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Mark Moxon's Travel Writing

Guatemala: Up the Indian's Nose

Lago de Atitlán in the early light of dawn
Lago de Atitlán in the early light of dawn

From San Pedro La Laguna on the western shores of Lake Atilán, there are two popular day trips that every self-respecting walker should consider if they're in the area. The first, and most popular, is a jaunt up to the crater rim, to a spot called the Indian's Nose, so-called because the shape of the crater from San Pedro looks like the profile of an Indian lying on his back, and the highest point is the Indian's nose. The second is a four-hour climb up Volcán San Pedro, which looms over the town of the same name.

San Pedro from the Indian's Nose
San Pedro from the Indian's Nose
The sun rising behind Volcán Agua and Actenango
The sun rising behind Volcán Agua and Actenango

The Chicken Bus

Volcán Fuego letting off a bit of steam
Volcán Fuego letting off a bit of steam

The first leg of our journey was by chicken bus. The chicken bus is a Central American staple, and although a lot of travellers use the much more comfortable and more efficient tourist shuttles to get between the main attractions, sometimes you have no choice but to hop on the chicken bus. Depending on who you talk to, they are either called chicken buses because everyone uses them, even the local livestock, or because they cram passengers in like chickens in a factory; both versions are accurate. The buses are mostly old American school buses, painted in garish colours and rebuilt to last forever; quite how much of the original bus remains is up for debate, but as with most developing nations the world over, nothing ever gets thrown away, and the chicken bus is a perfect example. Hailing from an era when being environmentally friendly simply meant smiling at everyone around you, the chicken bus is a reminder of how the other half live, and travel.

The sun rising behind Volcán Fuego (right), Volcán Agua and Actenango
The sun rising behind Volcán Fuego (right), Volcán Agua and Actenango
The northern lake shore
The northern lake shore
Looking west fron the Indian's Nose along the crater rim; the crater drops down to the left
Looking west fron the Indian's Nose along the crater rim; the crater drops down to the left
Walking back down from the Indian's Nose along the crater rim
Walking back down from the Indian's Nose along the crater rim
The corn fields along the crater rim
The corn fields along the crater rim

Up the Nose

The lake from the crater rim
The lake from the crater rim

The walk up to the top of the high Indian's Nose is fairly steep, but it's not too difficult. Peta did really well, considering that she's just come out of a batch of bronchitis, has asthma, gets triggered by cold, damp air (like the cold, damp air of the Guatemalan mountains), is afraid of heights, and (I have permission to say) is no longer a spring chicken. She stoically soldiered on to the top, stopping only for a few rests, and it wasn't long before we'd passed the first lookout post, and had scaled to the very top of the mountain.

The Indian's Nose from the crater rim
The Indian's Nose from the crater rim
Looking down on San Juan La Laguna from the crater rim
Looking down on San Juan La Laguna from the crater rim
The view on the way down into the crater
The view on the way down into the crater
Looking down on San Juan La Laguna from the descent
Looking down on San Juan La Laguna from the descent
The Indian's Nose from the descent
The Indian's Nose from the descent