Lago de Atitlan

We arrived late on Friday night into Antigua de Guatemala - and the lovely Hotel Aurora. After breakfast, we strolled out to the market before catching a shuttle to Panajachel, the largest town on Lake Atitlan - a large volcanic lake in the Guatemalan Highlands. The ride was the typical "minibus" trip - a large Hyundai or Toyota van with every seat taken, driven faster than my comfort level on winding mountain roads - nearly identical to one we took in Thailand. Only tourists can afford minibus trips, so we shared the ride with a Bavarian, 2 Italians, a gringo of unknown origins (he didn"t go to the lake, so he may be ex-pat) and another American couple.

Aside from the aforementioned gringo, we all got off at the docks to catch a launch to one of the many lakeside towns and resorts. Lisa and I paid for a private boat (suckers) to get to La Casa del Mundo - easily one of the most beautiful places either of us has ever been, The hotel is the only game in town, so everyone has dinner there, ensuring interesting conversation and comparing of notes on travels here and elsewhere. Lisa reserved the hottub after dinner, so we sat underneath the very dark sky and saw more stars than I knew existed. The tub was made on site- a wood burning stove stuck in the middle of a small pool - smells of oak rather than chlorine - i may try to duplicate someday (probably harder than it looks).

An incredible place to spend a weekend