Life by the Lake

2027 Retreats in Guatemala

March 1-7 , 2027

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A week designed for slowing down and savoring where you are. Life by the Lake Retreat invites you to step out of daily routines and into a more intentional rhythm at Casa Paloma, Joyce Maynard’s home on the shores of Lake Atitlán. Set between water and volcanoes, the retreat offers a rare combination of beauty, ease, and thoughtful hospitality—creating space to rest, explore, and be fully present.

The experience unfolds gently, beginning in the historic streets of Antigua and continuing on the lake, where days are shaped by comfort, conversation, and unhurried time. Whether gathered together or enjoying moments of solitude, the week encourages connection—to place, to others, and to yourself—without agenda or expectation.

❋ A Place Made with Care

Casa Paloma is Joyce Maynard’s home and retreat center on Lake Atitlán, lovingly built over twenty-five years. Each room and casita is unique, decorated with the work of local artisans, and offers lake and volcano views that invite rest and reflection.

❋ A Journey, Not Just a Stay

The retreat begins with one night in a luxury boutique hotel in the historic town of Antigua, followed by six nights on the lake. The rhythm of the week allows time to slow down—whether that means swimming, kayaking, reading in a hammock, or simply taking in the beauty of the landscape.

❋ Culture, Curiosity, and Discovery

Rather than a writing workshop, this retreat centers on experiencing the rich Mayan culture of the region. Included excursions may range from visiting a cloud forest in search of the quetzal to exploring local markets, learning traditional weaving, or taking a cooking class with Casa Paloma’s chef, Rosa.

❋ Conversation and Connection

Each day offers time to gather with Joyce for thoughtful conversation—over morning coffee or in the evening—about books, ideas, and the stories of our lives, creating a warm, intimate atmosphere of shared experience and genuine connection.

“You will come away from Life by the Lake with Joyce with many new friends." - Heidi M, California

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" Interesting, deep, yummy, fun and oh-so-beautiful. " - Cynthia K, New York City

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“I left with my new beloved community of amazing people." - Dean F, Oregon

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" This was the best thing I have ever done for myself. " - Fern S, Los Angeles

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“You will come away from Life by the Lake with Joyce with many new friends." - Heidi M, California 〰️ " Interesting, deep, yummy, fun and oh-so-beautiful. " - Cynthia K, New York City 〰️ “I left with my new beloved community of amazing people." - Dean F, Oregon 〰️ " This was the best thing I have ever done for myself. " - Fern S, Los Angeles 〰️

Four women practicing yoga on mats in a tranquil, outdoor, wooded space with stone and wooden elements.
A group of six people sitting and standing around a long striped table outdoors, enjoying drinks and smiling, with colorful flags hanging above and a lush garden in the background.
Group of women dressed in colorful striped robes standing together on wooden floor in front of lush tropical plants.
A man in a blue shirt and gray cap showing a large, yellowish mushroom to a woman in a red shirt and black hat in a rustic room with wartime artifacts.
A group of women and one man, mostly wearing hats and sunglasses, standing on a colorful street decorated with hanging lights and flags, with mountains in the background.
A wooden pier extends into a lake with a mountain in the background. A boat is docked at the pier with a person standing nearby. Another person is sitting on the pier, and some tree stumps are protruding from the water.
Aerial view of a river surrounded by lush green trees and a small town with homes and buildings, with mountains in the background during sunset.
A person dressed in traditional indigenous attire sitting in front of a sacred fire, surrounded by offerings and natural items on a grassy mat.
Colorful woven textiles and accessories, likely traditional Mexican embroidery, displayed on a market stall.
Multiple plates of tacos with meat, shredded cheese, onions, and jalapeños on a table.
Colorful waterfront homes with wooden decks and lush greenery along a clear blue lake. Some homes have terraces overlooking the water, surrounded by trees and flowering bushes, with mountains in the background.
Days 1–2

The Journey Begins

The retreat begins with an easy landing and a gradual transition into the week ahead. From the moment you arrive, details are handled so you can slow down, get oriented, and begin connecting with the group.


Arrival in Guatemala City

Your journey begins in Guatemala City, where a car will be waiting to bring you to the small, beautiful, historic city of Antigua.


Evening in Antigua

There, you’ll meet your fellow writers over drinks and a celebratory dinner, and settle into a boutique hotel for the night. A member of the Casa Paloma team will be there to greet you, answer questions, and help you ease into the rhythm of the week ahead.


