TRAVERSE Issue 48 - June 2025 | Page 148

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creepers has restored the beauty of the buildings to the many visitors. To get from one place to another it is often necessary to pass under the thick canopy of vegetation admiring spider monkeys performing acrobatics. We were also struck by mammals similar to raccoons that search for food without caring about our gaze.
In Flores we enjoyed observing the skill of the locals in driving motorbikes onto the small boats that allow them to cross the lake. The pastel-coloured houses that decorate the small islet on which the old city is located reminded us of our villages and dragged us into the relaxed atmosphere of a Sunday afternoon.
Nothing we had seen is comparable to the beauty we found on the shores of Lake Atitlán located in the heart of the great plateau of the central region. It took just a few moments to forget the fatigue of the day ' s driving, on roads that are sometimes really challenging, when the profile of the volcanoes over 3000 metres high appeared before us. We stopped in San Pedro la Laguna which has preserved intact the characteristics of an authentic Mayan village. The walls of the houses are painted with enormous graffiti, the tuk tuks rush along the rugged, bumpy roads and the market stalls spread out over a good part of the streets of the town. We wandered among the locals with their colourful clothes and large wicker baskets full of every goodness of nature. We filled our eyes, and our bellies, with very fresh tropical fruit that we bought for a few pennies.
Still not satisfied, we climbed to
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