We made our way down to the dock hoping to catch a ride from San Pedro over to San Marcos. It turns out we went to the wrong dock. Embarcadero San Pedro La Laguna was the closest port to the AirBnB we were staying at, so we went there first. They told us that if we wanted to catch the ferry, we'd have to go across town and catch one there. Or, we could pay $10 and rent out a whole boat to ourselves. In the interest of saving time, we rented the boat. Bonus: We had it all to ourselves!
San Marcos had some serious hippie vibes. When the boat drops you off you are on foot-traffic-only streets with plants and vines growing over the top. There are posters for psychedelic healing sessions and yoga retreats, and the price of everything is at least double what you'd pay in San Pedro or San Juan. The hippies mastered capitalism in the United States. Why not here?
When we first arrived here, the thing we noticed is how quiet it is compared to San Juan. Our AirBnB in San Juan was down the road, outside of the main town of San Juan. But tuk-tuks are noisy, and people want breakfast, so sleeping in was a challenge. Because San Marcos had a bunch of walking paths, there were no tuk-tuks near the commercial part of town.
One of the places we ate at in San Marcos was La Cocina at Lush. The food was amazing! It's a hotel restaurant, and the hotel looked fantastic. Next time we visit Lake Atitlán, we will stay here. They also have a fantastic garden:
San Marcos has several yoga retreat facilities. We trekked up the hill to Eagle's Nest Atitlán and had smoothies and took in the view. We would enjoy a yoga retreat at Eagle's Nest. The wife and I are into yoga, and the classes we observed looked stellar. Also, Eagle's Nest offered the best views of the lake we saw during the time we were there:
Overall, San Marcos was a great place to visit. The highlight for me were the footpaths through the town and all the lush vegetation. The shops were cute, but I'm glad we went to San Juan first because the prices were much more affordable there.
