Visit the village of Santiago de Atitlan and get a glimpse of how the Tzutujil Maya live, almost oblivious to the fact that the Conquistadors arrived five centuries ago. Holidays and Saint's days are celebrated with processions accompanied by drums, incense, ancient rites, and costumes.
The Catholic Church, founded over four centuries ago, is not to be missed, and no trip to Santiago is complete without a visit to Maxi Mon (ma-shee-món), the smoking-and-drinking Mayan-Catholic deity. A local English-speaking guide offers an unforgettable cultural tour of the village, focusing on shamanism, explaining religion and customs along the way.
A tour of a nearby "beneficio de cafe," with an explanation of coffee growing and processing is available (Dec-Feb). Spanish classes can be scheduled and a bilingual instructor teaches weaving. Walk through the market or down Gallery Row where the many galleries specialize in primitive paintings, sculptured woodcarvings, and excellent local weavings produced on back-strap looms.
Swimming, canoeing, hiking, diving, and bicycling are available. We rent mountain bikes and a canoe. Arrangements can be made for a guided horse back excursion to a nearby cloud forest. Guides can always be found for hikes up the volcanoes or to the bird reserve. For recreation, I personally recommend our lending library, the hammock in front of each room, and a drink. Don't forget your camera!
The Posada de Santiago is located 1.5 km from the municipal dock in Santiago Atitlan, where you will most likely be greeted by some of the most charming, yet rustic hawkers of weavings and sellers of peanuts in the country. We're on the lakeshore on the road to San Pedro.
COSTA RICA a trip of a life time travelling round this beautiful country. All went like clockwork even when the weather was against us and all transfers seemed to be part of the holiday not a chore. Would definitely use Adventure Life again having previously used them 20 years ago!!
Cynthia Calton
5 hours ago
Adventure Life helped me plan my trip to Antarctica. They always responded fast to my emails and were a pleasure to deal with.
Debbie W
23 hours ago
From the initial meeting and planning process with our trip planner Jess, through to the finalizing of our itinerary, trip details and questions, I was very impressed with the professionalism, thoroughness, organization and attention to details. I would highly recommend Adventure Life to anyone looking to plan a unique travelling experience, knowing that the expertise and experience provided will result in a seamless trip of a lifetime.
Lynn Farquharson
1 day ago
The travel specialists we've worked with for 2 vacations have made the trip planning process easy! They ask good questions to ensure they understand our goals and likes and have done an excellent job matching adventures with our preferences - even suggesting things we would not have thought about on our own!
Amy
2 days ago
Erin is great to work with on our adventure to Antartica. She gave us great choices and is very knowledgeable about the options. Her recommendations saved us from making some big mistakes.