A day at the dentist; an evening with a con artist; chicken buses: I don’t have enough words or pictures to write a full entry about all of these, so please accept, instead, this entry of mini-stories.

Lake Atitlan is surrounded by relatively isolated small towns, each becoming known in its own way as a tourist destination. San Pedro is for the druggies, San Marcos is for yoga and hippies, and Santa Cruz is tiny and mostly just to relax. I stayed a few days in San Pedro, learning weaving and meeting Diego, the famous chocolatier, but I soon moved on to Santa Cruz. It was there that I met one of the most interesting characters of my trip to date. (more…)