Grego, perhaps you've had many incidents of bad luck. But in terms of crime on the back roads to Lake Atitlan I must take exception to your comment.
For the past 3 years the national police have had a permanent bivouac spot between Patzun and Godinez, which was the main area of past concerns for robberies. In addition, there is now always at least one patrol vehicle traveling that road. Reports of robberies since that time have been practically non-existent.
And now since the closing of the road from Solola for repairs, security is significantly higher on both the Patzun and Las Trampas roads. I personally drive both of these roads weekly to Guatemala City and have been very impressed by the number of police I now see on all my trips.

So much of the economy around Lake Atitlan depends completely on tourism. The closing of the main road has been troublesome enough. But one thing these poor people do not need is embellished warnings of crime to tourists when so much is being done to ensure the safety of travelers.
Thank God the tour buses are running.

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