Panajachel
From Chichicastenango Panajachel on Lago Atitlan is just a short hop. Pana, as it is refered to by the hordes of expats that live there and around the lake, is a perfect place to relax and enjoy some of the foods you may have been missing. With scores of restaurants offering everything from Argentine parrilada to french toast with genuine maple syrup, its as close as you can get to a foodie stop without breaking the bank.

The lake is quite deep and remarkably clear, and there are three volcanoes visible from Pana. Unfortunately the day we had set aside to do a boat trip to the handful of villages around the lake turned out to be windy and gusty. We had heard that the lake waves can get quite high on windy days and after our experience in La Ventosa we weren't about to push our luck. We were content to make Pana a few days of work for Karen before moving on to Antigua for New Years Eve.

We snapped this last shot on the way out--a nice overview of the town. We had decided to take a back road over to Antigua that would save us about 30 kilometers but more importantly would save going back through Solalá which can be kind of a pain with its one way streets and snail paced traffic. We knew there were some stream crossings but also knew they were not so bad because of there being very little rain recently. Unfortunately when we asked at a junction the route to Patzicía we were sent north back to the highway instead of west. We kept asking at each junction and everyone kept saying this was the way. I guess that the locals don't like the water crossings either. At any rate we only saved about 7 kilometers but probably about a half hour in time.