Retire Early
Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler
In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age
of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this
financially independent lifestyle, they invite you
to take advantage of their wisdom and experience. |
|
El Dragon
Hotel
San Marcos La Laguna, Lake Atitlan,
Guatemala
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
When living in
Guatemala, we spend most of our time in
Panajachel, the most "developed" of the dozen or so villages around Lake
Atitlan. We have plenty of ATMs, banks,
restaurants,
yoga and art classes, grocery stores, delis,
coffee
shops, bars, hotels,
large
Mayan markets with fresh food of all kinds, pharmacies, doctors,
clinics and
volunteer opportunities.
Every once in a while,
we like to get away just for a different perspective. Many times we go to
Antigua,
a favorite of ours, but this time, we thought to stay the night in
San
Marcos, just across the lake.
The San Pedro dock in Panajachel
The morning was glorious. Several days
previously were overcast and a bit dreary, but today was crystal clear, and
had a crispness in the air.
We arrived to witness the lancha
leaving for San Marcos, so we just waited a few minutes and another one
filled up quickly.
We're off!
Map of the lake
On this map, we left from
Panajachel,
number 9 as marked, and we were headed to number 6 where El Dragon Hotel is
located. The first lancha was probably a directo, one that
goes directly to San Marcos, whereas the one we were taking made stops to
little towns and private docks along the way.
Normally with a directo it takes
about 20 minutes to arrive at San Marcos, but today it was a leisurely 45
minute boat ride to the small town.
Map from the dock to the hotel
There are two ways to get to El Dragon
Hotel, leaving from the dock. We took the shorter route through the soccer
field and arrived at the hotel around noon.
Colorful dragon painting and glass
encased details about the hotel
At the first right from the dock we
notice this excellent signage to help us find El Dragon.
There are several dragon motifs on the
property Here
you see a large dragon protecting the property from intruders and bad mojo.
Signs letting us know where to go
El Dragon is clean, manicured and
up-to-date. There was not a scrap of anything out of place.
Lounge, reception area and kitchen
We checked in at the reception area,
stating that we had reservations. Ruiz, the manager, was professional and
friendly. He confirmed our names in his concierge book and in a few moments,
Billy was registered. Ruiz checked our room to be sure it was prepared
before he gave us the key.
We had room Number 1!
Our spacious room awaited us
Towels twisted into swans were on the
firm bed and from our window we could see the dining room, various gardens
and the lake.
A flat screen TV was on the table, and we
quickly got the WiFi code so we could check our website and email.
Bathroom
The bathroom was immaculate, with a very
large open shower and various towels on the rack. Shampoo, lotion and
packets of soap were provided.
Hypnotic Lake Atitlan with volcanoes
We quickly took a look around to get some
photos, and immediately went to the hotel's beach. People do swim off this
beach, but to us, the water is chilly!
Dining room with another side dining
room at upper right
The dining room was enchanting. Due to
these flowers descending from the overhead canopy, humming birds and other
bird species abound!
A different angle of the dining area
Here you see the reception area and
lounge to the right, and the open air dining room in the center. Menus are
posted on the windows and individual menus are given to you when you order.
It was moving towards 1pm and we were
ready for lunch! The ribs sounded good, so we both decided to try them.
Pork ribs with mango sauce
Advertised as "fall-off-the-bone" pork
ribs, they did not disappoint. Served with grilled potatoes and a fresh
salad, there was plenty of food for a large appetite. Price for the ribs
plate was 70Quetzales, about $9USD.
Common areas
Another large TV, tropical sofas and
various tables and chairs, one can find a place to hang out, read, lie in
the sun or enjoy a meal, snack or drink. The whole space is open air and the
well tended gardens are just to the right. The beach is straight ahead.
In the center of the photo up the steps
you will see a bar that serves drinks during busy evenings.
Lounge chairs to enjoy the sun
With several sofa beds and chairs, one
can relax, take in the
views of the lake and gardens and enjoy the sun.
The Dragon Protector looks on.
A local Mayan man in his cayuco
Commonly seen around the lake are locals
in their scraped out tree trunk boats called cayucos. These locals
row their boats a bit off shore and go fishing to bring food home to their
families.
