Other than being half an hour late, the shuttle from Antigua was straightforward, comfortable and direct. It took a little over two hours and unfortunately, we arrived after sunset so didn't get an amazing view down over the lake. Never mind. We couldn't nap on the shuttle, so we were really looking forward to getting our heads down for the night.

We were dropped off at a hostel, which was very nice, and the 10 year old selling it to us was doing a grand job until he doubled the price . We said no thank you and went next door. Casa Ramos was a nice place to stay, near the waterfront and reasonably priced. Plus it had hot water - winning! After settling in, we fell asleep almost immediately after showering, avoiding the downpour outside. The hike, not sleeping in the freezing cold, the hike again, had proved too much for us.

Panajachel, on the shore of Lake Atitlan, is a town where there is pretty much nothing to do. The place was full of shops selling beautiful crafts and wares, though we could not buy these as we had no way of carrying them. The town acts as a jumping off point for other towns around Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan itself is a freshwater lake in a volcanic crater, surrounded by a ring of volcanoes. It's very pretty. The main activities are water related, such as diving and canoeing. Unfortunately we found out about the diving too late to participate.

After sleeping for 12 hours, we had a lazy morning, and went out to explore Panajachel in the early afternoon . We got some lunch at a great vegan spot, organised our onward travel to the next stop, shopped for some snacks and supplies, and drank cocktails and beer during happy hour. There were lots of touts trying to sell us anything they could, including some who would follow us down the street. Again, the women were in stunning traditional dress and we very much enjoyed the feel of the place, even if there was very little to do.

On Thursday 16th, we took a boat trip around the lake, to visit some of the other villages. We went to San Marcos la Laguna, San Juan la Laguna, San Pedro la Laguna, and Santiago Atitlan. They were all fairly similar to Panajachel, with lots of touts trying to sell us things we didn't want or need, and shops selling lots of things we did want but could not carry. The villages themselves were fairly charmless. We took a wander in each one and checked out the churches and a plaza, as well as drinking coffee and fruit juices and eating delicious fruit pancakes. The best bit of the day were the boat rides; zipping along between the villages was incredibly picturesque, though very cold. We also found out that the level of the lake was rising; as evidenced by houses, park benches and shelters being underwater around the lake. In the evening we drank wine, and hid from the tropical storm with a film in our hostel.

On Friday 17th, we had a lazy morning, packed and checked out. We went back to the vegan place to pack in as much food as possible, whilst waiting for our onward transport to our next destination - Flores!