Lake Atitlan Photos
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In the last week of September 2009 the bay of San Pedro La Laguna was clear enough to see the bottom. In less than one months time the Cyanobacterial bloom has covered the entire bay and a large percent of Lake Atitlan. This bloom has since receded and as of February 2010 the lake is relatively clear.
Against the recommendations of every health professional, many of the people 
around the lake were climbing in the water and trying to clean the Algae bloom by hand. They were using laundry baskets, sheets or even kitchen strainers. Unfortunately entire families were participating in this cleanup, exposing many children to potentially toxic compounds. The people are willing to work to help, but are distrustful of "outsiders" with advice. It is critical a trusted line of communication is opened with the Mayan communities around the lake.
The algae that was being hand collected was being left on the shore creating a rotting stink anywhere it was piled. Other people were bagging it for use as fertilizer and the city was taking it to the dump to be disposed of with other trash. The collected bags and piles of goo have an incredibly strong odor and tend to discharge a purple liquid with an even worse odor.
There are many great videos being uploaded to Youtube, here are a few.