In early May, we took a week-long inland trip to Guatemala, leaving the boat at Bahia del Sol in El Salvador.  What a wonderful country, our favorite so far!  We spent 3 days in Antigua, 2 days in Panajechel on the shores of Lake Atitlan and one night each in Guatemala City and San Salvador. 

Antigua has a very European feel to it.  The feeling is old world, but the town is very tourist friendly while still maintaining it's unique atmosphere and culture.  It is easy to find a good coffee shop or internet cafe here or arrange for a tour to climb a volcano or visit some of the nearby towns on market day.  We spent one day climbing nearby Mount Pacaya, an active volcano.  You can get as close as you dare to the lava vents, so close it fact that lava spurting up into the air (video) can fall on you, poisonous gases can waft your way (video) if the wind shifts (there are signs saying so!) and the ground feels hot to the touch and can melt your shoes if you stay too long!

From Antigua, we caught a shuttle bus to Panajechel, one of the wonderful little towns on Lake Atitlan, which is very picturesque and one of the "1000 places you must see before you die" .  80,00 years ago, a huge volcanic explosion created the crater where this 1000 foot deep, crystal clear lake now resides.  From our hotel room looking out over the lake, we saw steam in the mornings rising from the still-active volcanic vents lining the crater rim before the regular afternoon rains come in around 4pm like clockwork.   No streams or rivers exit the lake, the only outflow being through underground volcanic vents.  As such,  the lake level sometimes varies dramatically from year to year with volcanic action as vents close and open.  Unfortunately, the introduction of sport bass fish to the lake 50 years ago has had a dramatic and negative impact on various native aquatic species and the species dependent upon them and the local ecosystem has greatly and irreparably suffered.

The human population of this part of Guatemala includes many native Mayans and it is common to see both men and women wearing their colorful, traditional dress.   While staying at Panajechel, we visited a Nature Preserve located on a shade-coffee plantation.  The use of shade tree techniques to grow coffee plants instead of the more common open field techniques provides habitats for many species (not to mention better coffee!) and over 150 species of birds can be found on the preserve.  Spider monkeys (video) can also be found here, most having been donated by pet owners who no longer find their adolescent, more aggressive and illegal pet monkeys quite as cute and cuddly as they were when they were infants.  The illegal Spider Monkey pet trade has had a devastating impact on the wild monkey populations in the area and although once abundant on the slopes of the surrounding hills, now there are few places in the area where wild monkeys can be found.