The bus out from Antigua to San Pedro costs $65 Q, I purchased the ticket at the hostel out of laziness so if you shop around you may be able to get it cheaper. San Pedro is one of many towns located on the shore of Lake Atitlan, a beautiful lake surrounded by volcanoes. the ticket cost was The trip was suppose to take 3 1/2 hours but the time estimate didn't take into consideration road construction that was going on about 1/2 way along the route which resulted in an hour delay. We also had to drop some folks off at another town (San Marcos) on the other side of the lake so we arrived in San Pedro at about 7pm. The bus of people were great, when we got to the road construction a guy on the bus pulled out a 2 litre jug of the local moonshine called cusha (Kusha?). It smells a little like turpentine but by the second swig it starts to taste okay. A great way to pass the time while waiting to get through the road closure.

I ended up getting a room with a women I met on the bus who was also traveling alone. It was a nice hotel called the Santa Dominga located at the end of the main road by the dock. We stayed there for 3 nights but as I was planning to stay in town for 3 weeks I wanted to get my own place so we moved to another hotel that was on the lake where we got seperate rooms. I can't remember the name of the hotel but it is just up from the Burrito Factory on the road out of town (on the lake side of the street but the office is a store located across from it). The price was good at $35 Q a night for a private room, shared outdoor bathroom and kitchen (no fridge). The common area had lots of hammocks and chairs and it is right on the lake so the view was great but... there was no lock on the inside of the door, when I went to sleep at night, the lock was a piece of wood I had to wedge between the door and the leg of the bed. Lots of spiders and roaches as the gap under the door was a good 3 inches high so I decided to move after day 2.

I ended up spending the rest of the time I was there (2 weeks) at the Penelue, it was $30 Q a night for a private room with it's own bathroom, a shared kitchen (no fridge) and patios with great lake views. The people who own it were great and the people staying there were all there for a couple of weeks as well. A great mix of folks from all over the world; Brits, New Zealanders, Americans, Canadians, Japanese pretty much every country was represented.

I signed up for Spanish lessons at a cost of $675 Q for the week 4 hours a day for 5 days. I ended up taking 2 weeks worth however see my other hub on what to look for in a Spanish school for how that went.

There is lots to do on the lake, swimming and kayaking, kayak rental was $10Q.I also did a day trip over to San Marcos which is smaller than San Pedro and way more laid back, the cost of the boat ride over was $10 Q or you can take the local taxis which are pick up trucks that you stand in the back of for about $2 Q. Lots of Yoga retreats and healing centres as well as some great cliffs to jump off of into the late.

There are some great places to party in San Pedro. The Budda Bar, Barrio, Flying Dog, Freedom and The Alegre. There is a rotating system, every bar has a night where they are busy and the rest are dead. It rotates through the week so they all get a turn at having the crowd. During my stay there was a music festival over in Santiago but due to a little too much drinking the previous evening I was not able to attend but some friends went to it and said it was great. Food can be purchased in a range of prices, there are lots of 3 for $10 Q taco stands, street meat (chicken, beef) is around $8 Q. Restaurant meals are in the $24 Q - $40 Q range and beers are in the $24 Q range for a 1 litre bottle. Lots of bars have drink specials including $4 Q Cuba Libra's and $5 Q Screwdrivers so there is something for every budget.

There are lots of Internet cafes in San Pedro most located in great coffee shops that serve local coffee. The one I ended up using the most was D'noz it is located right by the dock. They have WiFi and all you have to do is buy a beer to use it, they also have computer stations upstairs.

San Pedro is hard to leave, lots of folks in town came for a week and they are now on month 2.. It is the running joke around town, if you don't have a ticket out you are not really going. Lots of them just gave up on getting out and got jobs. San Pedro seems to the be Bermuda triangle of Guatemala, people go in but very few ever come out.

If you are looking for people you met on your travels visit Lost Trekkers a free international people search.