Have You Heard From Laura?

We decided on the chicken bus for the Saturday morning journey to Lago Atitlan. We first took a minivan to the the ´bus terminal´ in Xela. The bus terminal is located in a great market. The best I´ve seen in Guatemala so far. The bus terminal consists of a thousand old american school buses. We got seats on the 10am direct bus the Panajachel (aka Pana). I was apprehensive because of the long and painful trip from Antigua to Xela. Perhaps traveling on a Saturday is the key. They were not working on the road to Pana and their was no traffic. The bus was not crowded and it was a really great trip. We got into Pana early. Pana is the point of entry for Lago de Atitlan, a major attraction in Guatemala. It´s a large and beautiful lake formed inside a collapsed volcano. Really a stunning place.

They threw our backpacks down from the top of the bus and pointed in the direction of the dock where we caught a boat to take us to our hotel.

 We negociated the price of the launch trip and got on board. About 35 people piled into a boat ment for 20. I counted 10 life jackets. Oh well.

They dropped us at Isla Verde. It´s a bit of a gringo ecco chic place. Kind of upscale and rustic. Built by Anna (from Spain) over the last 4 years. We have direct access to the lake and because the proprty is so steep, we have tremendous views. At $60 pernight for a cabin with bath, this place is a bit overpriced, but that´s OK. I have a job to go back to that will pay for this stay.

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