By Mayra Beltrán de Daetz

Guatemala -- Lake Atitlán, located in the Department of Sololá, has one of the most beautiful landscapes found anywhere in Guatemala. Its beauty has been compared with Switzerland's lakes.
Along the margins of the lake, there are three imposing volcanos: Atitlán, Tolimán and San Pedro. The lake is located at 1,560 meters at sea level and is 18 km long. Its depth varies and at many points it is not known, but drilling has reached depths of more than 350 meters.
In reviewing the history of the scientific origin of the most beautiful "Lake of the World," as Atitlán is called, there are two versions. One version says that the lake is an old dead crater. The other is that the sprouting volcanoes interrupted the course of three rivers coming from the north. When the rivers reunited, their waters created the lake. The lake does not have visible water drainage.
The lake is surrounded by 12 colorful little towns that are called the twelve apostles: Santa Catarina Palopó, San Antonio Palopó, San Lucas Tolimán, Santiago Atitlán, San Pedro the Lagoon, San Juan the Lagoon, San Pablo the Lagoon, San Marcos the Lagoon, Santa Cruz the Lagoon, Panajachel and others.
The Lake, located only two hours away from Guatemala City, takes longer to arrive at by bus. To get there, it's necessary to cross very mountainous terrain and so travel is very slow. When arriving at the lake, the first town that you find is Panajachel. It is the place where all travelers vacationing in the region can find the hotels and chalets.
The meaning of Atitlán comes from Atit, the feminine word meaning Moon, and Ala, meaning masculine man. The first Spaniards, in the 16th Century, put the two words together and named the lake Atitlán.
While the scientific version of the origin of Atitlán leaves nothing to the imagination, a legend of how the lake was formed is more popular and romantic among Guatemaltecos. It is said there existed an impossible love between the Sun and the Moon and that throughout the eternal ages they have been forced to live separated by an evil spell.
While one commands the day, the other endures its dark sadness at night. They undergo the separation in silence with the unique hope of an eclipse, thus to be able to see one another. They say that the Moon's lovesickness ended with a single sweet tear. The tear fell on the same side of the Earth as Guatemala and formed the lake of Atitlán.
I'm sharing these stories because it is a pity that this site of national pride with its tales of heavenly origins which has been the inspiration for so many painters, writers and singers is dying. It is dying from neglect, either from the residents of the area or from the government's own disinterest.
The lake suffers with cyanobacterium contamination. It's a bacteria that transformed the pristine waters of Atitlán into a stinky, greenish mess. The contamination was first discovered three years ago by biologists. Ever since then, the biologists tried to warn the government and local communities of the bacteria's threat, but no one listened. So nowadays, the biologists refer to the case as "the history of an announced death."
The popular theory is that the contamination stems from a variety of factors: the widespread use of inorganic fertilizers, the dirt blown into the lake from Hurricane Stan, the growth of the local population around the lake and the nonexistence of water treatment plants needed to cleanse the sewage coming from the chalets, hotels and local communities.
Finally, people are paying attention. Sectors of the civil society have had meetings to discuss the problems caused by the bacteria. The Atitlán Foundation, the mayors of the nearby towns, the government's vice-minister of atmosphere, along with, nongovernmental organizations and biologists have met to discuss what can be done.
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