Panajachel, Lago Atitlan

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Sunday, June 18 - Thursday, June 23

I awoke with pressure in my head and a slight sore throat. I just figured it was just a bodily response to the rainy weather I’d been caught in one too many times during my two weeks in Antigua. I didn’t really have a chance to think about it too closely as I had a lot to do to prepare for my mid-day van to Lago Atitlan - replenish my Quetzales at the ATM, give my dad a call to wish him a Happy Father’s Day, pack and check out of Adra Hostel.

The van picked me up at 12:30pm on the dot, interrupting my conversation with a nice Dutch guy who grew up living all over Latin America simply because his mother loved to travel. It was giving me hope for my own visions of a less than traditional future “family life.” We said goodbye and I hopped in the van, joining just one other passenger - a guy named Chris from England who works for a nonprofit at the lake - for the two-hour trip to Panajachel.

The drive went smoothly while the driver told us about a landslide that had closed the road between Antigua and Guatemala City, something that happens frequently during the rainy season. Thank goodness we weren’t headed that way! By the time we were dropped off at Selina Atitlan, I was worse for the wear, now carsick too. I checked into my dorm and laid for an hour while meeting my new roommate, a girl from England who was on her way to the ruins of Tikal the next day.

If it weren’t for my promise to Chris to go join him at the Selina bar to knock out some work I still had to do, I probably would have laid in that bed the whole rest of the afternoon and night. I really wasn’t feeling right. I got up and joined Chris anyway, plus another digital nomad (a photographer) from the U.S. named Denise, at the table. We chatted while we worked, bonding over our similar lifestyles.

I eventually got up and explored my new hostel surroundings by wandering down to Selina’s lakefront bar where they were just setting up for a beer pong tournament for later that evening. I also cashed in on my free welcome drink there alongside all of the other newly arrived, making yet more new friends, and even bumped into a few familiar faces from my Pacaya Volcano Hike and another from my hostel in Antigua.

By the end of the night, I was thoroughly wiped and seriously looking forward to getting into bed. The next morning was nothing but blue skies and perfect temps. I had signed up for yoga at 8am, so I got up, got dressed, and walked down to the same lakefront bar I was at yesterday, a spot that served as Selina’s yoga and meditation studio in the mornings. Again, the clues were all there that something was seriously off in my body - I’d never found holding the poses so hard before! - but I just thought it was a head cold.

After yoga, I got breakfast and then decided to squeeze in a visit to the Atitlan Nature Preserve while the day was still so clear and beautiful. It was within walking distance of the hostel and was said to have monkeys, coati, butterflies, waterfalls, and hanging bridges through jungle. I found all of it once there, plus a beautiful lakefront stretch with benches that turned into a nice nap spot and a chance to reassess what might be going on with my health. I laid there on a bench and considered for the first time that what I had might be Covid.

When I got back to Selina, I took a Covid test. I had slipped one in my bag at the last second before leaving home, thank god! Sure enough I got two positive tests in a row. It was then a matter of sorting out what to do and where to go. I packed my things, searched Booking.com for a comfortable spot to wait it out, dreadfully told the front desk my circumstances, and left. It was sorted so quickly.

I loved my new spot, the Hotel Villas Jabel Tinamet. The room was extremely comfortable and had a gorgeous view out the window of the mountains and a little outdoor balcony area to take it all in from. It was perfect for what was going to be three days of being a shut in.

The time flew and the room served perfectly for what I needed it for. I had a little desk to work from, a television, a hot shower, breakfast every morning, and the option to sit outside when I needed some fresh air. By Wednesday, two days later, I was feeling significantly better and by Thursday, check out day, I was practically fully healed.

Knowing I could probably reinsert myself into mask-wearing life in Panajachel, I knew it was probably time to give up my luxurious and budget-breaking room for something a little cheaper but still private. I found a spot in a slightly different part of town called Posada Don Miguel. The reviews weren’t bad and the price ideal at $17USD a night.

Begrudgingly I packed my things and said goodbye to Hotel Villas Jabel Tinamet and made the ten-minute walk to the new spot, checked in, and then headed back out to stock up on groceries for the next few days, as there was a kitchen.

Friday, June 24

Today was tough. I awoke with a sour mood I’m still doing what I can to quell and replace with uplifting thoughts. I moved hotels yesterday around mid-day and the combination of settling in and finding insect or, maybe lizard, feces on my bed’s top sheet and cockroaches crawling the countertops of the hotel’s kitchen just did not leave me feeling “at home” in my new digs.

