"Its main avenue is filled with people, some said hairy and lousy heads, I think they are gravitating minds that one day decided to leave its daily life behind and erase from its memories all comfort and plasticity. They sleep over the grass, and dance with the music from its soul. They get confused with the echo of the drums that expand the visitors view.

The ones who get there on weekends to spend their money on parties do not appreciate the sense of life of the people that have made Pana." Lince

Panajachel is something more that just a place for parties or for spending a different weekend. The nature and its magic captivates the visitors and the locals since the starting light of the morning and stays with them during each hour until the moon gets drunk with the waters of the most beautiful lake in the world.

The colonial architecture is not a part of its context, but that is not important, a few steps on Santander street are enough to start listening to another language, one who does not recognizes nationality, just feelings. Panajachel is located in the department of Sololá, in front of Lake Atitlán, were every morning boatmen, fishers, tourists and workers reunite in the old dock to walk to its different destinations.

It is still early, the morning fog does not allows to see clearly the water reflection. Before lodging in Pana, we decided to make a stop on the natural reserve of San Buenaventura Atitlán. This reserve occupies half the valley of San Buenaventura, in Panajachel, in front of Lake Atitlán. It's a real ecological reserve, with more than 100 hectares of forest where they try to preserve the natural environment of the lake basin.

There is nothing more beautiful than walking one of the many trails, following the signs until arriving to the magnificent butterfly garden, where plants and butterflies trick the eye. Here you can find approximately 500 butterflies from 25 different species, all native. You can admire the most beautiful flowers, 50 orchid species, plus a great numbers of birds that come to the butterfly garden to find its nourishment.

After this wonderful encounter with nature, nothing is better than to make ourselves comfortable. So after installing in one of the many lodges, inns or as you prefer to call them (all very inexpensive), we went to El Chisme, a charming coffee shop. There, we planned our journey, because even though there are plenty of things to see, not only in Pana, but in all the lakeside villages, there is so little time. Walking Santander's street, we arrived to the dock, were we aboard a community boat. We experienced the cultural diversity, because we shared the space not only with people from different indigenous ethnics, but also with Germans, French and Swiss tourists.

While the boat crossed the crystalline water of the lake, we saw a poc duck swimming through the rushes. However, we could not think about anything else but the colorful shores contrasting with the red ceilings and cabins built on the rocks. In Santa Cruz we could place our feet in the cold water of the lake.

Our trip continued with the breeze of the water in our faces and the majesty of the volcanoes. We arrived to San Pedro La Laguna were the mysticism and colors captivated our complete imagination, and between cornfields and land roads, we reached a small cabin, where we tasted the most delicious, firewood baked, chocolate and prune pie.

Returning to Panajachel, we agreed that the next day we would travel around the streets of Santiago Atitlán. Again in Panajachel, we decided to see all the handicrafts offered on the streets, made by indigenous or foreigners, like pants, bags, hammocks, hanging chairs, Maximón figures, dwarfs, pipes, necklaces and many, many more.

Let the moon shine

We arrived at the Sunset, a coffee shop in front of the lake, just in time to appreciate the most beautiful sunset. We saw how the blue sky starts turning orange and the sun disappears on the back of San Pedro's volcano.

The beer feels lighter with the company of live music, and at nightfall people start packing the place. Panajachel has so many places were you can have a good time. We left the Sunset, always on Santander street, to look for the most famous place of mixed tostadas (fried tortillas served with 1/3 beans, 1/3 guacamole and 1/3 tomato sauce). We had our tostadas accompanied by an arroz con leche (hot rice and milk beverage) and a piece of banana bread.

Then, nothing better than...why not? Let yourself be captivated by the rhythm of brasilian music. To the sound of Uva, uva, the cultures are combined and the different languages are lost. And for those who like to continue the party until late, the Chapiteau is the perfect place.

After this, we stop at Humo en tus Ojos (smoke in your eyes) for a delicious meat tortilla to fill our stomachs, while the charcoal heat tried to warm our numbed fingers.

After a healthy and spicy breakfast at Deli, we boarded the ship that would lead us to Santiago Atitlán.

When we landed we saw gorgeous hand-carved wooden figures of villagers, and oleo paintings of landscapes with the beautiful nature of the zone. Absorbed with this art we walked to the town's market, and on each step we could taste the flavors and see the colors of our land. The beauty of the hand-woven textiles featuring bright-colors are an overflow of art and creativity, and the prices seem those of twenty years ago.

But without a doubt, our main objective was to reach the place were we would find the traditional cult to Maximón, and so, after leaving at his feet a rum bottle, a pack of cigarettes and a piece of bread, none of us could leave without mentally asking for a favor.

This feeling of fear and cultural syncretism stayed with us for a long time, until the sound of the boat's motor scattered our thoughts away while we traveled to San Antonio and Santa Catarina Palopó.

From the intense red and the marine blue, the colorful clothes of the villagers seemed to wave at us while the foam of the soap they were using to wash the clothes made bubbles in the air. It was half past midday, and faithful to the popular beliefs I reminded the story of the Xocomil, (a strong wind that disturbs the lake's surface) which lashes boats about four o'clock in the afternoon. Luckily, time passed by without a problem and we landed back in Panajachel, were our starvation had made us hallucinating beings looking for food at every step.

After a warm pizza and a salad in the Circus Bar, we decided to go for a bicycle ride. This seams to be the most common transportation mean in Panajachel, which also helps to maintain the air without pollution. Instead of smoke, you can sometimes smell the incense that raises from one of the street stands, where you can always find someone that with enthusiasm fills the environment with the sound of the drums.

Before we went back to the city, it seemed impossible to get out of the Santander Hotel without reading the message written on the alley wall: "Have a good trip".