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CY-IWANDER BLOG is a weekly blog; a mash-up of the last few years. Stories from time spent living in Cuba, including info on where to dance in Havana including classes in casino, son, salsa, and cuban rumba.  Also tips on living in Xela, Guatemala and volunteering at Pop Wuj.  Finally, a great deal of information on Mexico and particularly of Oaxaca.

After returning back to Canada, this blog focuses more on local events in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal and the photographic work of Caroline Yung. 

Come by every Sunday afternoon for a new blog post!

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San Pedro Hor Blog-6331.jpg

Lago Atitlan - There is more to offer outside of San Pedro

Caroline Yung May 14, 2013

San Pedro - Lago Atitlan

Arriving from San Cristobal, Chiapas in Mexico to Lago Atitlan, I had heard such amazing things about the lake,  I was surprised that by first impressions - I didn’t like it much.  As Elizabeth Gilbert put it well “Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment”.

Lago Atitlan is a large lake in the central-western highlands of Guatemala surrounded by numerous Mayan villages and set amongst a backdrop of mountains and volcanoes.  The entire area has a laid-back vibe (almost island like), but two communities in particular, San Marcos and San Pedro have become very popular with tourists.

With two friends I met in San Cristobal, we arrived in San Pedro, the second largest lakeside town after Panajachel (Pana), the main transfer hub in the lake.  

San Pedro is known for a party scene, but we hadn’t quite realized it was also very quite heavy on the drugs.  While the food was great, the actual town itself was rather uninteresting.  We stayed for three nights, but after the second night we were dying to get out.  Tourism in San Pedro has become extremely built up, and this makes interaction between visitors and those living there, beyond an exchange of cash for goods and services difficult.  The highlight of my stay in San Pedro was a sunrise hike to Indian Nose (2863M), which was actually from a completely different town (Santa Clara).

For accommodations we first stayed at Yo Mama's, which was extremely basic, with a good number of long-term guests that somehow got stuck there for weeks (please read between the lines).  Our last night we stayed at Pinocchio, a family run hotel, the prices were similar to the hostel (35-40Q/just over $5) for a bed) and the prices went down if you stayed more than one night.

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Bailando Cuba 2017!
about a year ago
Baby Breton (@ 36 weeks!)
about 2 years ago
LA RUMBA PARA SOBREVIVIR - RUMBA TO SURVIVE
LA RUMBA PARA SOBREVIVIR - RUMBA TO SURVIVE
about 2 years ago
InGuatemala TagsGuatemala, San Pedro, Indian Nose Hike, Caroline Yung, cy-iwander, Lago Atitlan, Accommodations in San Pedro, Yo Mamas Lago Atitlan, Pinocchio San Pedro
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SEE-WHY-I-WANDER IS THE BLOG OF CAROLINE YUNG - STORIES AND EVENTS WITH A FOCUS ON LATIN DANCE, CUBAN CULTURE, PHOTOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL

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RECENT POSTS 

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Caroline Yung | 613-866-3130 | hi@cy-iwander.com | ©Caroline Yung 2014

Photographer. Dancer. Blogger - "Travel. Dance. Do What Makes You Happy".

cy-iwander

photography · travel · dance

Caroline Yung is a free-lance photographer and blogger based in Canada.

She recently spent fifteen months beginning in 2013, traveling, living and dancing her way through Central America; from Cuba to Nicaragua and back again.

CY-IWANDER is a blog on travel and latin dance including Cuban rumba, casino, and salsa, as well as a photographic journey of time spent living in Latin America, with detailed information on the best spots to visit in Guatemala, Cuba and Mexico.  

 

CY-IWANDER | , Ottawa

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