San Pedro, Lago Atitlan: Friday and Saturday

Only a few weeks after my trip to Panajachel in Lago Atitlan, I found myself packing up to head back to the lake again. This time, we were going to stay in San Pedro, which is another little town on the other side of the lake. The turnaround time between the trips was a little quicker than I (or my wallet) had anticipated, but remembering how great the last time was and the fact that we were going to celebrate someone's birthday made it easy to say "yes". People joined in left and right, and before I knew it, almost the whole volunteer group was heading to San Pedro together to enjoy a weekend at the lake. Traveling to San Pedro was fun. Since it is on the far side of the lake, we got to take a boat called a lancha across to the other side of the lake. The lanchas are the standard way of getting around the lake for locals and tourists alike.

NPHG volunteers in action on the lancha!

I thought our hostel, Zoola, was really swanky, especially for the price. For just Q50 (about $7 USD) per night, I got to enjoy a double bed, pool, bar, and lakeside deck. The environment was really interesting and unique! It was owned and run by Israelis, and the decor reflected that Middle East vibe. I couldn't tell where the Middle Eastern desert met the Guatemalan jungle when a big scorpion started scurrying around the floor where all of us where sitting!

Can Aladdin come flying in on his carpet now?

Me: "Errr well, at least the scorpions in Nevada won't kill you..."

After we got settled in, we spent Friday night celebrating one of the volunteer's (Valentine) birthday. We started the night booging at Buddha Bar (yummy food!). Then, we wandered into an incredibly sketchy place with electronic music... and quickly left. It wasn't quite the social scene we had been looking for!

Happy Birthday, Valentine!

In and out, super sketchy.

Friday night was fun, but I was still up early enough to enjoy the hostel's free tea Saturday morning sitting on the deck looking out at the lake. When we were in Panajachel, the weather had been pretty rainy. This weekend however, the sun was out and shining. It felt great to feel the warmth on my skin!

Toasting a beautiful morning on the lake!

While searching for breakfast on Saturday morning, I got to explore a lot of San Pedro and pick up the vibe of the place. People say that every town at the lake has a different personality, and it's so true. San Pedro was radically different that touristy Panajachel. Honestly, San Pedro has a reputation of being the place to party. Lots of hippies, lots of dreads. There were a lot of drug/marijuana references... or blatantly out in the open. Between the hostel and the bars, I'm pretty sure I accidentally inhaled some stuff! That's really not my scene, but it was nonetheless interesting to see and experience.

My impressions of San Pedro summarized in this t shirt.

The bathroom door in the hostel.

One thing I did like about San Pedro however was all the wall art! There was a ton of murals, and they were all different from each other. Some were just drawings, but others were political statements. Here are some of the ones that caught my eye.

Maya-mania!

"Free Palestine"

"Police everywhere, justice nowhere."

The layout of San Pedro was also quite different than Panajachel. The wide, open streets of Panajachel had been replaced with narrow alleyways that scared me to walk in at first. I was glad we were with people who knew their way around, because I certainly didn't.

Errr scarey alleyways. WALK FAST.

I was in adventure mode Saturday afternoon, so I headed off to explore another town called San Marcos with a few other volunteers. San Marcos also had its own personality! It was totally new-agey and health conscious. We passed signs for moon classes, drum circles, reflexology, yoga, massages, meditation, and many other similar things. This was a place to go to relax and unplug and do nothing. There were a ton of vegetarian and/or vegan restaurants. Carnivore that I am, I of course nommed on a delicious chicken burrito for lunch. Does it help that the tortilla was whole wheat and that the vegetables were probably organic and grown in someone's garden?! The world of San Marcos was just as foreign to me as that of San Pedro, but I felt a lot more comfortable there!

The Pyramids Meditation Center- probably the place that creates the identity of San Marcos.

I think you meditate in the pyramids...?

San Marcos had cool wall art too.

The first two days in San Pedro were interesting and enjoyable, but I think the most excitement happened on Sunday, our last day...