Guatemalan coffee from the shores of Lago Atitlan

The Lago Atitlan area has a lot of coffee production. The plants even seem to grow like weeds on the roadsides and in ravines. I got a bit lost (remember "lost trail Lori?!") coming down from the San Marcos sacred hill a different way than I went up. Turned out alright, as usual, cuz I came across a little coffee plantation growing at the base of the hill on either side of a little creek.

The creek, unfortunately, had all sorts of plastic garbage within and along it. There's definitely been a disconnection of the ancient values of reverence for nature from the local people, despite the fact that they still hold to some traditions like dressing in traditional clothing and making GMO-free corn tortillas by hand over open fires. I suspect all the eco-friendly buildings and the recycling centre are new features for the town, put in by the foreigners who now call this place home.

Still, it was neat to see so many coffee plants close-up, and I saw a little nursery, too. I came across other places in San Pedro where the beans were laid out to dry on big tarps and places where the dried beans were piled up waiting to be bagged and trucked out.

There are different grades of coffee depending on how much of the outer husk is taken off. The Guatemalans get stuck with the cheapest grade, which means the outer husks are not removed when the beans are ground for coffee. This translates, apparently, into a more diluted taste than those beans that have had the extra processing of the husk removal. Even in the drying beds you could see the separated beans -- those for domestic use and those for export.

The father of my homestay family worked at harvesting coffee 6 days per week, and his sons have been joining him most days, since they're on school holidays right now. The boys have been helping harvest coffee every year since they were only about 7 years old.

Mayan wedding on sacred hill

Another synchronicity on this daytrip to San Marcos -- I heard about a traditional Mayan wedding ceremony that was happening up on the sacred hill above town. I had heard the live marimba band from down by the lakeshore and wondered what was up... An elderly local Mayan lady who was also climbing the hill to sell veggies at the hostel encouraged me to go up and check it out, indicating it was alright to "crash" the wedding.

I walked over to the sacred hill, and grunted my way up. It's quite steep. Along the way I passed a hostel called "Xamaanik," which is pronounced like we say "shamanic." I checked it out and loved the location and look of the place, so I made a reservation for 3 nights after I'm done Spanish school in San Pedro.

By the time I got up to the hilltop the ceremony was finished, the sacred fire was smoldering ashes, the Mayan men officiating were milling about chatting with eachother, and the guests and married couple were eating tamales. Tamales are a traditional food for special occasions, consisting of corn meal cooked in meat juices, a piece of pre-cooked pork or chicken tucked within the corn, plus always a raisin, then all of it wrapped in a green banana leaf then steamed.

I felt like an intruder cuz I didn't know anyone there, so I slipped away to find a spot to sit and enjoy the view across the lake and eat my packed lunch, while listening to the band still playing for the wedding guests.

The Pyramids of San Marcos

I had heard that San Marcos has a special energy and attracts a lot of people interested in alternative healing, so I really wanted to check it out. My first stop was Las Piramides (The Pyramids), a meditation and metaphysical centre that is open to the public for drop-in sessions of yoga, metaphysical classes and group meditation. Since it was Sunday, it was a day off from the regular routine and I wasn't able to participate in anything. Instead I walked around soaking up the calm, peaceful feel of the grounds, checking out the pyramid-shaped sweatlodge (2nd photo) and the shared kitchen which I noted was well-stocked with pots and utensils as well as kept very clean by the current group.

The sleeping quarters are small and cute (bottom 2 photos). Many are pyramidal-roofed with skylights, a few are rectangular, multi-level dorms, a few are dome-shaped. They are spread apart on a large, multi-acre property and have lovely grounds all around with various flowers, shrubs and trees.

I poked my nose into a small pyramid where I heard English in a familiar accent. Two young girls from Salt Spring Island, BC, chatted with me for a while. They were attending the full one-month course which the public can drop in on anytime. They both said they were really enjoying the whole experience -- the teachers, the course material, the international group, the space they lived and learned in. It turns out that there are 2 more from Salt Spring Island and 2 from Cortes Island in this course of 20 people.

