http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/centralamericaandcaribbean/guatemala/8831011/Guatemala-Finding-peace-in-the-volcanos-shadow.html
Guatemala: Finding peace in the volcano’s shadow
Antigua is fascinating, but Lake Atitlán really is too much of a good thing, finds Rhymer Rigby.
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Atitlán's famed clarity means the swimming is great. There's also a bit of a hippie vibe
3:30PM BST 17 Oct 2011
1 CommentAntigua is a great place to wake up. We’d arrived in the middle of the night after 20 hours of planes, stopovers and cabs with two small children. But when I stumbled, jet-lagged, onto our balcony it was all worth it. The red-tiled roofs of a beautifully preserved Spanish colonial city, punctuated by flowering trees and church bell-towers, stretched to the base of a giant conical volcano. And it was warm and sunny, but pleasantly so, as Antigua’s altitude cools the steam-bath heat of the tropics.
This Guatemalan town is cute and knows it, but it’s none the worse for this. Paradoxically, the city owes its remarkable state of preservation to the destructive power of the spectacular volcanoes around it. The Spanish built it as their third Central American capital in 1543, when it went by the name of La muy Noble y muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Goathemala. For centuries it was Central America’s most powerful city, something to which the grand civic buildings and elegant private houses bear witness.
But the area was very geologically active and, after a particularly destructive earthquake in 1773, Antigua was evacuated and the capital moved to Guatemala City. Antigua was never really abandoned but its relegation meant that, the odd earthquake notwithstanding, it retained its 18th-century charm while Guatemala City became an unlovely and unsafe urban sprawl.
Antigua’s geological instability has also resulted in an extraordinary vernacular architecture. Buildings, although recognisably Spanish in design, are low and massive. Single-storey walls are 3ft thick and columns barely 10ft high have the same diameter as those holding up the portico at the British Museum.
The town’s numerous churches are often better appreciated from outside; they’ve been shaken to pieces by earthquakes so many times they tend to be rather plain within. But, many of the humbler buildings such as restaurants and hotels have beautiful, shady courtyards in which to escape the mid-day sun. Antigua is in some ways a bit like Bath or Cambridge – the fabric of the city is the attraction and it’s best seen by walking around.
Neverthless, by day three, we felt we needed to stretch our legs a little more so we booked a day trip to the nearby Pacaya volcano. In years past, you could walk right up to streams of red-hot lava, but the 2010 eruption changed that. Although we couldn’t actually see molten rock, it was gratifyingly volcanic.
We watched smoke belch and rumble out of a crater that looked like an entrance to the underworld, walked across a blackened landscape where the ground was warm to the touch and sweated in a cave dubbed “the natural sauna”.
After four days in Antigua, we headed up to Lake Atitlán, Guatemala’s geological show- stopper. We passed some pretty scenery on the way, but nothing prepares you for the lake. As a scenic set-piece, it is astonishing. When he visited the area in 1933, Aldous Huxley wrote: “Lake Como, it seems to me, touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque, but Atitlán is Como with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes. It really is too much of a good thing.” He wasn’t exaggerating.
To appreciate the lake you need to get out of its biggest town, Panajachel. We picked up a water taxi at the docks and headed to Santa Cruz, which is everything a lakeside hamlet should be. Here, stretched along a couple of miles of shoreline, are perhaps a dozen hotels, all small and charming, with manicured gardens running down to the lake.
Atitlán’s famed clarity means the swimming is great. There’s also a bit of a hippie vibe. Quite a few foreigners discovered Atitlán in the Sixties and Seventies and our hotel was also a yoga retreat.
Our lakeside routine involved a fruity breakfast, a little swimming and perhaps a walk along the wooded shoreline. If we found this too taxing, we’d soak in the hot tub; in volcanic Guatemala, these are something of a national obsession.
The scenery is stunning and occasionally surprising. Walking along the lake at sunset one day, I could see what looked like a bush fire. But a local man told me, no, it was volcanic steam or smoke venting. Hardly surprising: although the last major eruption was in the 19th century, the area remains active and the lake is not only watched over by three volcanoes, the basin itself is a volcanic caldera.
We’d only intended to spend three days at Atitlán, but found it so relaxing, we extended to nearly a week. You probably could spend seven days doing nothing other than looking at the views but there are plenty of other activities. We hiked in the mountains around the lake and hailed water taxis to visit the little villages that dot the shores.
