tasty breakfast in the morning, we prepared for stage 2 of the "triathalon" - kayaking.  Although my "clown feet" (as Sarah calls them) didn't exactly fit comfortably inside the kayak, we had a enjoyable 90-minute paddle to the village of San Marcos. 



Near the village, we had some time to kill before the boat came to pick up our kayaks and deliver our hiking gear.  So the girls swam around a bit while Paul and I climbed up the rocky cliff and found a good jumping point.  Estimated at 35 feet, it seemed much higher when you got to the top - especially when you looked down through the clear water and see the rocks close to shore that must be cleared to avoid a slightly unpleasant landing.  I had Paul go first to "test it out."  After a fun and safe landing, we took flight for one more adrenaline rush.



The 2-hour hike (stage 3) back to the hotel provided a fun, somewhat challenging trail, with almost more vistas than we could handle.  Sensory overload.  After one particularly long uphill climb, which was thoroughly enjoyed by our guide and Sarah, Kati humorously answered Luisa's enthusiastic question: "How was that?!".... "Sucky!" 

We arrived back at the hotel and decided to hold out for lunch at our favorite pizza place back in Panajachel.  By the time we showered, waited for a public boat, and switched the bikes to a different vehicle, our "lunch" was at 5:00 pm.  The 5 of us devoured 3 pizzas, but it was much earned after playing hard at Atitlan.

The dark, winding mountain drive back to Antigua was somewhat of an adventure, but Luisa did a great job navigating.  We returned to Casa Azul for a night before going back to Old Town for another trip on Saturday morning.  This time it was a low-key bike ride out of town to a coffee farm and museum.  Did you know one coffee tree only produces 40 cups per year?  The farm was interesting, especially for coffee junkies like Paul and Kati, but riding through the busy cobblestone streets of Antigua was not quite as exhilarating as speeding downhill into Pana. 

The rest of the day was spent shopping in Antigua's famous artisan market.  Paul and I decided to give the girls a head start, so we hung out at a Thai restaurant for a while.  Skip lunch to shop?  I think not.  We eventually met up with the girls and had more than our fair share of shopping before staking out a seat, one hour before kickoff at the ND Alumni Club of Guatemala gamewatch.  We sat on the edge of our seat in fervent anticipation for the chance to prove against USC that........ and you know the rest of the story.  Before catching our shuttle back to Guatemala City, Paul was forced to smoke the Cuban he bought earlier in the day, not as a victory cigar, but rather in celebration of an epic 9-day adventure in Guatemala that won't soon be forgotten by the visitors, nor the hosts. 

We can't thank you enough, Paul and Kati, for choosing to spend your hard-earned vacation with us.

Guate-Amala!