The Maya people live in the small villages and towns which border the shores of Lake Atitlan. Travel to each must be done by motor boat as there is no road which circles the lake. We reserved a motor boat to take us to two of the villages: Santiago Atitlan and San Antonio Palopo.
We met the "skipper" and his 11 year old son at the hotel dock, and off we went. It was early morning and the motor boat was driven by the 11 year old!
Laundry day...
We reached Santiago Atitlan, one of the bigger villages on the Lake, in about 45 minutes. The ride was smooth and quite lovely. Santiago is described as "a shopper's haven" as well as home of Maximon, a very "colorful" pagan saint. More on him later.
Our "skipper" took us to meet some friends of his in the marketplace who sold beautiful woven fabric. My first thought was "Pretty, but I'd never wear one of these". I'm telling you these ladies were superb salespersons…they'd make a fortune on Wall Street. We made several purchases.
It was so much fun wandering through the busy markets offering everything from a vast array of vegetables and fruits to t-shirts and sunglasses! We even stopped into a packed-with-people church during a Sunday Lenten service.
Before we departed, our "skipper" took us to a ramshackle of a house where smoke was pouring out of doorways and windows. There were several other tourists like us hovering about, listening closely to their tour guides explain the what & who of "Maximon".
This pre-Columbian folk saint, who has what some people call a cult following, is not well understood by outsiders to those of the Mayan religions (note: Maximon is NOT approved by the Roman Catholic Church). Legend has it that one day while the village men were off working in the fields, Maximon slept with all of their wives (at once). When the men returned, they became so enraged that they cut off his arms and legs.
Somehow he became a god following this (!?). Today, when the Mayan people pay their respect to Maximon, he is represented by an effigy which resides in a different house each year, being moved in a procession during Holy Week. During the remainder of the year (as when we were visiting) devotees visit Maximon inside his chosen residence, where his shrine is usually attended by two people who keep it in order and pass the basket for cash offerings. The Maximon effigy has a lit cigar or cigarette in his mouth, and a hole in his mouth which allows his attendants to give him spirits to drink. The worship of Maximon is not that of a benevolent deity, but rather as a "bully whom one does not want to anger". In Santiago Atitlan, when the clothing of Maximon is washed during the week before Easter, the waste water is saved and distributed as holy water to local shop keepers who sprinkle it around their front door in the belief that it entices customers to enter their shop to make a purchase.
Back on the boat and 15 minutes later we arrived at much smaller village San Antonio Palopo.
This village still has the elements of an un-spoiled, authentic feel. The Cakchiquel Mayan people live here and the women weave colorful textiles. Shops are filled with their beautiful scarves, dresses, and blankets. The outside of the shops in this village have brightly painted murals.
I'll admit we were pretty exhausted from visiting and shopping at these two villages. On the boat ride back to Casa Palopa the water was choppy and the wind had come up - our "skipper" took over the driving from his 11 year old son.
Somehow Lulu rallied and got together an outfit for another Lindsay and Lace fashion blog post (Lindsayandlace.com)
It only took 15 minutes of "negotiations" before I found myself at a nearby very upscale mall perusing the clothes racks at Zara/Guatemala! Praise God the mall closed at 8pm and before long we were back at the hotel having our dinner and off to sleep. It seemed just seconds before our 4:30am wake up call disturbed our slumber.
A marvelous quick trip to Guatemala! I want to return as there are a few things left on my list of things to do, and places to go:
* Easter week in Antigua
* Visit the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal. This city was once the capital of the Mayan world
in the period 550 - 900AD. Spread out for over 3 miles are high towering pyramids "jutting like skyscrapers above the jungle tree-line. Once you climb the hundreds of steps to reach the top, pause to listen and try to spot the many howler monkeys, spider monkeys, jaguars , crocodiles, and great variety of birds which call this national park their home."
* Not far from Tikal is the small village of Flores, which has red-roofed houses painted all the colors of the rainbows, and a bright white church on top of the hill. There is a promenade which surrounds the island town which invites long strolls along the water.
* Chichicastenango, commonly known as "Chichi" is a town known for it's famous colorful markets held on Thursdays and Sundays. This market brings the indigenous Maya from long distances to sell their wares in the main square - everything from textiles, paintings, fruit and vegetables, live chickens, turkeys, flowers, and even kittens!
On to the next trip!!
