Lake Atitlan

On Friday I went to school, had an oral presentation, a final paper, and an exam. After class I went home to grab my stuff, was bombarded by my family with hugs and kisses, and then headed out to Lake Atitlan. On the way here we had to stop in a small village to change the tire, and we also witnessed many areas that had experienced landslides and are now being cleaned up. 

Today we woke up to a breathtaking view outside of our hotel room.

Natalie, Josh, Miguel and I began today  with a delicious breakfast at a lakeside restaurant. I had the most fluffy pancakes I have ever eaten with honey, fruit with yogurt and granola, and a little scoop of ice cream on the side. We then headed out in a little boat crammed full of humans to cross the river from Panajachel to Santiago. 

Upon arrival in Santiago we jumped in a taxi to Moshiman…we weren't really sure what it was, but we went. The little motor taxi whipped through small streets and stopped by a small dirt hallway that went to who-knows-where. We thanked him, gave him his money, and began wearily walking to Moshiman. We came to a shack with a shrine to Moshiman, a Mayan god. The smell of incense was heavy and men in the room were chanting and praying to Moshiman. Afterward, we walked around, watched a church procession, Natalie and I bought beautiful blankets (I haven't really figured out how I'm going to get it back to the states, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there), and we got on a larger boat to head to San Pedro. Miguel and I sat on the very tip of the bow and watched small children play in the water for nearly an hour.

At San Pedro we had a some amazing fresh fish…

We then ventured through the town's obscure back allies until we decided to head back to Panajachel. 

This post does absolutely no justice to the day we had, but I don't even know how to describe the culture and atmosphere we experienced. The streets were tiny, the people mostly indigenous, there were tiny entrances of the streets with long, dark, stone or dirt hallways to a cluster of doorways that I assume were houses. It was a labyrinth. The atmosphere was so rich, colorful, and different from anything I have seen thus far.

Tomorrow, we are going to the market at Chichicastenango and then back to Xela.