Most people have probably never even heard of Lake Atitlan. Aldous Huxley, when he visited there, called it “the most beautiful lake in the world.” Perhaps he was on soma. I only know it because I was traveling through Guatemala several years ago, and a girl I met told me it was gorgeous, that, “Oh my God,” I absolutely “HAD to go”. I didn’t. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to. And reading about it in the New York Times made me want to go even more. As the article points out the lake is a place still untrampled by tourism and there are ample things to do there from outdoor stuff to relaxing and hanging out, as the nearby volcano looms over the lake, and you, like a sentinel.
Go to Guatemala, Weave Your Own Backstrap
Learn the Mayan art of backstrap weaving in Guatemala and bring your amigos back handmade souvenirs. So you know, backstrap weaving is defined by a woven strap used to leverage the weaver’s own body weight against the work. The weaver leans in to slacken or back to create tension. Huh? Traveldish, a website I can’t stop clicking into, has a good selection of what they call “Brainy Adventures for the Thoughtful Traveler.” They feature article’s like Kennerly Clay’s backstrapping experience and tons more. If the roadkill story didn’t turn you off, I dare you to give it a shot.
Doctors Mix Adventure Travel and Aid in Guatemala
In the spirit of holiday giving is a great story about a married couple of emergency physicians who plan on driving from Durham, North Carolina to Santiago Lake Atitlan, Guatemala to help reopen a small hospital. The Pages, according to the News & Observer, checked out several options for lending aid and seeking adventure in Central America before settling on the Santiago project. The hospital, which has been abandoned since 1990 due to civil war, was deeded to the locals in 2002. The Pages will be working and living for the next two to five years in a region which is “still largely populated by indigenous Mayans” and sits on the edge of an old volcano a mile high. They are very much looking forward to it.