I climbed Volcán San Pedro, walking up through coffee plantations and cloud-forest to enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the lake.
Had we stayed longer we could even have scuba dived and parasailed. But eventually, my wife told me that we really had to leave.
As I carried our luggage to the jetty, I suggested that we might extend our stay. But she was adamant. It was time to go – and I daresay she was right.
Lake Atitlán is already too much of a good thing. And you don’t want to have too much of a good thing.
GETTING THERE
American Airlines (0844 499 7300; americanairlines.co.uk) flies to Guatemala City via Miami from around £600 return. Most hotels in Antigua offer an airport pick-up, which takes 45 minutes and costs about £40.
PACKAGES
Journey Latin America
(020 8747 8315; journeylatinamerica.co.uk) offers a 13-night package to Guatemala, from £1,581 per person, excluding return flight. Exodus (0845 287 7543; exodus.co.uk) has two 16-night packages to Guatemala, from £2,079 per person, including return flight.
THE BEST HOTELS
Casa del Parque, Antigua ££
A minute’s walk from the beautiful central square, in a traditional building, Casa del Parque is a friendly, good-value hotel with a swimming pool and hot tub.
Ask for a room on the upper floor as the few extra dollars are worth it for the views (00502 7832 0961; hotelcasadelparque.com ; doubles from US$80/£50 per night).
Villa Sumaya, Lake Atitlán ££
Set in gorgeous lan dscaped grounds on the shores of Lake Atitlán, Villa Sumaya is a great place to stay whether you’re into yoga or not. It has a swimming pool, hot tub, sauna and offers a range of spa treatments. The food is fantastic, much of it home grown (4026 1390; villasumaya.com; from US$80/£50).
Posada del Angel, Antigua £££
The place where Bill Clinton stayed when he visited in 1999, Posada del Angel is small, exclusive and immaculately decorated in a style that retains much of the building’s original charm. It’s expensive by Guatemalan standards, but still great value (7832 0260; posadadelangel.com; from US$210/£131).
THE BEST RESTAURANTS
La Esquina, Antigua £
If you want to eat authentic Guatemalan food, but with a slightly haute cuisine twist, this is the place to do it
(6a Calle Poniente No 7-5a Avenue Sur; 7882 4761).
Sunset Café, Panajachel £
It’s a fair bet you will need to eat in Panajachel at some point as it has the greatest concentration of facilities on Lake Atitlán and is the gateway to the lake. The Sunset Café has a superb location and, as its name suggests, has some of the best views of Atitlán’s extraordinary sunsets (corner of Calle Santander and Calle del Lago; 7762 0003).
Casa Escobar, Antigua ££
If you tire of basic but typical Guatemalan dishes and feel in need of a more upmarket experience, Casa Escobar does an excellent steak, along with a good, largely South American wine list. The restaurant has a sophisticated feel, too (6a Avienda Norte No 3; 7832 5250).
Panajachel, on Lake Atitlán, is not a great place to stay either, but that’s because it’s scruffy, rather than dangerous. You want to be out on the lake.
Public water taxis run on the lake from 7am and are used by visitors and locals alike. If someone tells you that they’re not available it’s almost certainly because they’re trying to sell you a pricier private boat. Although they have designated stops, the public boats will dock at any jetty they pass on request.
Neverthless, by day three, we felt we needed to stretch our legs a little more so we booked a day trip to the nearby Pacaya volcano. In years past, you could walk right up to streams of red-hot lava, but the 2010 eruption changed that. Although we couldn’t actually see molten rock, it was gratifyingly volcanic.
We watched smoke belch and rumble out of a crater that looked like an entrance to the underworld, walked across a blackened landscape where the ground was warm to the touch and sweated in a cave dubbed “the natural sauna”.
After four days in Antigua, we headed up to Lake Atitlán, Guatemala’s geological show- stopper. We passed some pretty scenery on the way, but nothing prepares you for the lake. As a scenic set-piece, it is astonishing. When he visited the area in 1933, Aldous Huxley wrote: “Lake Como, it seems to me, touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque, but Atitlán is Como with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes. It really is too much of a good thing.” He wasn’t exaggerating.
To appreciate the lake you need to get out of its biggest town, Panajachel. We picked up a water taxi at the docks and headed to Santa Cruz, which is everything a lakeside hamlet should be. Here, stretched along a couple of miles of shoreline, are perhaps a dozen hotels, all small and charming, with manicured gardens running down to the lake.
