Tzam Poc Resort is built into the steep hillside above the little village of Santa Catarina Palopo, on the north side of Lake Atitlan. This affords a sensational view of the volcanoes on the other side of the lake, and indeed the entire lake. The small resort was built by the architect Lucio Mamberto, an Italian immigrant to Guatemala, who remains on the premises as owner and impresario, and welcomes guests with an expansive, "Welcome to my home..." The overall look is nautical -- sort of Captain Nemo meets the Isle of Capri -- with lush gardens and uniquely sculpted rooms and suites that feel as if they're organically grown from the hillside. The morning breakfast is taken on a veranda overlooking the lake, and guests are made to feel as if they've been admitted to something of a private retreat. This is not 5-star, cushioned comfort -- if you're staying on the ledge of a dramatic landscape, you shouldn't expect shoe-polishing machines and a phalanx of little Aveda bottles in your bathroom. But if you want to feel a sense of what it means to be in Central America, among those who've chosen to love this country, it would be hard to find a better spot.