We're still hanging out by the lake. It's beautiful and hard to leave. We're now staying in an Israeli hostel called ZooLa, which is a little laid-back paradise under colorful tents and surrounded by bamboo and coffee plants. So we're laying back and enjoying the scenery, food, company, coffee, and a few good books.
We got out kayaking yesterday morning and cruised over the glassy waters of the lake, exploring the shore all the way down to a black sand beach.
Today we took a boat to the neighboring town of Santiago Atitlan, which is precariously situated on an inlet between two of the bigger volcanoes. There we paid tribute to Maximon, a local Mayan deity, who is this stout wooden statue--about the size of a hobbit--who makes the rounds from house to house. He wears two hats at once, smokes cigars, and drinks like nobody's business. People also decorate him with various colorful garments and burn a lot of incense around him. In the place we visited, it looked like the family had set up their living room for Maximon and moved all the catholic paraphenalia (including a large, sad looking Jesus) to the back. Maximon can do a lot for you. If you have a drink and a smoke and talk with him, he can visit your dreams to teach you things. He can cure your ailments. And he can crush your enemies. Maia and I left a small tip in the offering plate and scooted out.
We plan on heading north early tomorrow morning and finally leaving the lake behind. On the road ahead: more Mayan ruins, the jungle, a tour of coffee plantations, natural swimming holes, the World Cup final, and hopefully more hammocks.
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