We began our R&R in a little pueblo on the lake called Jaibalito with a splurge on a really nice hotel carved into the side of a mountain. This hotel came highly recommended to us, and although it was very expensive by Guatemalan standards, we only paid $26 per night.
Of course, we shared a bathroom, because it was double the price to have our own. Crazy. Anyway, we arrived by boat, as that is the only way to reach this little corner of the world, and were immediately confronted with loads and loads of steep steps heading up to the hotel. A little Guatemalan man who works in the hotel even came down to help us carry our bags, and deftly threw our heavy suitcase over his back before he raced up the steps, leaving us to huff and puff our way up and up and up and then back down and around until we finally reached our private little room, out of breath and never before so excited about tipping someone. Incidentally, the bathroom was back up the steep set of stairs we had just walked down... a good 2 minute walk away, especially in the pitch black when you are sleepy and unsure of your feet. The steps you see to the right are the ones between our room and our bathroom, about one eighth of what we climbed upon arrival. Alright, fine... we're out of shape. But we got pretty good at them by the time we left. And, hey, at least they are beautifully decorated.
This hotel was so secluded that you had almost no other option but to eat at their restaurant,because the next closest restaurant was at least a 20 minute hike up into the mountain and through the woods to the next town (which we were told was a little dangerous at night), the only other option being by boat. The hotel itself was beautiful. The grounds were covered in flowers and plants of all kinds, and our room was literally so private that if you wanted to, you could walk onto the balcony naked and no one would ever know. Ummm, not that we know from experience. Really. But it was like a little paradise, and we had no other option but to kick back and enjoy the scenery and the down time. The picture to the left shows Reade just outside of our room, enjoying working by the lake. After two nights in Jaibalito, we decided to explore another little town on the lake, so we found the opposite extreme.
San Pedro was lively, cheap, and apparently known for its abundance of drugs. We found a fun restaurant for dinner which also showed a free movie, and literally the whole time we were in there, we could smell people smoking weed. They were smoking other stuff, too, but we don't know how to identify those smells. Yup, in the restaurant. Surprisingly, we were only offered drugs twice. We wouldn't have wanted to stay in San Pedro for too long, but it was fun to wander the town and experience the culture for a night. We both agreed that we would love to come back to Lago Atitlan if presented with the opportunity. It was a great way to spend our last few days in Guatemala. What a life this is, huh? You really should come join us...
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