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So, I don't think I've told you any facts and figures about Guatemala since arriving here. It's a bit bigger than England with a population of about 13 million. I think the most people know about this country is what they've heard in the news over the last month or so - the powerful tropical storm Agatha and the eruption of Pacaya Volcano caused mudslides and flooding across most of Central America and Guatemala was the worst affected country and declared a state of emergency.
As with most of Central America, it was a Spanish colony which gained its independence in 1821. It witnessed a severe bout of military suppression from the early 80s and huge numbers of people (mainly indigenous) were murdered in the name of counter-insurgency and anticommunism. The government identified some particular areas of guerrilla activity and they obliterated over 450 villages and tortured and massacred all of their inhabitants - it is estimated that over 15,000 civilian deaths occurred with over 200,000 deaths in total. Over a million people became displaced within Guatemala with an estimated 100,000 Mayan refugees fled to Mexico. The US banned all military aid to the Guatemala army because of the widespread and systematic abuse of human rights. In addition to all of this it is estimated that there were over 100 political assassination and 40 abductions every month! And this is less than 30 years ago?!! The civil war ended in 1996 with a peace accord that was negotiated by the United Nations. Guatemala has since developed its democratic system although at last count, only 18% of the population actually voted. Anyway, from what I've seen so far I really like the place - great scenery and some lovely people. On the downside, I've been absolutely eaten alive - big fat bites all over the place, including my face. Mmm, how attractive!!
We arrived in Antigua for a night on Wednesday and it was lovely. It was also great to get a drop in temperature - what a relief from what we've been experiencing lately. It was about 10 degrees cooler which basically meant we could go outside and wouldn't be dripping within 2 paces.
It was the capital city of Guatemala for over 200 years, until it was destroyed by an earthquake's in the late 18th century. It's described by the LP as a "fantasyland - what the country would look like if the Scandinavians came in and took over for a couple of years. It's a place where power lines run underground, building codes are adhered to, rubbish is collected, traffic diverted and stray dogs 'disappear' mysteriously in the middle of the night." It has an amazing setting - nestled between 3 volcanoes: Agua, Fuego and Acatenango (all approaching 4,000m), 2 of which are still considered active. The streets are beautiful - colonial architecture at its best in my opinion - pastel coloured facades and terracotta roofs and we had the best food there on the trip so far! We wandered around for a couple of hours until the rain set in and then I stuffed my face with the best steak I've had since Argentina. Also found myself a new red wine buddy in Kat. She'll never replace you though Sarah!
On Thursday we set off to Panajachel via Chichicastenango market which is a huge market across several streets, mainly selling a whole heap of Mayan crap! I didn't buy anything but managed to collect 2 ladies (with warts and very bad teeth!) on my way back to the van who just wouldn't go away and take no for an answer. I wasn't the only one as everyone else arrived back with at least 2 extra people in tow!
We arrived in Panajachel which is a small town on the edge of Lake Atitlan, although we couldn't see much as the cloud was so low and the rain was getting heavier! On Friday we had organised a boat trip around the lake which was a great day. Lake Atitlan is a huge endorheic lake (no, I didn't know what that meant either - one that does not flow to the sea) and is recognized to be the deepest lake in Central America. Although they have not actually sounded its bottom, it is believed to be about 340m deep. It has 3 volcanoes to its south which make it a stunning setting and it is known as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. It was formed in an eruption over 84,000 years ago and the lake is the original caldera. It was really a gorgeous place and reminded me a lot of one of the Italian lakes with the grassy mountains surrounding it and the terracotta roofs on the stunning homes built into the hillsides.
Our first stop was for breakfast at a hotel called La Casa del Mundo (www.lacasadelmundo.com). Now this is the place for me and somewhere I would love to run (one day)! It's owned by an American and his Guatemalan wife and they have everything just right. It's a gorgeous house set on the hillside on multiple levels (the trek up the steps to the hotel was a bit much but just think fitness!!) with gardens, terraces, a hot tub, direct access to the lake for swimming and fabulous (and I mean fabulous!) food. To top it all, it faces the 3 volcanoes which is simply a spectacular view! After breakfast, I sat in a hammock with a few others while the rest of the group had a swim and then it was on to San Pedro, a small village further down the lake which sits under the San Pedro volcano.
