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Continuing east from San Marcos, it's a thirty-minute walk along a dirt road to the next lakeside village, TZUNUNA , where the women often run from oncoming strangers, sheltering behind the nearest tree in giggling groups. Here the road indisputably ends, giving way to a narrow path cut out of the steep hillside, which can be a little hard to follow as it descends to cross small streams and then climbs up again around the rocky outcrops. The next, slightly ragged-looking place is JAIBALITO , an isolated lakeside settlement nestling between soaring milpa -clad slopes. Though the village remains resolutely Kaqchikel - very little Spanish is spoken, and few women have ever journeyed much beyond Lago de Atitlan - the opening of two new hotels means that outside influence is growing. Almost lost amongst the coffee bushes, 70m north of the main pathway, the Norwegian-owned Vulcano Lodge (tel 410 2237, www.atitlan.com/vulcano.htm ) is tranquil and beautifully maintained, its well-tended garden bursting with bouganvilliea and flowering shrubs and scattered with sun loungers and hammocks. There's a bright little restaurant decorated with antique huipiles , and a choice of spotless, comfortable double rooms (US$15-25) and very stylish two-bedroomed suites (US$40-60) with balconies, ideal for families. Heading west, it's a steep five-minute walk up along the cliff path to the spectacularly sited La Casa del Mundo (tel 204 5558, fax 762 2333, www.atitlan.com/casamundo.htm ; rooms US$15-25, suite US$100 and over). It's a simply magnificent place, the culmination of twelve years' work by the warm American host family, with a range of atmospheric accommodation including a budget room, doubles (rooms 1 and 3 have the best views), detached stone cabins, and a glorious suite with private Jacuzzi, kitchen and balcony. Guests can rent kayaks - the hotel boasts its own dock - and use the lakeside hot tub. From Jaibalito it's around an hour to Santa Cruz along a glorious, easy-to-follow path gripping the steep hillside. Set well back from the lake on a shelf 100m or so above the water, SANTA CRUZ LA LAGUNA is the largest in this line of villages with a population of around 4000. If you arrive here by boat it may appear to be just a collection of hotels , as the village is higher up above the lake. There isn't much to see in Santa Cruz, apart from a fine sixteenth-century church, and most people spend their time here walking, swimming or just chilling out with a book. Alternatively, there's some excellent hiking , including a walk to a waterfall above the village football pitch, and another to Solola along a spectacular path that takes around three hours. On the shore, opposite a line of wooden jetties, you'll find the Iguana Perdida ( www.atitlan.com/iguana.htm ; US$5-15), owned by an English-American couple, with undoubtedly the most convivial atmosphere in Lago de Atitlan. The rooms are fairly basic, ranging from dorms (US$2.50) to twin-bedded doubles, but it's the gorgeous, peaceful site overlooking the lake and volcanoes that really makes this place. Dinner (US$4.50) is a wholesome three-course communal affair. The Iguana is also home to Lago de Atitlan's only dive school , ATI Divers (in Panajachel tel 762 2646, www.atitlan.com ), a professional PADI outfit that can train all levels up to assistant instructor. Next door is another good place, the slightly more expensive and comfortable Hotel Arca de Noe (tel 306 4352, www.atitlan.com/arcadenoe.htm ; small rooms US$10-15, larger rooms US$25-40), with a selection of attractive rooms, most with private bath, and uninterrupted views of the lake from the spacious terraced gardens. There's good home cooking here as well, with large breakfasts for US$4 and dinner for US$7. On the other side of the main dock, the Posada Abaj ( www.atitlan.com/abaj ; US$15-25), offers beautiful, peaceful gardens, decent, though unexceptional, rooms and a restaurant. However, service standards are not always the highest, and perhaps consequently the hotel is less popular than others nearby. Beyond Santa Cruz a lakeside path wriggles past luxury villas for a kilometre to the small bay of Paxanax , ringed by about twenty holiday homes, where a magnificent and superb-value luxury guest house, Villa Sumaya (tel 762 0488; www.villasumaya.com ; US$25-60) enjoys stupendous lake views. All the seven rooms and one suite have sumptuous beds, stylish decor and balconies with hammocks, and there's a fine Mediterranean restaurant and a hot tub and sauna. Beyond Paxanax a path runs directly to Panajachel, though it's very hard to follow, and distraught walkers have been known to spend as long as seven hours scrambling through the undergrowth. Lanchas will call in at Paxanax if they see you waving from the pier beside Villa Sumaya , but as there's very little traffic from here it's often best to go back to Santa Cruz and pick up a boat from there.
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