Colorful Guatemala – Lake Atitlan

Bienvenidos!

After months of preparation, organization, and mental fortification, we are finally on the road.  Safe to say we are all, anxious, nervous, a bit exhausted, but very excited for what lies ahead.  We’ll post later on about gear and such, but have to give a well deserved shout out to Susan at Farewell Travels for helping us transform our vision into a practical but adventurous itinerary.

We arrived, at last, to our destination in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala after a 16 hour travel day.  Hopefully this was the longest of our whole trip.   We were all running on adrenaline having just left home, so everyone rolled with it, thus achieving rockstar status out of the gate.   After two smooth flights, our planned three hour drive from Guatemala City to Late Atitlan stretched to six.   Traffic crawled on the two lane road for the majority of the way, for no reason that we could point to other than people, cars, and chicken buses.  Yes, chicken buses.

A chicken bus is a colorful, modified and decorated bus that transports goods and people between communities in many latin american countries.   Imagine The Magic School Bus meets Dr. Dre.   These are blinged-out, souped up, angry, fast, repurposed school buses crammed with people…some of which carry chickens and other livestock.   All have a distinct look to them, but my personal favorites are the ones with extra chrome, interior strobe lights, and airbrushed names like Sabor del Amor (taste of love). Do not mess with them.

Drivers of chicken buses are crazy loco, and will stop at nothing to pass you.  Despite our fatigue,  our noses were pressed to the windows as we watched them hug the gravel along a cliff.  Exhaust plumed from it’s backside as it screamed past our van.  The boys could’t get enough of them.  Watch out GCDS buses, the Lavin boys have major upgrade plans for you!

Our first two days in Guatemala showed us that there is color everywhere.   Often at home it feels that gray dominates much of what we see, indoors and out.   Here, bright colors fill the markets, intricately adorn women’s clothing, and symbolize the dead as in this cemetary that we saw in Chichicastenago.

  

Over the last two days, our local guide,  Dolores, helped us connect the colors that we saw to a greater understanding of the rich Mayan history that is intricately woven into present daily life.  We boarded a boat to cross the lake, visiting the towns of San Juan la Laguna and Santiago.    Demonstrations on weaving and chocolate making introduced us to local artistry, and we watched in awe how men and women carry so much on their backs and heads with ease and grace.

 

We’re all still scratching our heads after visiting the shrine of pagan saint Maximón, a mayan deity depicted as a wooden statue adorned with colorful scarves.  Maximón resides in the home of a locally elected shaman.  The mayan people come to Maximón seeking good fortune, health, and prosperity.   In doing so, the Mayans bring Maximon gifts of money, tobacco, and white rum.   The shaman, Maximón’s protector, must sit at his side for one straight year.  Yes, a full year.   The shaman seems to enjoy the gifts brought to the shrine, quite liberally.  Some might say it’s not a bad gig.

A few other observations and inspiration so far.

Ideas for a multipurpose room at home…

…validation that the YMCA is indeed a global brand…

…and confirmation that a grape fizz can solve most of the world’s problems, at least for a moment.