I missed my cushy room at Hotel Villas Jabel Tinamet, the one with the wall of mountains covered in green through my window, a hot shower with fluffy towels, and a french toast and eggs breakfast that awaited me every morning at 8:30am. I’d traded those more expensive (for the purpose of COVID quarantine) digs for my new and cheaper ones at Posada Don Miguel, figuring I’d likely be spending less time in the room than previously now that I’m on the up and up and past the Day 5 threshold.

I woke up moody because I’m frustrated that my trip was interrupted. I’m frustrated that I had to move out of my original and very social lodging of Selina Atitlan, with its gorgeous pool, lakefront bar, and morning yoga and meditation, only to now, this day, feel well but not be “safe” for such an environment.

After five days of next to no interaction, save for one across-the-room conversation with a surfer from Costa Rica at my last hotel, I’m just done with it. And this new, all too empty and echoey, hotel is just not making it easier. I know this sounds like a whole bunch of complaining, but I’m keeping it real with you all. It’s not all misty mountains and butterfly sanctuaries.

Up until a few hours ago, I was the only guest at Posada Don Miguel. It was just me and the sound of the posada’s caretaker cleaning the empty rooms. After five straight days of me, myself, and I, the eerie emptiness of it all was just too much for me. Fortunately, a young Guatemalan family has arrived as well as another older couple. Their presence oddly makes me feel better. The low hum of their televisions on in their rooms, the clacking of pots and pans in the kitchen...it’s comforting.

All I’ve done today is make breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the hotel kitchen and work on my laptop from the rooftop. At one point, I noticed paragliders descending from the mountain peak right in front of me, a reminder that this blip in my trip will soon be over and the adventure back on before I know it.

I have two more days at this hotel and tomorrow I may venture out and actually do something, mask on of course and nothing too taxing on the body. I read about a Mayan culture museum and natural thermal pools at a hotel nearby. There’s also a gelato spot at the end of my street that looks divine. Tomorrow will be better. If not because I do something, then because I’ve gotten this sour mood out of my system.

Thanks for hanging with me for this ebb in the flow.

Saturday June 25

Tomorrow I move back to hostel life at Selina Atitlan, and I could not be more ready. And this is coming from an introvert. I’ve just had enough me time for a long time. I’m also looking forward to the morning lakefront yoga promised with my reservation.

Today was a much better day than yesterday. I’ve gotten back into a journaling and meditation routine in the mornings and it’s really helping me move through some of the emotions that are arising and it’s leaving me with a sense of focus for the day. Today’s takeaway was to embrace my curiosity and live in the adventure, rather than resist it with a plan or a desire to be somewhere I’m not.

Around midday I left the hotel and walked toward the lakefront. There was a whole boardwalk I didn’t know existed, full of market stalls and michelada stands, as well as a ferry port, likely the one I’ll use in a few days when I head to San Marcos La Laguna.

I also passed through the small Museo Lacustre de Atitlan tucked inside of the Hotel de Don Rodrigo that featured exhibits about the cultural and geographic history of Lake Atitlan, including a couple rooms full of ceramics excavated from the lake’s floor by underwater archeologists (did you know that was a thing you could be?!). I learned that the lake was formed after a magma chamber was emptied by a massive volcanic eruption. I also learned that many of the pre-colonial settlements around the lake were not in the business of working together, and so when the Spanish arrived it was an easy takeover.

After the museum, I went to a coffee shop called Crossroads Cafe located in a part of Panajachel I hadn’t yet explored and full of Mayan-inspired street art. I ordered a latte and did some research into San Marcos - identifying restaurants and other things I might be able to get up to when I’m there this Monday. I like to get a sense of the possibilities, but then leave it up to chance when I arrive.

On my way back to my hotel, I couldn’t resist finally trying out the gelato spot called Dolce Gelato that I’d been eyeing. I ordered a double scoop of dark chocolate and a vegan choco-peanut that was way better than I expected.

Back at my hotel, I laid down for a bit until dinner, still feeling pretty wiped from having Covid last week, the only lingering symptom at this point. A massive rainstorm rolled in while I rested. As soon as it turned to a drizzle, I made my way back out to an Indian restaurant nearby. Even though I should probably be enjoying the local cuisine, sometimes I just need a more international mix and Delhi6 had some great reviews that I can now say I agree with. I went for my usual order when I get Indian - chicken tikka masala, rice, garlic naan, and a mango lassi.

If you’re not already, you can follow my adventure in real time on Instagram @nomapsorfoottracks.