Vacation in a Vacation: Lago de Atitlan
The last stop on our vacation within a vacation was Lago de Attitlan, often described by Guatemalans as the most beautiful lake in the world. As you will see in the photos, it is indeed very picturesque, a beautiful blue, surrounded by hills and volcanoes, with traditional (and/or touristy) villages perched on the cliffs.
People in the surrounding areas are said to be very attached to their traditions, and it is one of the very few places where you can see men (though mostly older men) wearing traditional Maya clothing. Beautiful weaving, jewelry and paintings are for sale everywhere.
The winning combination of natural wonders and traditional culture has made Lago de Atitlan one of the leading tourist destinations in Guatemala. Unfortunately, recent events have turned this little piece of paradise on earth into another Guatemalan tragedy. Pollution, mostly in the form of untreated sewage, has led to devastating algae blooms spreading across the lake, killing fish (very bad for the inhabitants of the lake shore) and making the water unsafe to swim in (very bad for Venla and other tourists).
The governments is responding to what many people call a national emergency with characteristic slowness, leading to many protests, countless newspaper editorials, and, most tragically, a spectacular loss of income for locals. Not helping the issue is the fact that a couple of lynchings have taken place in the area in the last few weeks, due, again, to frustration at the ineffective application of justice in the country (people basically get tired of living with known thieves, rapists, and various other criminals).
All of this unavoidably has led to a dramatic drop in the number of tourists visiting the area, one of the big newspapers quoting a 60% decrease. And so you find yourself in an area where people can't make a living off of fishing or tourism anymore...
As far as our experience is concerned, the couple of days we spent on the lake in Panajachel and briefly visiting the village of San Pedro left a fairly bitter taste in our mouths (and not from drinking the water). Local vendors have simply become too aggressive about pushing their wares on tourists, interrupting meals in (otherwise very nice) restaurants and making it impossible to sit back and enjoy the wonderful place. Stunningly beautiful as the lake may be, it is simply too depressing to watch a beach resort deprived of its beach slowly sink into nothingness, especially in a country where you know there is no help coming...
Well, we hope the pictures are more cheerful than this little post, at least!
