Celebrating 12 Years at The Best Hotel on Lake Atitlan – La Casa Del Mundo

Greg and I just celebrated twelve incredible, adventurous years of marriage.

To commemorate the joyful event, we stayed the night at La Casa Del Mundo, a hotel on Lake Atitlan.

I love this place. Excellent food, quaint and very comfortable lodgings, delightful gardens and unbeatable views (from every room.)

Taking the boat from Panajachel toward Santa Cruz, we asked to be dropped of at the hotel dock (expect to pay no more than Q10 or 15 per person.)

One of the standout features of La Casa Del Mundo can be its use of virtual concierge software, enhancing the guest experience by providing easy access to hotel services and local information. This innovative technology ensures that guests can effortlessly plan their activities.

Whether enjoying a meal at their acclaimed restaurant or strolling through the impeccably landscaped gardens, every moment at La Casa Del Mundo felt like a tranquil escape into Guatemalan paradise.

This is the view from the dockside cabana.

Then we climbed the steps up to the office. La Casa Del Mundo is built right on the side of the mountain which juts out of the Lago, and contains plenty of rock stairs. Be prepared to climb!

Still climbing...

Greg checked in at the oficina which is also the cafe. Isn't it lovely?

Then we chilled at the Descanzo located below the cafe.

These are their 'World Famous Smoothies'. Make sure to get the orange juice, banana, strawberry (fresa), berry (mora) mix. It's not on the menu, but they'll make it upon request. (Smoothies are Q18 each.)

They served our lunch here as well. I ordered the Nacho Grande (Q40) and Greg got the Chicken Burritos (Q38). Both were excellent.

After eating, we were shown to our room.

First up the stairs that lead out of the oficina/cafe.

Then up more stairs to our lodgings -- Number 10 (they must have known it was our anniversary, which is the 10th of March. :)). This room was Q490 a night.

The view from our balcony.

Isn't it so cute? I could just take it home with me. 😀

Inside it looks like this...

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We... ahem... relaxed together for a bit, then spent time in our favorite activities -- reading and discussing great ideas (and now we could do it without a million interruptions by kids, thanks to our great friends who babysat for us.)

My current read is Walden by Thoreau, and Greg is reading Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. We shared our favorite parts, and philosophized, theorized, moralized and pontificated on 'the world as we see it'.

Too many people are living 'lives of quiet desperation', and what they call 'resignation is confirmed desperation.'

"It appears as if men had deliberately chosen the common mode of living because they preferred it to any other. Yet they honestly think there is no choice left... The incessant anxiety and strain of some is a well-nigh incurable form of disease...We thoroughly deny the possibility of change. This is the only way, we say; but there are as many was as there can be drawn radii from one centre."

"It is so possible to live as to gain all the advantage (enjoyment) of life, and none of the disadvantage."

How passionately we believe this! It burns inside, so that we want to shout it to the world!

Too many are 'endeavoring to solve the problem of living by a formula more complicated than the problem itself... we are all poor, surrounded by luxuries... Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed in them.'

Soon it's time for dinner. Cena (dinner) is served family style, with a single multi-course meal (with a vegetarian option). Tonights dinner is tomato soup, chicken chimichurri, vegetables, rice and cheesecake for dessert. (Dinner is Q90 per person.)

The table is set up family style, and by the time dinner is served (6:30pm), the only light is by candle.

During dinner we chat with Germans and Americans, sharing travel stories and other fascinations. After finishing our cheesecake, we head back to our room, and by 8:30 pm Greg is fast asleep. 😉 Walden kept me awake until almost 10pm.

In the morning before breakfast (which is served from 8:30 to 11:30 am), we go for a little hike into the village 'next door', Jaibalito. (Just FYI, the hotel suggests that guests do not hike along the trail from the hotel to Jaibalito or Santa Cruz without a local guide, but we knew better. ;))

We walked down the trail and then into the streets of town...

Past kids going to school...

And this old man who was hiking up into the woods. Where was he going and what was he doing??

We did a loop in the canyon above town, then came out on a trail through the Vulcano Lodge, which looked like another nice place to stay.

We hiked back to the hotel, then explored the grounds before going in to eat.




There you can see the hotel boat dock.

And this lovely place is lakeside next to the dock

If you want, they'll fill the hot tub for you. It's an additional Q230 for that experience.

Here you can see how much the lake level has risen in the past few years. The lake level has gone up at least 1 meter (3 feet) just since we have lived here the past year.


Finally we went in for breakfast, but I was so hungry (and it was so good) that I forgot to take a picture of it. I ordered the whole wheat pancakes with homemade syrup, fruit sauce, fruit and yogurt (Q48). Greg ordered the Burrito Chapin, with eggs, potatoes, and a rice tortilla (Q46). Both were amazing, once again. Here's what my plate looked like after.

Before our 11am checkout, we hung out in our room and... ahem... yes, and discussed more ideas -- like building tiny houses, homesteading, new business ideas, our next big Self-Reliance Project (more on that soon), and much more.

Then we tried to take a picture of ourselves.

We liked this one the best.

Have you stayed at Casa Del Mundo? Would you like to?

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