Beautiful Mayan waitress with our Key
Lime Pie
Back in Panajachel we have heard people
rave about the Key Lime Pie at El Dragon, so this was another treat we
indulged in. With a cup of Guatemalan brewed coffee, we split the pie
between us.
Truly amazing pie!
Well, this pie hit the charts on the best
Key Lime Pie we have had. Certainly it was Lime-y, airy, and not filled with
gelatin to keep its form. The graham cracker crust was fresh, and you could
taste the butter with which it was made. All in all, it was scrumptious. At
25Quetzales, (about $3USD) it was a bargain!
Another shot of the beach
Tranquility beckons as you can hear the
lake lap up on the stones here at the private beach. Gardens are to the
right and behind, out of the photo.
From the gardens looking towards
common area and beach
The tropical gardens add a sense of peace
to El Dragon Hotel. There is a little concrete bridge that runs over the
creek, and gravel paths to get from place to place. Beach towels were placed
on the grass by guests to also relax into the sounds of birds and gentle
surf.
Another common area
There were several places to just hang
out and appreciate the weather, the views, and the peacefulness of the
place.
Dining room is to the right, and the hot
tub is to the left.
Other rooms are privately tucked away
Stone walkways lead you to other
beautiful areas in the hotel. El Dragon currently has eleven rooms, but more
are being built as we speak. There will also be three apartments available
in the months ahead. If you wanted to live for a month or more in paradise,
you could reserve an apartment!
The hot tub!
We wanted to take part in everything
offered at El Dragon, so we asked the girls at the desk if they could
prepare the hot tub for us at around happy hour. They were quite pleased to
do so, and when the tub was ready, they knocked on our door to let us know.
Hot tub with jets on
The hot tub had powerful jets to massage
tight areas of our body. The water was hot and clean.
We reveled in the waters to soak out any
aches and pains, then prepared ourselves for dinner later on.
The Richie Rich Goat cheese/bacon pizza
This pizza is worth
mentioning. The crust was perfect - crispy and thin. There was no skimping
on the goat cheese, the bacon, the caramelized onions or the red bell
peppers. We asked for a little hot ground pepper to sprinkle on
and there was enough pizza to share between the two of us. Price was 70Q,
about $9USD.
Heaven!
Sunrise the next morning
The next morning was another dazzling
display of nature with all the perfect ingredients put together to impress.
We had a leisurely morning enjoying
coffee and ordering breakfast at the dining room later.
A man and his cayuco
Mayans have been living at Lake Atitlan
for centuries. They have survived everything that history and nature has
thrown at them and many still choose to live their traditional lives in
small villages.
Eggs Benedict
For breakfast we chose to try the Eggs
Benedict (45Q or $6USD). Served over crisp bacon and on a thick fluffy muffin, the eggs and
sauce were done nicely and the plate included rosemary potatoes. Definitely
filling for a morning, although I would have liked a slice of fruit on the
side as well to break it all up.
In the gardens
Time to go!
It was a delightful stay in the town of
San Marcos at the lovely El Dragon Hotel. Food was delicious, the room was
spotless and service was friendly.
The next time you are in San Marcos,
check out the restaurant and hotel, have a meal or decide to stay the night!
Mystical Lake Atitlan
We headed out to the dock and boarded
right away. Our stay in San Marcos was a special break from the routine we
have in Pana.
From the beach looking through the
hotel grounds
Rooms run from $24USD per night to
$79USD. Service was good, rooms were immaculate, food was tasty, the gardens
well manicured and the views of the lake were simply stunning.
El Dragon Hotel
San Marcos La Laguna, Lake Atitlan,
Guatemala, Tele: 011. 502. 3109.7707, or 011. 502. 3108. 1715, Email:
ELDragonHotel@gmail.com
Website: www.ELDragonHotel.com
For more stories, photos and information
about Antigua,
click here
For more stories
and photos of Guatemala, click
here
For more on
Retirement Topics,
click here and
here
About the Authors
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are
recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on
topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of
information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com,
they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since
1991. They wrote the popular books, The
Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your
Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website
bookstore or
on Amazon.com.
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