Day 6 May 28
Lake Atitlán, Sapphire of the Maya Highlands
After Chichicastenango, we headed for Lake Atitlán.
Mauricio, Roberto's former classmate, joined us along the way.
At a roadside restaurant, we took some time off to get more acquainted with
Mauricio and the local beer. While I found the Guatemalan lager Gallo
flat and unremarkable, Mauricio turned out to be a lively and jovial character,
bubbling with anecdotes and witty remarks. He would liven up many a dull
moment in our highland travels.
We reluctantly resumed the ride . As we passed by a few cows near the road, Madjid began smacking his lips. We had not eaten meat in a while, and no beef at all since we arrived in the country. "That's where we can get our next meal!" he exclaimed. Roberto, apparently not hearing this, drove on. It was already dark when we arrived in San Andres Semetabaj. Here we rented a cottage from Don Otto, a prominent local of partly German extraction. At over six feet tall, lank, brown-haired Don Otto did not look like the typical Guatemalan. The evening was pleasantly spent chatting with this cheerful fellow, who entertained us with tales of archaeology, and mentioned that he had recently found a Maya tomb in our cottage's backyard. (Surely enough the following morning, we saw a wheelbarrow and mounds of earth still beside the fabulous dig.) At dawn today, we discovered our cottage's picturesque location high up one of the mountains overlooking Lake Atitlán. We watched a soft, magnificent sunrise suffuse the lake. Novelist Aldous Huxley was not exaggerating when he called it the most beautiful lake in the world. This azure jewel of water, bordered by volcanos, pine forests, and tranquil indigena villages, reveals to us a world transcending all our mundane concerns. We catch a glimpse of Paradise. |
After breakfast, Roberto and Alvaro offer to extricate a rabbit that had fallen into Don Otto's gigantic (thankfully dry!) swimming pool. |
From our cottage, the shores of Lake Atitlán were a hike of a few hours, first, through some spectactular countryside, then down a rough and steep mountain path. |
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