Falling Water

Our Friday at Lake Atitlan began with an upscale breakfast at our host's restaurant. We were joined by a (temporarily) local man who had only been in the area for six months. Aaron and his wife were from Colorado, but were on a two year trek through Central and South America. He had done a month of exploratory hiking throughout the mountains surrounding the lake, then in order to earn money to support their travels, started a business of taking visitors on hikes around the area. We decided to secure Aaron's services to lead us on an afternoon adventure to see some of the mountain views, which included a cascading creek and large hidden waterfall.

Our hike started at the little village of Jaibolito and followed a tiny but well traveled trail up the side of the mountain. Beautiful vistas began to unfold immediately. In just a few minutes of hiking we were able to view the lake and surrounding mountains from a new and exciting vantage point. This was not Six Flags or Disneyland - there were no guard rails or precautionary signs posted. The trail was rugged and narrow and often followed along the edge of steep and foreboding precipices. We couldn't help but wonder if one of the local family ancestors was a billy goat, but one thing was for certain - ours was not! The lake itself is approximately 5000 feet above sea level, and our hike took us a good deal higher.

Occasionally the trail would flatten out and be quite easy and safe, and sometimes we climbed on what seemed to be almost vertical rocky cliffs. Our guide was careful and considerate, giving us periodic moments of rest after particularly challenging climbs. We were also given many opportunities to stop and take pictures of the impressive beauty surrounding us.

Due to the unexpected and unseasonal rain the day before, the mountains were particularly fragrant. The smell of lemongrass and fresh green vegetation permeated the air. It was delightful and refreshing.

Many of the steep hillsides were used for crops. We frequently encountered corn and coffee plants. Due to the incredibly steep angles, planting and harvesting looked like it could be quite a treacherous undertaking. Most of these almost vertical fields had no designated path and were not terraced. It was a wonder how they managed to farm them.

Mountainside showing large square patches where crops are grown

We took a break from our hike at a beautiful hillside hotel and restaurant called Los Lomas De Tzununa. We sat on a long and narrow porch and had fresh pineapple juice and chips with guacamole and refried beans, while still taking in the magnificent vistas.

Our hike resumed, this time heading down toward the village of Tzununa. We were coached on proper behavior not to photograph the locals without their permission, and on how to say a greeting in Kaqchikel. Our enthusiastic guide loudly greeted the locals with a Shka g'er, which roughly translates as hello, followed by another phrase, Utz' swatch, which means 'how're you today?', to which the locals responded Utz (good). The short dialog ended with a ma'tiosh (thank you). Whether it was our guide's odd pronunciation or the surprise of seeing an obviously non-local person attempt to speak their language, the greeting never failed to produce smiles and giggles from the villagers.

The mountain town of Tzununa, where we started our climb to the waterfall

The village was built along a stream which flowed from the mountain. Our destination was at the top of the stream where a 30 foot waterfall cascaded within a concealed alcove. As we started up the hill, the clouds gathered for another unseasonal downpour. We took refuge under the awning of an uninhabited building to wait out the deluge. We resumed our uphill journey before the rain completely stopped, but this afforded us a cooler ascent.

We completed the journey to the waterfall following the stream bed, switching back and forth across the flowing water. We passed several homes of villagers, including one home of an expat from the US who ran a small organic vegetable farm with a few animals such as goats and rabbits. We continued our watery climb and scrambled up boulders until we reached our prize: a thin but beautiful waterfall. We rested, snacked a bit and took photographs before returning to the bottom of the stream and back to the lake.

A return trip back on the same mountainside trail was definitely not an option at this point since we were all exhausted, and besides, sundown was quickly approaching. From the Tzununa dock we caught a local water taxi back to Jaibolito to have a much needed meal at a small rustic restaurant called Han's place, which is THE local hangout for tourists and expats.