Disasters in Ecotourism

San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala

Ok, so I´ve been told by one of my close college friends that Lago de Atitlan or Lake Atitlan was one of the most beautiful places in the world. She was right. This lake is surrounded by volcanos and boasts amazing views. One problem. As of this year, the lake is completely contaminated and is considered dangerous just to swim in. Well this put a damper on the lake experience. We rented kayaks and realized that we were the only two people in the entire lake. Something was definetly wrong. We stayed in one of the lake side villages known for partying. It was dead. Empty restaurants were followed by empty bars. We did happen to catch a Pohang Steelers game in one of the British pubs along the street. Needless to say, we were the only ones in the bar watching. Pohang lost by the way to Argentina. If anything, we did have a beautiful view of the lake and the tranquility of the place still resonated- However, this is a major ecodisaster for Guatemala and it is only in our hopes that the government puts money into the area to clean up the lake. It would be a shame to see this area die out. After our quick trip we were bound for Antigua. A city full of colonial architecture and a buzzing nightlife-

The problem at Lake Atitlan will take a lot of community and government cooperation. There are many small groups working together to improve the situation, but the big help from the government has not yet materialized. The lake is still amazingly beautiful and people should still come and help support the local economy with their tourist dollars. A lot of information on the lakes cyanobacteria problem can be found at http://www.lakeatitlanhealth.com

written by Dennis Lynch on December 26, 2009

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