San Pedro La Laguna

We hadn't made a plan beyond Antigua and we were between going to Semuc Champey or heading towards Lake Atitlan. It made more sense to do the latter as we'll go to Semuc Champey on the way back to Tikal.

San Pedro La Laguna is one of a few towns and many villages that line the edge of Lake Atitlan. I'd read about it in the LP, and one of the guys staying at our hostel in Antigua was raving about it, so on Easter Monday off we went.
For anyone doing the journey from Antigua to San Pedro La Laguna, it is NOT worth trying to save money by using the chicken buses. You have to take two buses and then a boat from Panajachel, which at the moment comes to around Q60 in total and takes well over four hours. The much better option is to book a shuttle that goes direct between the two, takes less than 3 hours and only costs Q65.

Anyway, now we're here and to be honest, I'm just not feeling it! It started off well with a litre of Gallo for only £1.60! But since then... It's probably partly to do with the fact that Ciaran and I had our first travelling argument here, but there just doesn't seem to be that much to do. Lake Atitlan is very pretty but maybe I was just so blown away by the lakes in NZ that now I'm being a bit underwhelmed.

You can hike the Indian's Nose during the day, or go kayaking, but if you don't do those in the day, or go to visit one of the other villages around the lake, there isn't anything else to do, unless you're learning Spanish. Today I painted a cup and I think that's been the best thing in this town so far! In the evening, there are a few restaurants and a couple of pubs but that's about it really, even the lash here isn't that great.

I do like the town, the main part of it, that is. The touristy part is just... A bit boring! Also, all the bars and restaurants are owned by foreigners and I think you can feel how the town is a bit disjointed because of that.

So, I'm looking forward to moving on from here. I suppose it can't be amazing all the time? Next stop is Xela where I'll hopefully be learning Spanish!