Two days ago Angie and I took an afternoon excursion to San Pedro, a neighbouring village. It’s about 20 kms around the volcano by winding mountain road or 4 kms by boat. We took the boat. It was windy and that made the trip interesting, taking the waves broadside and getting splashed a little. The boat travelled slowly because of the waves and so it took about 20 minutes.
People say each of the villages around the lake have distinctive characters. Santiago, where we’re staying is quite traditional Tzutuhil and doesn’t cater much to tourists. San Pedro, on the other hand, is commercialized and tourist friendly. It’s a fraction of the size, but has many hotels and hostels and travel agencies where you can rent kayaks, bikes, horses, and more. We saw signs advertising yoga classes, hot tubs, massage studios, juice bars, tarot cards and bars with champions league soccer and even nhl hockey on TV. Angie said she was “totally into” the tarot card reading and massages, but I think she was just trying to provoke me.
There is a strip along the lake front with restaurants and bars, and it seems half of them serve falafel. There are lots of travellers and backpackers and English signs, and lots of Hebrew too. Clara says San Pedro has eight language schools offering Spanish lessons and homestay opportunities. Santiago, about five times the size, has none.
People say the water level of the lake has risen a number of meters in the last decade, and in San Pedro we saw stumps of trees and even houses standing in the water.
We had a nice lazy lunch on the waterfront, though I first had to fight for footspace with a dog who was sleeping under the table. We were surounded by tables of tanned young travellers who talked loudly and periodically shouted out to people swimming in the lake.
I know I’m a tourist and it was a fun excursion, but I was very happy to get back to Santiago.