Exploration Time

The following morning is yours. Antigua is easy, walkable, and inviting—perfect for wandering cobblestone streets, visiting markets, or simply resting.


Journey to Lake Atitlán

Shortly after noon, the group travels together by shuttle, winding over the mountains toward Lake Atitlán. When you arrive at the water, a boat will be waiting to carry you across the lake to Joyce’s dock.


Welcome at Casa Paloma

Joyce will be there to welcome you—margaritas in hand (with or without alcohol)—as you step onto Casa Paloma and begin the retreat.


A cozy kitchen and dining area with a large window overlooking a lake and mountains, decorated with potted plants, wooden furniture, and hanging pots.
Days 3–7

The Week at Casa Paloma

Life at Casa Paloma unfolds slowly and with intention. Each day balances structure and spaciousness, supporting deep creative work alongside rest, reflection, and connection—always with room to follow your own pace.


Settle Into Rhythm

Life at Casa Paloma unfolds slowly and with intention. Days balance gentle structure with ample freedom—inviting rest, curiosity, and connection, with space to follow your own energy and interests.


Morning Rituals

Mornings begin quietly. The sauna is warm, the lake calm—offering time for swimming, kayaking, or simply sitting with coffee as the light moves across the water and volcanoes.


Movement & Presence

Optional yoga on the deck invites gentle movement and grounding—an opportunity to breathe deeply, stretch, and arrive fully in the day, surrounded by lake and sky.


Shared Meals

Meals anchor the day. Breakfasts in the garden begin with shared presence and conversation, followed by relaxed lunches and memorable dinners that bring everyone together around the table


Conversation & Connection

Evenings—or early mornings over coffee—offer unhurried conversation with Joyce as your host. Topics range from books and ideas to life stories and shared experience, shaped organically by the group.


Optional Excursions

For those who wish, the week includes optional explorations of the region: sunrise hikes overlooking five volcanoes, visits to local markets and weaving collectives, cooking lessons with our chef Rosa, ceremonies, artist studios, and time in the surrounding cloud forest.


Evening Gatherings

As the day winds down, evenings invite ease and connection—shared stories, laughter, and quiet moments together, often around the fire, before resting into the night.


Stone staircase in a lush green garden with dense foliage and trees surrounding it.
Day 8 

Wrap Up

The final morning is simple and well cared for. Before dawn, your packed and labeled bags are transported from your room to the dock. A boat carries you across the lake to Panajachel, where a shuttle continues on to the airport. Coffee, tea, fruit, and bread are provided for the journey—an easy, quiet close to the week.

Whats Included

  • Three healthy and extraordinary meals a day prepared fresh and served by our private chef, Rosa Navichoc Chac - vegetarian/gluten/dairy free options are available

  • Healthy homemade snacks, coffee, tea, and filtered water are available to all guests throughout the duration of your stay

  • One private professional one-hour lakeside massage

  • Wi-Fi and airport transportation

  • One night stay in a lovely boutique hotel in Antigua and dinner

  • Daily sauna access

  • Swimming and water activities including paddle boards and kayaks

  • Daily morning group yoga class

  • Cooking class with Chef Rosa

  • Lunch out to Joyce’s favorite restaurant on the lake.

  • Sunrise hike

  • Day trip to San Juan to visit a chocolate-making operation, an apiary, a women’s weaving collective, an herbal medicine woman and more.

  • Tour a local coffee roastery

  • Cacao ceremony

  • Traditional Mayan Shaman fire ceremony

  • Waterfall hike

  • Cloud forest hike in search of the Quetzal

Accommodations

Rooms are reserved on a first come, first served basis.

Before making your final decision, please carefully read the room description and click through the gallery of pictures. You want to be aware of each room's unique features.

Lakeside houses on a hillside with lush green trees and mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.
A detailed illustrated map of Casa Paloma Atitlán, showing different buildings, a garden, docks, a lake with boats, paths, trees, and various amenities such as a yoga platform, outdoor kitchen, sauna, and herb garden.

Apply for the Retreat

Questions? Email Megan — lifebythelakewithjoyce@gmail.com

What People Are Saying

  • “Those days with Joyce in Guatemala to dig into my story and to explore the structure of a memoir changed me as a person and a writer. The knowledge I gained equals an MFA (or two) in creative writing.”

