Definitely one of the highlights of our trip! - Our visit to Lago Atitlan could not have been a better experience!. Our guide, Irwin, is extremely knowledgeable about the culture, the history, the new local movement of the indigenous culture to promote their entrepreneurial medicinal and artistic skills. He introduced us to so many of the local artisans, without the pressure to buy, just to educate us in their culture and products. Our driver was attentive to our needs and a very safe driver. Irwin treated us to a wonderful day of information and discovery. It was a highlight of our visit to Guatemala.

Lake Atitlan Boat Tour was Amazing! - The port of Puerto Quetzal is very large. The terminal was gorgeous with tours being offered and a Jade museum, and shops of native crafts. Guatamala is the heart of Mayan country and many tours go to the historical sites. This tour was booked through Holland America. We headed out of the lowlands and sugar cane fields for a 2 1/2 hour trip to Lake Atitlan. We passed sugar cane, coffee, and rubber tree plantations. 60% of the population are indigenous Mayan. Thanks to lots of revolutionary actions in the late 90's they finally got the right to send their children to school. And they were each given 1-2 acres of land. The Mayans quickly discovered they couldn't make a living farming such small parcels, so they formed cooperatives of 100-200 acres and concentrated on growing high quality sugar cane. It is exported as sugar, and as high grade molasses, and high quality rum. Income is returned to cooperative members. The sugar cane is harvested by hand. They have machinery, but that harvests everything, poor quality, weeds, unripe, everything. They discovered the harvest costs were not reduced with machinery because so much cleaning was needed later before processing. The only problems associated with hand harvesting are snake bites, because the fields are home to mice, and therefore snakes (and hawks circling above). After harvest, they burn the fields to improve the soil, rid the area of rodents and snakes, and generally clean up the harvest remains. They get some environmental push back for air quality, though. Also, they grow coffee, and again, since their land ownership is limited, they focus on quality. They know they can't compete in quantity with Brazil and Vietnam, so they focus on quality and have been winning international awards for both coffee and rum. The region is slowly improving as a result of these successful agriculture ventures. We stopped at a coffee plantation and got out to touch and talk about the plants (trees, really). They are hand harvested, partly because they get a better harvest, and similarly to blueberries, the coffee beans do not ripen all at the same time. Mechanical harvesting picks too many unripe berries. And, they have some rubber tree plantations. It takes 3 years for a rubber tree to produce, but there were some acres already showing the harvest buckets. (Rubber is collected similar to Maple syrup.) They export the rubber to Hualtuco Mexico. Next year, the first Mayan students in their history will graduate from high school. They are justifiably proud of that. And all schools now teach both Spanish and Mayan languages so graduates are bilingual. Guatamala has 2 seasons; summer and spring. Rain is during 7 months of summer, ending in late October. Schools are out from late October-December for sugar cane and coffee harvest (children can work from age 12) so we saw many families on holiday, or moving to small cottages near the plantations so all the family could work). In their politics, out of (roughly) 256 delegates, only 1 is Mayan, so 60% of the population is inadequately represented. With education and time, they hope to improve that situation. Population of Guatamala is about 15 million, most living in the cities. Armando discussed the reputation Guatamala has for crime. He said the capitol, Guatamala City, is largely Latino (Spanish descendants) and does have a big crime problem. He said there are gangs, drugs, extortion, and violence. He said people try to ignore the problem because they think they will have bigger problems if they tell the police. However, in rural Mayan areas they do not have crime. The reason for that is the Mayan culture. If they discover a criminal, particularly if it involves bad treatment toward a female, or extortion, or drugs, they don't wait for the police, they take care of the problem themselves. They capture and kill and burn the criminal. Problem solved. And not likely to be repeated. When we stopped, we realized there were police following us. Armando said since Guatamala has a criminal reputation, Holland America requires that any excursion longer than 2 hours (most of them, because of distance from port) have a police presence for security. The police men with our group were very pleasant and cheerful, so we were impressed with the effort. Finally we reached the small town of Timolan, at an elevation of 5000 ft. It is an older town with very narrow streets that were largely shut down because of a town celebration for a patron saint. A town policeman boarded our mini bus and he directed the driver around all the side streets to reach the Atitlan Lake marina and dock so we could board the boat. The boat was quite festively painted and had a lower protected area as well as a canopied upper deck. Most of us sat up top. We had a good time on board, and the weather was pleasant. We reached the banks of the lake and the boat's bow extension made for a very easy walk to the pier. We were instantly surrounded (swarmed) by vendors trying to sell us crafts. They were mostly ladies, dressed in traditional garb of a blouse of a plain color, and a skirt of colorful hand woven fabrics. They were determined we were going to buy lots of stuff! But our guide just kept us moving forward toward a lovely resort and restaurant. It was beautiful! And we were treated to a lunch with linen tablecloths, napkins, ice tea or juice, and about 25 different foods set up buffet style in serving stations. Each had a little placard identifying the foods. A number of salads with dressings, and chicken and beef dishes, all in elaborate serving dishes and utensils. Guatemalan foods are not overly spicy, so were easy to eat. Delicious! The area was tiled with marble floors. The tables were each set for 4 persons and we were assisted with wait staff that brought beverages and cleared the tables. Our guides ate with us and talked about the customs and politics. We all commiserated with each other over the state of each of our countries supposed leaders. Actually pretty funny how much we all hate our politics, regardless of country! And, by the way, all the banos were flushing! With running water, soap, and hand towels! Then we had to leave, running the gauntlet to the boat, through the swarming vendors. It was exhausting, and I finally caved in near the pier and bought a few things. From Lucy, who wove them with a back-strap loom in her own casa! Our guide had told us how to negotiate price, and what would be considered 'fair' from their point of view. (Cheap from our point of view.) So it turned out well and we all had an educational and fun time. We returned on the boat for another hour to the town, and nearing the shore, we watched a man wash his hair in the lake. He was quite cheerful and we waved and cheered for him. After we re-boarded the bus, we asked Armando about utilities to the residences. He said in big cities, where residences are close to each other, there is electricity and water. In rural areas, commercial businesses have electricity and usually water. A town may have established a large water tank. The people go to the water tank and fill bottles and buckets of water. Otherwise, they wash their clothes, and themselves, at the banks of rivers or lakes. We didn't ask about sanitation or plumbing. Seems a bit unlikely.. we did see folks burning trash in their yards. Since gourmet coffee is a big thing and exported from Guatemala, Armando said he had coffee available for purchase. It is all Fair Trade (farmers make a living wage in safe conditions) and the price was reasonable. A number of folks bought the coffee, and I think it was quite a good price. But keeping in mind our flight weight and baggage restrictions, I skipped it. Later, I found out it was half the price for the same thing sold at the port terminal. It was a 2 1/2 hour trip on the bus back to the port. The ship was was scheduled to leave at 5:30. We had 2 mini buses. We were running late. Our bus driver Eduardo was a master driver, we made it to the port in 2 hours. Although the roads were divided 4 lane, they had over 30 years of use with many patches and potholes, bus had no seat belts and minimal cushioning, so it was quite an experience. Yay! We made it in time! Eduard and Armando more than earned their tips! This was a great tour, and we were met with friendliness, kindness, and generosity. Such a lovely experience!