ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA

There is no fear of color in Guatemala. I am often amazed by the vast array of colors that I never thought would work together but somehow do here: olive green and hot pink, coral and turquoise blue, lilac and chartreuse, indigo and electric green.

Situated in a highland valley and nestled beside three volcanoes, Agua, Acatenango, and Fuego, Antigua is one of the best-preserved colonial cities in Central America. If you are lucky and look long enough, you can see a cloud of smoke escape from one of the active mountains. The morning mist hangs pale violet and gray on their sides. Colorful buildings are painted in a lively variety of bright pastels, tangerines, sun-drenched yellows, and cerulean blues.

LAKE ATITLÁN, GUATEMALA

Lake Atitlán is a volcanic lake in the western highlands, a mile above sea level, that seems to float in the sky. It is considered one of the deepest lakes in the world. In the Mayan language, Atitlán translates as “place where the rainbow gets its colors.”

Under a clear sky and bright sun, the dark blue of deep water shifts to lighter values in the shallows. Closer to the shore, where the clay gets stirred by the tide and the sunlight shines back off the seaweed, light-green and gray tones emerge.