WET, WET Rainy Season

This year has been the wettest rainy season we've had since coming to Guatemala 20 years ago. The season started off in May with Hurricane Agatha which dumped a lot of water on the country. (Agatha hit two days after the Volcano Pacaya dropped black ash (looking like black snow) on the capital city.) Since Agatha, there have been many other tropical storms. The ground is so saturated, that it has caused countless landslides, bridges to be wiped out and trees to fall. The four lane Pan American highway is down to just two lanes in many places. The rains continue and the ground gets soggier. Needless to say, we are anxiously awaiting dry season this year.

These pictures are all taken on the road between Patzun and Panajachel. They by no means show all the problems on the road caused by the rains.

Fording the river because the bridge is no longer there.

Another view of the washed-out bridge


There used to be a bridge in front of this landslide.
(The bridge was in bad shape before this problem occurred.)
Now we drive over the land bridge made by the slide.

In the town of Santiago, Atitlan, the lake-side city park is now a water park because Lake Atitlan has risen several meters!!