A little background

The first thing one will notice about Atitlan is the road. Well, really anywhere in Guatemala the first thing one will notice is the road. There is a reason the regions made entirely of mountains (Peru, Guatemala) were only great kingdoms in the epoch of the horse. Driving here is a recipe for seasickness. Passes are ut into mountains, but more passes that would be sufficient for a logging truck (like the mountain passes into Swaziland...) than for a passenger car or a bus. So much queasiness that my co-workers have taken meds when going place to place. This would be horse country, could people afford horses. An average horse here costs $400 US. An average yearly salary here might rival the price of a horse.

But in general, one's farm needs some level of prosperity to climb above subsistence and purchase said horse. Not so much when one is hand hewing terraces out of mountains. The upside? The mountains are made of dirt (vs rock)and thus a hard-earned terrace will actually produce food (in this season, watermelons and calla lilies). The downside is that when it rains (which it does for months on end), your terraces allow water to seep into large chunks of mountain and may careen to the very bottom in a mudslide. Mudslides are pretty comon and can occlude major roads to whole regions of the country. These are only two seasons here--> summer and winter. We are essentially equatorial , so the difference is not one of temperature. When iti s winter, there is rain. When is it summer, there is not. They aer both warm, but in the region of hte city, they are not hot. Certainly not Botswana-hot.

But back to Atitlan (where I am currently seated in the shade next to the lake enjoying the breeze). The first thing you notice after the curving is the descent. Now instead of twisting up and down mountains, you are simply twisting down for 40 kilometers. Engine braking...air brakes are totally useless but sounding hopelessly as the engine braking often proves insufficient for safe descent. Buses and shuttles to Atitlan leave every morning from Guate and Antigua muy temprano (6 am) and one can arrive in Atitlan by 10 AM. They drop off at various points in the lowest strip near the lake and you can wander at will from fabric shop to fabric shop. Should one every need BRILLIANT blue wall hangings, this is the place.

I came here for a day away from the city and it was a brilliant one-day-vacation idea. There is not a lot to do. Essentially- shop, eat, swim (kayak, bike, hike volcanoes... but these are nixed as they are not leisure activities and are not consistent with illness. or relaxation, really). I also needed to pick up a few things (Kim, your poncho awaits).

The Guatemalan bathing costume is proving less than modest at best. There is little left to the imagination. Sitting by the lake may not be an activity for those under the age of eighteen. Quite surprising! I'm guessing most of the bathing suits are more ropa interior (underwear). This appears only to apply to men, as there are few women in the water and they are wearing tank tops or bathing suits in the conventional sense.