    Mary B, Texas

  • “Each unique feature of this workshop, taken alone, is worth going back for: the creative boost to your writing, the truly divine food, and Joyce Maynard, who you really must see in action to believe.”

    Elizabeth H, Florida

  • “Great Writers who are great teachers are rare. Joyce possesses the talent to do both.”

    Priscilla B, New Hampshire

  • “When you think you’re not ready is the best time to attend a workshop offered by Joyce Maynard. Our time together was transformative to finding my voice and story.”

    — Jude S, Maine

  • “Write by the Lake gave me the clarity and confidence I needed to write my memoir. The setting alone is magical and transformative - but when combined with the teaching and support from other writers, the experience is truly life-changing.”

    — Gina B, Pennsylvania

FAQs

  • While you don’t need to be an athlete, the week does require a lot of walking. The first night and day in Antigua requires walking on flat cobblestone roads. Tuk Tuks (small motorized vehicles) are available for hire. The trip to Casa Paloma requires stepping into a small boat to travel to the property. Once you’ve arrived at Casa Paloma, you will need to step up out of the boat onto the dock (Joyce’s staff is there to assist). Casa Paloma is built on the side of a hill so there are steps to take you from one casita to another, from your casita to dinner, down stone steps to the massage, up steps to yoga, etc. On excursions to neighboring lake villages, there may be uneven walkways and sloped roads. There are Tuk Tuks available to hire by the lake as well. As a participant of Joyce’s retreats, expect to be walking and climbing stairs every day.

  • As of now, Guatemala is NOT requiring proof of a negative Covid test taken 3 days before departure, or proof of vaccination. In the interest of transparency, not everyone in the local Mayan indigenous community who is working at Casa Paloma has chosen to receive the vaccination. That being said, in our two years of hosting groups post-Covid, there has never been an issue.  

  • You will need a passport to enter Guatemala. If your passport is within six months of expiration, please renew it before you leave for Guatemala or you may encounter problems. We do recommend that you bring a photocopy of the first page of your passport and keep it separate from the passport itself. You do not need any special vaccinations to enter the country, although it is always wise to be up to date on tetanus, hepatitis, and rabies vaccinations when traveling to less-developed countries.

  • Retreat participants are responsible for booking their flights. Direct flights to Guatemala City are available from Miami, Newark, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. For those flying to Guatemala from other cities, a change of planes will be required. Book your flights early because sometimes they sell out or get expensive the closer you get to your departure date.

    In-country transportation to the lake, shuttles to and from the airport, and boat rides while at the lake are included.

  • Please make sure that your flight will arrive in Guatemala City no later than 4 p.m. to make it on time to dinner in Antigua. When booking your departing flight, only book something that leaves after 12:30 p.m. on the date of your departure. You will need time to travel from Lake Atitlan back to Guatemala City that morning.

  • Full refund (minus $500 admin fee) if cancellation is 8 weeks prior to retreat start date. 50% refund if cancellation is 6 weeks prior to the retreat start date. No Refund if cancellation is after 6 weeks prior to the retreat start date. You can purchase private travel insurance to reimburse you should you need to cancel after six weeks. We have had good experiences with the following travel insurance company:

    Happy Extraordinary Travels
    Bettye H. Ridley
    Travel Insurance Advisor

    Direct Phone: 1 - 888 - 474 - 0387
    Office Hours: 9:15 AM - 5:30 PM EST (M - F )

    Email: bettye@travelinsurance.com
    Website: www.travelinsurance.com
    Reviews: www.trustpilot.com/review/travelinsurance.com

  • There will be a bank at the Guatemala City airport when you arrive that offers a standard exchange rate on your American dollars. (Currently around 8 Quetzales to the dollar.) If your flight arrives late at night, you can use an ATM at the airport. There are no ATMs or banks in San Marcos, so I encourage you to get the money you need in Antigua. If you find yourself needing additional cash over the week, you can make a quick trip to the village of San Pedro, or take the boat to Panajachel. If you bring Traveler checks, they should be American Express only. Credit cards are not accepted in the village of San Marcos.

  • Lake Atitlan is not in the tropics. There is no Malaria. One of the many great things about the region of Lake Atitlan is that there are almost no bugs. An occasional scorpion has been spotted, but they are not lethal if you are stung by one. There are harmless spiders and at night the trees and the sky sparkle with fireflies. The weather at Lake Atitlan in February and March is typically sunny skies with temperatures in the 70s by day, cooling down to the 50s at night. in the mornings and a little cooler at night. Please bring a sweater or shawl for evenings outdoors under the palapa.

