When we arrived in Panajachel it was just over a week since the storm Agatha had blown through. Of course the scars were still very visible. The town water system was not working, meaning that many houses and businesses were without running water for taps and toilets. Many people had lost all their belongings. We talked with one expat who had been out at a friend's during the worst of the storm and returned to find her bedroom had been washed into the torrent, along with the ten feet of riverbank on which it stat. Many communities outside of Pana were hit even worse by flood waters and landslides and reliefe from the Guatemalan government has been painfully slow.

The photo above and the 2 which follow it form a wide view of the river in which mountain run-off emptied into the lake. Above you can see the errosion of the far bank. The pedestrain bridge is also down.

Also, you can't see it, but just out of frame on the left, a mountainside cloapsed across the road that goes to the next village. Behind the landslide is a lot of water and this worries authorities as it is still early in the rainy season. Meaning that with more accumulation over coming months, there will be the risk of a devastating flash flood.


Above, you can see some of the houses and stores that collapsed when the river bank was taken out from under them. The river bed was strewn with huge bolders that were being removed by heavy equipment.


Above, one of the two volcanos at the south side of the lake watches with indifference. It's hard to tell where the riverbed ends and the bank begins.


With the massive amounts of runoff from the rains the turbidity level of the lake has gone way up. But the streams of runoff didn't just bring dirt from the mountain down, they also brought garbage, as you can see above, where some random bits an pieces are floating in the open water.


Above, water taxis moored at one of the other towns on the lake (Santa Cruz) sit beset by masses of trash. The masses of sediment washed down from the mountains and the debris that was swept from streets, homes, and who knows where else is changing the PH level of the lake water and this will increase the frequency of algae blooms that have been happening in recent years. If this continues, not only will the clarity and exotic colour of the lake be forever changed, but the lake's entire ecosystem along with them. Community stakeholders are working to raise awareness around the lake and to stabilize the situation, as for most the lake is the mainstay of local economy.
Jaibalito, a smaller village on the western side of the lake also sustained serious damage. In fact, officially it was supposed to be evacuated, but most residents remained to repair the damage. Many of these villages are full not only of indigenous Guatemalans, but also ex-pats. Above you see some of the ex-pat houses that have had a landslide fall very close by. In the photo men work to clear boulders by hand.


The path to the jetty at Jaibalito. Before Agatha, there was solid ground here, not a river bed!