It all comes down to what you're looking for - price wars between competing businesses keep San Pedro among the cheapest of the lakeside villages, and the beautiful setting attracts long-term visitors whose interests include (in no particular order) drinking, fire twirling, African drumming, Spanish classes, volcano hiking and relaxing in a hammock. Right alongside this whirling circus, San Pedro has a very conservative side - there's plenty of traditional dress and subsistence agriculture going on. You'll see coffee being picked and spread out to dry on wide platforms at the beginning of the dry season.