A tranquil view of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala

April 19, 2018 at 10:33PM
Linda Sandell
Lake Atitl·n, Guatemala My last day at Lake Atitl·n in Guatemala, I captured this early morning photo. The air was cold so mist rose up from the warm lake water. Daily, I enjoyed the vibrant colors in the Guatemalan landscape; the markets, street art and Maya textiles. I soaked up the serenity that morning while reflecting on the warmth of the Guatemalan people I was very fortunate to meet. Camera Canon Powershot S95
1. Linda Sandell Mounds View, MN 2. I took this photo f
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

THE Traveler: Linda Sandell of Mounds View.

The scene: Fishermen paddled on Lake Atitlan in the reflection of the San Pedro volcano. Sandell took the photo from the dock at Posada De Santiago, a small hotel in Santiago, Guatemala, on the lake with lodge rooms and individual cottages.

The destination: "Guatemala offers the traveler a beautiful but haunting landscape: the land of earthquakes and volcanoes," Sandell wrote in an e-mail. From her hotel window at night in Antigua — a colonial beauty in the country's central highlands — she could hear and see a volcano burp and puff smoke. Lake Atitlan is in a caldera, the sunken remains of an extinct volcano, and three active volcanoes rise along its shoreline. "I felt very fortunate to learn about the history and traditions of the Mayan world and experience the welcome and warmth of the people," Sandell added.

How she got the shot: As the sun rose and mist swirled, Sandell took a series of photographs of the changing scene. "Every morning a number of serious fishermen were on the lake. They were always very quiet." About this shot, she wrote, "I was struck by the mist, the reflection in the water and the stillness."

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