A Day Without Fiat in Panajachel, Guatemala

Arriving as a tourist or digital nomad at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, you may eventually find yourself running out of cash and in need of the local currency, Quetzal.
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In the traditional fiat world, your options for obtaining quetzales are rather bad:

• Cash exchange - prepare to be scammed out of 12% because they will give you Q7 for $1, the official rate is 7.86
• Local ATM: If you are super lucky and your card works (mine wont), you will lose ~7%

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Thankfully Bitcoin fixes this and gives you better options:

• Bitcoin ATM: 2.5-4.5% (+on-chain fee). There are two ATMs, one in San Marcos, the other, cheaper (supporting LN!), in Panajachel.
• P2P exchange: get in touch with Lago Bitcoin community and they will surely help you exchange for around 2% of friendly commission 
• BEST OPTION: Spend your satoshis directly in one of dozens businesses and avoid all this trouble with cash 

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During my second week in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, I had almost completely depleted all my available cash. At this point, I had limited options and wondered if I would be able to find a way to sustain myself or if I would face the grim possibility of starvation.

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9:30 AM - Coffee in Jazz Café

see on BTCmap.org

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I was pleasantly surprised to discover several establishments in Lake Atitlan that accepted Bitcoin as a form of payment. One such place was a small and cozy café run by a friendly young boy who always had his Blink wallet ready to receive bitcoin. I started my day there with a delicious café americano, which only cost me 9k satoshis. 

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11:00 AM - Chicharrones y Carnitas Don Güilo

see on BTCmap.org

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One of my favorite food spots was a health food joint where they served chicharrón, a dish consisting of crisp bits of fat and meat fried in its own juices. The lady who ran the place was incredibly cheerful and fit, a testament to the fact that fat doesn't necessarily make you fat. I treated myself to a double portion of chicharrón, which set me back 19k satoshis.

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Pro tip: If you stay here longer, ask her for lard for cooking. Disrespect those seed oils!

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3:00 PM - Delhi 6

see on BTCmap.org

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For a change of cuisine, I visited a top Indian restaurant located on a terrace with a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains.

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Situated in the bustling commercial street of Pana, this restaurant offered a wide range of dishes. Although I opted for a simple wrap to save some satoshis, they had a plethora of options to choose from. I enjoyed a delicious meal accompanied by a beer, and with the addition of a tip, the total came to 36k sat.

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8:30 PM - 80s Coffee

see on BTCmap.org

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To complete my day without fiat currency, I decided to have dinner at a rock-themed café, where they served a huge sandwich with hot chocolate. This cost me 26k sats and served as a perfect dinner for a day spent with global money.

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Total spent 90k satoshis / $24.50 / 193 quetzales

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All merchants are happy users of Blink wallet. 

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It's important to note that Lake Atitlan offers more than just food options for Bitcoin enthusiasts. There are plenty of other activities you can explore using Bitcoin as your preferred currency. I recommend checking out btcmap.org to discover a wide range of Bitcoin-accepting establishments in the area. Dont hesitate to scout them out on btcmap.org or even better, get in touch with aesome @LagoBitcoin community who made this possible.

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Your fellow toxic maxi Andrej

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