It definitely seemed like a place I could happily spend some time at. Maybe another trip I'll come down and attend the full month course. You can check out the centre here: http://www.laspiramidesdelka.com/

San Marcos daytrip

When I borrowed a guidebook to check out Spanish schools around Lago Atitlan, I also wrote some notes down about an interesting-sounding meditation and metaphysical centre located in the lakeside town of San Marcos. I took advantage of a day off of school and took a public launch over to check it out.

Wow, it's a lot quieter and more peaceful over here. I hadn't realized how noisy San Pedro was until I got out of it. San Pedro has a lot of traffic, really, and the tuc tucs and big buses are the noisiest. The lakeshore area of San Marcos, by comparison, doesn't even have streets that vehicles can drive on! Yaaah!

There's a wide, paved sidewalk heading uphill toward the main part of town and the road, as well as narrow pathways winding around various hotel and restaurant properties lining the lakeshore for hundreds of metres in both directions from the boat docks. Many of the properties advertised alternative healing therapies, sweatlodges/temazcals (bottom photo), and some offered courses training people in various practices like reiki, massage, cranial sacral therapy...

Many of the hotel and restaurant properties were cob structures and/or utilized broken glass or bottle bottoms in their windows, creating art and functionality out of garbage. This town was also the only place around Lago Atitlan where I noticed a recycling centre. A portion of the schoolyard wall was exposed to reveal that the interior of the wall is made up of plastic bottles, then it's covered over and painted with pictures of birds and plants and animals. It's nice to be in a place where people care about being gentle on the earth and are aware of the energetic level of being human. I feel at home here.

Lago Atitlan transportation

There are various ways to get around the San Pedro area of Lago Atitlan. Horseback riding along the lakeshore was offered to tourists and was probably still a common mode of travel for some locals. The rock paving on all the streets made for a very bumpy ride in whatever vehicle you chose. I sure didn't see any silly high heeled shoes on women in this town -- they're too sensible for that.

I love Guatemalan buses. They're very eye-catching, yet there's something else more subtle, too. They have such personality. The owners keep them sparkling clean and brightly painted, so I imagine that each bus is very proud of its looks. They each really seem to have a particular character, mostly portrayed in the paint job, yet I also felt they exuded a sort of energy field that let the world know they were proud to serve the people, transporting them safely around the beautiful countryside. Some seemed to yell out "Hey, look out, when I'm on the road, get outta my way!" and others were quieter, "Aren't I handsome?!"

I suspect the little 3-wheeled tuc tuc's with their tiny wheels had the bumpiest ride on the rough streets. They certainly had the loudest engines. Initially I thought they might be electric cars. Nope. Gasoline-powered internal combustion engine. Those steep streets leading from the lakeshore up the side of the volcano need a bit more oomph than an electric car would have, I guess.

Another very common mode of transport, for commuting to other communities along the lakeshore for work, shopping or social visits, were the "launchas" pulled up at the dock. They're amazingly stable in choppy water, and I was very impressed with how calmly the drivers managed the boats. They weren't speed demons, which I was grateful for.

Traditional Mayan corn tortillas

I was very lucky to live with a family who still make their own corn tortillas. Here Graciela is patting out the round shape with her hands before slapping it down onto the comal with the others. I tried making a few, and they turned out approximately round, tho much thicker than hers. They were cooked and thrown into the towel-lined basket along with the rest, tho at lunch I picked mine out and ate them so as not to subject the rest of the family to imperfect tortillas. I asked how long it takes a girl to perfect this... they start around 12 yrs old and depending on how often they practice, it can be 3-6 months before the girls are making consistently round and thin tortillas by hand. Ok, I don't feel so bad that my first 3 were pathetic.

The bottom photo shows the corn mash (I think it's called masa at this stage), a bowl of water to wash hands between each tortilla so they don't stick to your hands, some of the finished tortillas in a towel-lined basket and the comal cooking griddle elevated above an open fire in the courtyard of the houses.

San Pedro Market

The market stalls in San Pedro were set up along the edge of one of the main streets uphill of the lake, near the ctr of town. As the locals browse the stall you can see that even some men in this town continue to wear traditional pants and shirts, and the vast majority of women and girls wear the traditional skirts and blouses of the Tzutujil Mayan culture.