Lake Atitlan – Hippie town and an extra few days in Antigua

It was time to move on after my longer stay in Antigua. I decided to follow the Gringo Trail and visit Lake Atitlan.

Lake Atitlan is a lake in a massive volcanic crater in Guatemala’s southwestern highlands. Ringed by steep hills, it’s known for its Mayan villages and volcanoes. It is home to a primarily indigenous community. If you’ve ever wondered what happened to the Mayans, it’s not that they disappeared — come to Lake Atitlan and you will be surrounded by them. And each town has its own signature style of clothing.

It is also home to more than a dozen different towns. Tiny villages, big cities, Gringo heavens, indigenous villages. Each place is so different from the last. Unfortunately I was not in a great place when I went to visit the lake. During my time travelling this has happened a couple of times. I just get to a point where I’m sick of always moving and sightseeing and all I want to do is curl up in my bed and watch Netflix.

So I found a nice sounding Hostel right at the Lake (it had its own pier) in the town of San Marcos. I choose this town because it is known for its hippie community. My hostel offered daily yoga classes and the whole town was all about healing and mindfulness. I have to be honest. I do like all this stuff, however San Marcos is the next level. All the people in town (the Non-Guatemalans) in-body what you imagine a hippie to look like. It was quite amusing for me to watch them all, because I thought the people looked like they were wearing costumes.

The restaurants in town were great. Lots of vegetarian delicious meals. I’m trying to think what I did when I was there. It wasn’t a lot. I spent some time on the pier chatting to some other travellers. Actually, one afternoon we were sitting out there. We were all German and we were chatting away. Another girl started singing and I thought it was such a beautiful moment. The lake was quite misty that day and it all felt so peaceful watching the lake and hearing the soft singing in the background. Other than that I did some yoga, read, watched some Netflix and generally just relaxed.

I really wish I would have done some more exploring, but there is no point forcing these things, and I was more than happy to return to Antigua for a couple of days before leaving for Costa Rica. On my way out I decided to take the boat to another town and catch a shuttle from there. That gave me the chance to see a little more of the lake and some other towns. I do think the lake is quite magical and I’m glad I went.

Check out the photos and videos below. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge images.

I was super excited to be able to spend a few more days in Antigua. I’m not quite sure why, but I guess first of all I really liked the town, but there is also something about visiting places that are familiar to you. If you travel the way I do right now, you are always in new places. It takes a few days to find your way around and to find places to eat etc. I couldn’t wait to go back and visit some of my favourite cafes and wonder through town.

Another reason why it was good to return was, that I managed to come back over the weekend. Antigua is home to the largest Easter celebration in the world in which the Passion, the Crucifix and the Resurrection of Jesus are commemorated. The procession is rooted in Andalusian tradition and was brought over by Spanish missionaries in the 16th Century. The entire city takes part in the event, accompanied by thousands of travelers coming to experience the energy of Holy Week.

Now, I wasn’t there for Easter, however, the weekends leading up to Easter they also have slightly smaller processions. I had missed the previous one because of my Acatenango hike. So I was very happy to see some glimpses of what it would be like over Easter. It was so impressive to see the large floats. The floats are being carried over very long distances and I don’t know how the people, carrying the floats, survive these long processions.

After a few days in lovely Antigua, it was time to get ready for a new country, which is always exciting. Come back soon to read about my time in Costa Rica. Until then, Sabine xxx

Check out the photos and videos below. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge images.