  • Yes, by all means, bring your laptop. Instead of carrying around a computer bag, you should use a simple backpack. The electrical current is the same as back in the U.S.

  • There is a doctor and a small hospital run by Americans in Santiago, about 45 minutes away. San Marcos is a very health-conscious town, but the orientation in the village leans toward preventive medicine and alternative healing. There is a doctor in a nearby village, and the Clinica Naturista in the village is led by an American nurse, but the nearest hospital that I would want to go to would be in Antigua. Several people with health problems have joined our retreats over the years. We kindly ask that you let us know about any health issues you have so we can help accommodate them.

  • There is a good internet connection at Casa Paloma. The best way to communicate with loved ones in the U.S. is on WhatsApp, which uses wifi for free messaging and calls. Family can use WhatsApp to makcallu or Manu (Casa Paloma retreat manager) for no freet is also the way to communicate with your retreat group and Gina, Megan, Manu, or Martha (travel coordinator in Guatemala) before and during the trip. The airport wifi is not always dependable. To troubleshoot this, it is recommended you bring a prepaid calling card. It can be costly to make international calls otherwise.

  • Tuition to the workshop is all-inclusive, with the following exceptions:

    ● Tips for helpers

    ● Healing Work: You should know that the village of San Marcos offers a vast range of alternative healing and massage practitioners. A ninety-minute massage will cost $30-35.

    Most other treatments are similarly priced.

    ● Phone: around a dollar a minute without your cell phone.

    ● Shopping budget: Your costs there can go from $4 for a pound of freshly picked and roasted local coffee or chocolate, to a couple hundred dollars if you want to fill your suitcase with textiles.

  • ● Soap and Shampoo

    ● Towels for shower and swimming

    ● Laundry service

    Please note: there are no hair dryers in the rooms.

  • When you tell your friends you’re coming to Guatemala, many may express concern that it’s a dangerous country. If you visit the U.S. State Department website you will see that Guatemala is still one of the countries with a travel advisory in place.

    Guatemala earned its “dangerous” reputation during the 30 years of brutal internal war. In the years since the 1996 signing of the Peace Accords, the country has struggled with corrupt leaders, as many countries do. As with most cities, there are parts of Guatemala City that are unsafe. There have also been robberies on the highways and back roads around the countryside, but you will not be taking these roads at night.

    The vast majority of the Mayan people in the village are peaceful, friendly, and trustworthy. They are the kind of people who would return a hundred quetzal notes they found in the pocket of your jeans when doing your laundry (as has happened to me). When traveling anywhere outside your country, be mindful not to flaunt expensive jewelry or cameras. It is recommended that women attending the workshop carry a backpack or a shoulder bag (there are beautiful ones for sale in Guatemala). We have never had a retreat attendee be a victim of physical violence.

  • A part of the proceeds from the retreat always goes to worthwhile projects and groups in the villages of San Marcos La Laguna and Santiago. Your attendance at a retreat or workshop in Guatemala provides the best kind of help to the Mayan indigenous community: bringing jobs and tourism to an area that has experienced hardship over the years. Let us know if you are interested in any volunteer projects around the village and we can help facilitate that.

    Poverty in Guatemala: Families in Guatemala do not go hungry, but in the villages, there is very little in the way of material possessions and comforts. While this may be difficult for Americans to see or understand, please know that a lack of money and possessions does not have any bearing on their happiness and ability to have fun. Guatemalan kids don’t have toys, but they tenderly care for babies and old people, and have a deep connection to earth. Little boys in the village roll hoops and catch fish at dawn. Girls help their mothers make fresh tortillas. One thing hardly ever hear in this community is the sound of a crying infant or child.

    One thing we always ask of participants at my retreats and workshops which does not have to involve any expense: If you are not using your full two-suitcase luggage allotment, it would be much appreciated if you could bring with you a bag of used clothing, particularly sneakers for kids. Some students bring down one or two pairs; others collect them from friends or buy up a pile of shoes at the Goodwill and come with ten pairs or more.

    Every year we have a giant shoe giveaway in town. One of the great things about living in this little village is that it’s a small enough place for your actions to make a difference. So, the month after the workshop, it’s easy for me to spot the effect of your time here. Children whose toes used to be sticking out of their sneakers can be seen jumping around in used but still-good Nikes. For a child here, shoes are among the few possessions that matter.