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Panajachel and San Juan La Laguna on Lake Atitlan

After spending a few days in Antigua, we left for Panajachel, a small town on Lake Atitlan, which is a body of water in a huge volcanic crater. The home where we stayed was amazing–it had a large grassy yard where we played with hacky sacks, croquet, and a soccer ball! The morning after we arrived, we met up with Mr Cox who had come to join us! We took a boat ride to a small village across the lake called San Juan La Laguna where we had lunch, then learned about cacao beans and how they make chocolate. After that, we went to a small art gallery and had painting lessons! It was so so fun! William, Tate, Mr. Cox, and I all did a similar version of a lake and volcano view. Mom did a “bird’s eye view” of a guy picking coffee fruits. It turned out so well! Dad did a different version of the lake and volcano (a style different from the others). And Keegan painted a tree in front of a lake. We got some tips from the artists on how to make them better. We were all pretty surprised at how they turned out (except for William’s — we all knew it was going to be amazing! 🙂)! After that, we had a tour of a textile shop (and learned how they weave) and about the coffee-making process from a coffee shop. We all got to try some of the coffee and it was delicious!

making a quick stop for souvenirs and an awesome view at Mirador Las Nubes Solola on our drive to Panajachel
one last stop on our drive to Panajachel, this time at Sololá for a great view of Lake Atitlán and the surrounding volcanos
this mannequin’s facial hair was drawn up above his nostrils, which gave us a good chuckle
we never rode on one, but enjoyed seeing the colorful “chicken busses” like this one around Guatemala
Findlay, doing his best impression of Guatemalan volcanic landscape on our day trip across Lake Atitlán to San Juan La Laguna

The images above are from a coffee shop we enjoyed in Panajachel called Crossroads Cafe. We befriended the barista and then got to meet the roaster/co-owner, Byron, who took us on an impromptu tour of their small roastery, which was behind a secret door that looked like a bookshelf. It was really fun to hear Byron explain their process and how they ship their coffee all over the U.S.

our barista friend at Crossroads Cafe
our accommodation in Panajachel
William playing the piano in the lobby of our hotel in Guatemala City

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