San Juan La Laguna is 4km west of busy San Pedro, on a hill looking over a spectacular bay. San Juan has escaped many of the excesses that San Pedro has. Some travelers prefer San Juan’s more laid back comfortable lifestyle, making it easier to enjoy the unique local life experience. San Juan is mostly of Mayan ancestry: the Tz’utujil inhabitants take pride in their craft traditions, painting, and weaving; this is brought to life when walking around the town. Additionally, San Juan has developed its own tourism infrastructure to highlight its culture to visitors. San Juan La Laguna is genuinely alive with Mayan Culture; it’s on display where ever you turn.
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Our Visits To San Juan
As a matter of fact, Mayan Culture Is Alive Here In San Juan La Laguna. As displayed by so many beautifully painted murals on the local buildings. These murals depict Mayan life, legends, and culture. The local market is located near the boat dock. Along the docks, many merchants sell their wares to tourists. Remember to barter, as you can always do better than the asking price. But be respectful and courteous as this is their lively hood.
For us, San Juan was a healthy walk from San Pedro. We made several trips on foot to this beautiful town as it offered us an opportunity for a challenging hike. In addition, there are many hills to challenge our fitness level, besides always looking for ways to fill our day.
Murals Highlighting Tz’utujil Life and Legend.
Indian Nose Sunrise – Finding Our Guide
Cindy and I wanted to do the sunrise hike at Indian Nose. Hearing that, it was an amazing experience to see the sun peek over the mountains and illuminate Lake Atitlan with its rays. However, we needed to find a qualified tour guide. After searching online, we were very fortunate to find Matt’s Geo Travel site. Matt offered what we were looking for, a unique experience. Matt, it turns out, has a Bachelor’s degree in Geology. Could there be a better-qualified guide to explain the volcanos or Lake Atitlan’s birth from the vantage point a top of Indian Nose?
The hike up Indian nose is not difficult, the sunrise from this vantage is known for great pictures. The sunrise over Lake Atitlan is truly magnificent. If you are ever in Guatemala and looking for a tour guide, look up Matt’s Geo Travel; you will not be disappointed. If Matt can not do the tour himself, he can put you in contact with some who can.
Indian Nose Sunrise Hike
To begin with, our day to Indian Nose started early in the morning, with Matt picking us up at 3:15. This was not the normal pickup time, it was earlier than usual because of construction on the road leading up to Indian Nose. After 6:00 am no more traffic got through till mid-afternoon, at which time a small window for traffic would open and then close again till 6:00 pm. Meaning we had to pass through this section of road before it was closed.
With Matt, there were six of us, Matt owns his own reliable 4×4 vehicle that he uses to transport his clients. After parking at Santa Clara, it would be about a 45-minute hike up the trail, a 200-meter vertical change in altitude. The hike up to Indian Nose was comfortable and not difficult, most people would have no difficulties. We had been walking a lot of hills in San Pedro, it was just another stroll for us.
Indian Nose Sunrise
We arrived at the viewing platforms in plenty of time to set up our cameras and rest before the sun started to rise above the horizon. Mother nature gave us beautiful clear skies to have a front-row seat at this spectacular event. Indian Nose Sunrise over Lake Atitlan was breathtaking; it was everything we had expected. The morning had been clear, offering the best possible sunrise; Matt even brought coffee for everyone.
Geology Class
In addition, to witnessing the gorgeous sunrise, we had a bonus, a beginner’s course on geology. Matt delivered as promised. Complete with visual aids describing how Lake Atitlan was formed. From our vantage point atop Indian Nose, you can see a line of 8 volcanoes in a row, including Fuego. Looking down the row of volcanos, you could see Fuego puffing up ash in the far distance. As a matter of fact, Fuego, which was currently active and had erupted on June 3, 2018, killed 200 people.
On returning to our vehicle, Matt explained the maize (corn) fields, coffee plantations, and the Mayans’ local customs. The road back to San Pedro would still be closed, so Matt drove us to San Marcos to catch the boat back to San Pedro. Truly a great day!
Sunrise Over Lake Atitlan
CASA FLOR IXCACO – Mayan weavers co-operative
San Juan has a couple of weaving co-operatives, Matt had made mentioned to us one in particular, CASA FLOR IXCACO. An authentic Mayan weaving demonstration would be interesting. We decided to head over to San Juan and find CASA FLOR IXCACO. We very much enjoyed the free demonstration of the weaving process (they do appreciate a donation). The Mayan women weavers walk you through the process from picking, spinning, and dying using the flowers and fauna available in the area all the way through to weaving the cotton.
The whole process takes 2 – 3 weeks per item of finished clothing, start to finish. CASA FLOR IXCACO has a showroom of items made by the local people of the cooperative that visitors can purchase. Furthermore, all proceeds from sales go directly back to the cooperative, including the person who made the item. After much looking around, Cindy purchased a shawl, and I purchased a short sleeve shirt. Highly recommend visiting, they are friendly, and it’s nice to see that people still use some of the old ways.
Final Thoughts San Juan
We enjoyed our visits to this community
Our Positives
- CASA FLOR IXCACO -Mayan weavers co-operative
- Murals painted on walls of buildings
Our Negatives
- None that we could think of
Would have, Could have, Should have
- We would not change anything
Next Stop
We were staying in San Pedro at the time
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Recommended Travel Essential
Cindy and I call ourselves nomadic so with this lifestyle, we use certain essentials to make this way of life easier and more comfortable. With this in mind, we have composed a list of what we feel are essentials and some tips you might use to plan or take your next travel adventure.
- Travel Packing Essentials to help organize and make this task less stressful
- Travel Safety Essentials to make your life on the road a little safer, giving you peace of mind
- Living Essentials to make life a little more comfortable, be this resting, working, or playing.
Accommodation Options While Traveling The World
- Booking.com is one of our go-to’s when we are looking for a place to stay for a couple of days or longer.
- Agoda.com we find is best to use when in Southeast Asia, but hey, you never know what you might find.
- Airbnb.com used to be our go-to, but some of their cancelation policies are reasonable, give them a try as well.
Travel Insurance
We always travel with some sort of travel Insurance, be it just medical or complete trip coverage. We use Heymondo as we find their costs reasonable. Remember, don’t travel; without coverage, the savings are not worth the possible costs.
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