The trip from Antigua to Lake Atlitán, is best taken in a car, a tourism van if you don’t have your own vehicle, or the chicken bus if you want to play Russian roulette with your life. The three-hour drive offers a great view of the terrain and the indigenous communities that live along the highway. Just when you think you can’t take another bus passing you on a blind curve, a lush valley and a pristine blue lake winds you down to the village of Panajachel. A few rickety boats wait for villagers and tourists to fill up before embarking on a 20-minute ride to several villages across the lake. It is best to make the trip before 2 p.m., as the lake becomes rocky later in the day and the ratio of passengers to life jackets is 2-1. San Pedro, one of the villages, is a hippie enclave where you can find motels for $10 a night or a yoga spa for $100. if you want to learn Spanish on the shore in the sun (and play a game of futbol with the local school children!), this is the place!
