Revival of Dewey

While planning our anniversary trip to the lake we found ourselves in a dilemma - to camp or to indulge. Since we both wanted to do both - camp & indulge - we concluded that we would do a bit of both! So Friday morning we set out for the lake and less than 2 hours later, we pulled into our prime camping spot. Talk about location, location, location - we may have had the best view in all of Lake Atitlán, not to mention that Vista Azul (right outside of Panajachel) is pretty much the only campground in Guatemala. The owner was great and told us to make ourselves at home anywhere we liked, and since we were the only campers, we did just that. We didn't go to all the efforts to set up camp completely with our fake grass and awning, but it was pretty fun to get Dewey back in action.

Dewey in all his solitude

Water front views

Before settling into our camping routine though, we took a side trip over to Santiago, Atitlán to check out the scene in the largest village on the lake. Although we had been there before, we headed straight for the church (Ben ♥'s churches) and paid homage to the saints interestingly adorned in draped fabric and sashes. We strolled through the markets, grabbed a snack and headed back for a lovely night in Dewey.

Saturday there was a wedding scheduled on the grounds and the perfectionist that I am didn't feel right about our car messing up the beautiful wedding views of the lake, so we woke up early, packed up camp and headed a few hundred meters down the lane to Hotel Atitlán (more on it later). We promptly reparked Dewey and boogied down to the dock to catch an early lancha over to Santa Cruz where our morning hike began. For the next few hours we climbed hill after hill on a single track path from Santa Cruz to San Marcos. The views were spectacular, but the temps were killer. A little over half way through my Chaco sandals started chafing my feet and by the end I had my shoes in hand as I limped back down to the dock to catch the first lancha back to Pana. Am I the only one that has this problem with Chacos? No matter how often I use them, they continue to give me more pain than pleasure.

Volcan San Pedro

picture perfect Casa del Mundo

interesting fauna

Upon returning to Pana, we bee-lined straight for Hotel Atitlán and got comfy poolside!