We then stopped at a little village called Santiago which is home to Maximon (pronounced 'mashimon') - the saint that loves to drink and smoke! Yes, you did read that correctly. Now I have seen some weird s*** in my time but this was up there! Maximon is a folk saint who is venerated in various forms by Maya people in western Guatemala. His origins are not entirely understood but he is believed to be a form of the pre-Columbian Maya god 'Mam' combined with some influences from Catholicism. Some people believe he was a Catholic priest during the early 1600s. I prefer the other theory that he is the incarnation of the ancient Mayan god of sexuality - 'legend has it that one day while the village men were off working in the fields, Maximon slept with all of their wives. When they returned they became so enraged they cut off his arms and legs (this is why most effigies of Maximon are short, often without arms). Somehow he became a god following this.' Eh?!
Where Maximon is venerated, he is represented by an effigy which lives in a different house every year (usually belongs to a priest) and is moved every Holy Week. At his place of residence, 2 people stay with him to watch over him. Worshippers offer him money, alcohol, cigars and cigarettes to gain his favour in exchange for good health, good harvests, help with love or marriage counselling. The weirdest thing out of all of this? The effigy continually smokes a cigarette which the attendants help to flick ash into the ashtray. From time to time, they feed him rum (or moonshine more likely!) and mop his chin. We watched this is stunned silence. The effigy we saw was wearing about 10 ties and 2 hats with scarves hanging off them. There was a man there at the same time who was involved in a ceremony to help him find a wife (he was about 70 but never too late eh?!). He had to wear one of Maximon's hats with the scarf over his face (was a bit flowery for a man so no wonder he's struggling to find a wife!) and was doing a lot of chanting while the attendants smoked a lot and ensured Maximon had enough cigarettes and liqueur to keep him going in order to grant this bloke's wish. In the corner of the room were some scary statues, including a skull in priests' robes, there were 2 crucifixes and then a kind of display coffin with what we affectionately entitled 'Disco Jesus'!!
Back to Panajachel just as the cloud was setting in (you have to do everything early in this country!) for some coffee and cheesecake and a bunch of hassles from the local people who just don't understand any part of the word 'no'.
On Saturday we drove back to Antigua and then set off to climb Pacaya Volcano. This is an active volcano that first erupted about 23,000 years ago. It was dormant for a century and then violently erupted in 1965 and has been continuously erupting every since. The latest activity was at the end of May this year. It actually only reopened to the public about 4 days ago so we were lucky with the timing. It was a bit of a trek and we didn't even get near the crater (well, this isn't Vanuatu eh?!) but was great exercise (not had much lately) and a lot of the lower vents were steaming hot. I think we walked for about 3 hours or so. You could see where the lava and ash had destroyed a lot of the vegetation but there were already sprouts of green so hopefully it will all grow back fairly quickly. Other than that, the view was obscured by very low cloud which was a shame but all good! Normally people see rivers of lava streaming down the mountainside but since the eruption, the patterns of the volcano have changed so we didn't see any which was disappointing. And then it was our farewell dinner as we lost 5 people from this group.
On Sunday I had breakfast with Marjolaine before seeing her off as she was heading back to Montreal. I then spent the day mooching around town having some 'me' time - relaxing lunch, pedicure, TV(!). We lost 5 in the group today and gained another 5 who we met at the welcome meeting - 3 new boys (3 Ozzies and Brit), 1 Canadian and I Ozzie girl. Our new tour leader is American and she has a trainee in tow who is also American and also a boy! Hopefully this will change the dynamics in the group as a grou full of women can be a nightmare! We had a group dinner and then an early night as we had to get up at 4.30 the next morning - ugh!!!
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Jack deshaies We were my wife and I on top of the Pakaya in 1975 coming back from Honduras as for Theguisigalpa ... We enjoy TIcal also and britishHonduras... The entire trip ended up in Miami after 5 months ... We live in Quebeccanada Chow X