Whats Happening at the Lake

Ive been here at Lake Atitlan for about a week now so I guess I should update anyone out there who reads my ramblings...

Well, Im basically here to "clean up" my stuff from when I was living here... More than a year ago now!
I left four motorbikes, a guitar, about four boxes of "personal stuff", and some other assorted bits and pieces here. And now that Ive burned through quite a few thousands of dollars worth of credit with my motorcycle wanderings for the last year, I need to go "get a real job" to pay off the debt. And given that thats gonna take a while to do, I cant leave my stuff here any more...
Its been cluttering up other peoples space for far too long as it is.

The guitar Ill take on the bike with me since I cant post it and I find I dont want to sell it for a pittance down here. (I guess we shall see if it survives the trials of "Adventure Touring!")
The boxes of stuff Ill repack and post back to Canada, though it will cost me a pretty penny! But again, I find I want it so Ill absorb the expense!

The bikes are not as big a problem as they might have been...
I came to the conclusion that I should sell them off at some point while I was riding down in South America, and one of my friends here at the lake helped me out a lot and managed to sell three out of the four rental bikes while I was away. I paid him a commission of course, but its still a huge help that I now only have to deal with one.

But thats actually being a bit of a pain..,
To keep a long story short, one way and another the bike and its papers have taken long circuitous and independent paths for the last couple of years, and now that I go through my stuff, the papers are nowhere to be found... Not too surprising since there are quite a few things that I know I had here that have either "disappeared" or been "given away" while I wasnt around!... And I think the papers were accidentally in one of those categories...
So, the most likely outcome at this stage is that Ill sell the bike back to the original owner (In Guate' city) at a big discount; just so the papers issue is out of the way (The bike is actually still registered in his name) and so I can sell it quickly and be on my way North...

And I find that I actually do want to go North pretty quickly for several reasons...
Not least being that Ive ridden through the same country (Mexico and USA) three times already and its not so new and exciting to me any more :)
Apart from the fact that its also rainy season down here and is very dreary!... And that all the people I knew that lived here are either on holiday or have left the lake permanently!...
And last but not least, itd be a shame to miss all of the Northern summer and ride from one wet season straight into another ! :)

So, Im keen to be on my way back North.

But, what of the lake here in the six months that Ive been away?

Well, things at the lake are more or less as I expected... If you recall, last time I wrote about the lake, it was to describe the "disaster" of a very strong algal bloom turning the once pristine blue lake into a putrid stinking yellow-green mess... And my view of why that was and so on...

Well, things are more or less as I expected...
Its wet season now and so its cold and rainy compared to dry season, and this has basically dissipated the bulk of the floating algae... But it certainly has not removed it and Im pretty sure that when dry season comes around again the algae will be back in force.
Even though the waters are for the most part pretty clear at the moment, its still very clear to me that the algae is there because the lake now has a far stronger tint of green rather than the blue that it had when I first saw it about three years ago... And thats never a good sign when it comes to bodies of water!

And its been a very rainy season here too... With tropical storms coming through and dumping huge amounts of rain in the area... There have been dozens of smaller land-slides all around the lake, and several quite large ones too; with one destroying quite a few houses here in San Pedro (Though taking only one life it seems).
So, the lake is full of floating pumice and plastic litter that has washed down of the hill sides with all the rain... But of course, thats how it usually is at this time of year :)

And what of "changes" that would help fix the algae problem???
Well, the main source of the problem was undoubtedly the use of artificial fertilisers in the catchment, and the flushing of untreated sewerage into the lake by several of the larger towns on its shores...
Well, sadly, I have to say that this too is (at least for the time being) pretty much as I expected it would be...
There was much talk...
There was much good intent...
Apparently there were even new laws passed in various municipal, state and federal bodies to make changes (Though this is only hear-say for me... I know no facts)...
Im told the use of artificial fertilisers was banned or at least limited in the lake catchment.
Im told there was a law passed about any structures or agriculture being prohibited within 10m of the lake shore.
Im told Several sewerage processing plant building projects have been initiated.
Im told the washing of clothes in the lake (and use of detergents) was banned too.
... All good stuff :)

But I see NONE of this in actual effect...
There are still plenty of women down at the lake every morning washing their clothes and ploughing more detergent into the lake.
There are several new buildings on the lake shore, and farming and agriculture go on right down to the water line as usual... Despite there being a "red stake" here and there marking the official 10m boundary margin!... So, the laws were passed but they are not being policed at all (sadly predictable !)
Neither have I seen any evidence of municipal sewerage treatment plant projects (though these do take time to build).

But, I have seen that over in Pana' (one of the major sewerage offenders) that they are very actively fixing and burying their sewerage line so its no longer visible!... Still goes straight into the lake though!
And when I rode into the lake, I came along a different road and I rode right through the middle of the larger catchment area of one of the biggest tributary rivers to the lake... And the fields were full of lush growing corn... And the corn was very tall, very dark green and very closely spaced... And Im absolutely sure it was very heavily fertilised!

And, Ive also seen that pretty much every town on the lake has a very nicely built brand new municipal dock... They look great and are clearly the result of recent government or perhaps international aid group spending... But they dont effect the pollution problem one jot!

And so it seems that at least so far, there are no changes at all to the problems... Like I said... Disappointing but not at all surprising!

But, it will not "kill" the towns on the lake...
On the contrary, San Pedro still appears to be growing quite rapidly... There are a few restaurants that have failed and closed, but for every one that has closed, there seem to be at least two more new ones that have opened. And there are more hostels and hotels, and more little tourist nick-nack shops than ever before... The place is alive and growing...


... And so, in short, "Life goes on as usual with no real changes"... Just as expected.
And the local people have learned very quickly to accept that the lake is now greener ... And they go about their lives doing what they always do... And so I think the algae problem will persist.


But the fact that the lake is greener is not why I have decided to sell off my little motorbike enterprise and go "get a job" back in Canada.
Its more that I am just not "engaged" enough here, and I need something more! Though specifically what that "more" is, is tricky to define!
But regardless of the uncertainty of what Ill do when I get back or what "more" Im seeking, Im feeling ready to "re-engage" with life back in Vancouver....

... Well, at least for the time being anyway... Until I figure out how to finance another big motorbike trip :)))