Atitlán’s famed clarity means the swimming is great. There’s also a bit of a hippie vibe. Quite a few foreigners discovered Atitlán in the Sixties and Seventies and our hotel was also a yoga retreat.
Our lakeside routine involved a fruity breakfast, a little swimming and perhaps a walk along the wooded shoreline. If we found this too taxing, we’d soak in the hot tub; in volcanic Guatemala, these are something of a national obsession.
The scenery is stunning and occasionally surprising. Walking along the lake at sunset one day, I could see what looked like a bush fire. But a local man told me, no, it was volcanic steam or smoke venting. Hardly surprising: although the last major eruption was in the 19th century, the area remains active and the lake is not only watched over by three volcanoes, the basin itself is a volcanic caldera.
We’d only intended to spend three days at Atitlán, but found it so relaxing, we extended to nearly a week. You probably could spend seven days doing nothing other than looking at the views but there are plenty of other activities. We hiked in the mountains around the lake and hailed water taxis to visit the little villages that dot the shores.
I climbed Volcán San Pedro, walking up through coffee plantations and cloud-forest to enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the lake.
Had we stayed longer we could even have scuba dived and parasailed. But eventually, my wife told me that we really had to leave.
As I carried our luggage to the jetty, I suggested that we might extend our stay. But she was adamant. It was time to go – and I daresay she was right.
Lake Atitlán is already too much of a good thing. And you don’t want to have too much of a good thing.
GETTING THERE
American Airlines (0844 499 7300; americanairlines.co.uk) flies to Guatemala City via Miami from around £600 return. Most hotels in Antigua offer an airport pick-up, which takes 45 minutes and costs about £40.
PACKAGES
Journey Latin America
(020 8747 8315; journeylatinamerica.co.uk) offers a 13-night package to Guatemala, from £1,581 per person, excluding return flight. Exodus (0845 287 7543; exodus.co.uk) has two 16-night packages to Guatemala, from £2,079 per person, including return flight.
THE BEST HOTELS
Casa del Parque, Antigua ££
A minute’s walk from the beautiful central square, in a traditional building, Casa del Parque is a friendly, good-value hotel with a swimming pool and hot tub.
Ask for a room on the upper floor as the few extra dollars are worth it for the views (00502 7832 0961; hotelcasadelparque.com ; doubles from US$80/£50 per night).
Villa Sumaya, Lake Atitlán ££
Set in gorgeous lan dscaped grounds on the shores of Lake Atitlán, Villa Sumaya is a great place to stay whether you’re into yoga or not. It has a swimming pool, hot tub, sauna and offers a range of spa treatments. The food is fantastic, much of it home grown (4026 1390; villasumaya.com; from US$80/£50).
Posada del Angel, Antigua £££
The place where Bill Clinton stayed when he visited in 1999, Posada del Angel is small, exclusive and immaculately decorated in a style that retains much of the building’s original charm. It’s expensive by Guatemalan standards, but still great value (7832 0260; posadadelangel.com; from US$210/£131).
THE BEST RESTAURANTS
La Esquina, Antigua £
If you want to eat authentic Guatemalan food, but with a slightly haute cuisine twist, this is the place to do it
(6a Calle Poniente No 7-5a Avenue Sur; 7882 4761).
Sunset Café, Panajachel £
It’s a fair bet you will need to eat in Panajachel at some point as it has the greatest concentration of facilities on Lake Atitlán and is the gateway to the lake. The Sunset Café has a superb location and, as its name suggests, has some of the best views of Atitlán’s extraordinary sunsets (corner of Calle Santander and Calle del Lago; 7762 0003).
Casa Escobar, Antigua ££
If you tire of basic but typical Guatemalan dishes and feel in need of a more upmarket experience, Casa Escobar does an excellent steak, along with a good, largely South American wine list. The restaurant has a sophisticated feel, too (6a Avienda Norte No 3; 7832 5250).
What to avoid
Most visitors skip Guatemala City entirely – and with good reason, as it has high levels of crime and poverty and rather lower levels of attractions.Panajachel, on Lake Atitlán, is not a great place to stay either, but that’s because it’s scruffy, rather than dangerous. You want to be out on the lake.
Public water taxis run on the lake from 7am and are used by visitors and locals alike. If someone tells you that they’re not available it’s almost certainly because they’re trying to sell you a pricier private boat. Although they have designated stops, the public boats will dock at any jetty they pass on request.
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