sacred places

Is it bad that early for me is 9 in the morning? Ellia and I decided yesterday that we would go to a place called Laguna Chicobal (or something like that...I honestly don´t remember the name), which is outside a small town called San Martin Chile Verde. We thought leaving at 9 would be early enough, but in hindsight, it would have been nice to leave at about 7 and not on Sunday. We went to the bus terminal, the street that resembles a garbage dump where all the chicken buses arrive. We were told that the only way to get there was to take a microbus (an 11 passanger van that is ususally made to fit 20) to San Juan, and another one from there to San Martín. So, we did that, and were told all sorts of conflicting information about what time the last bus went back to San Juan and Quetzaltenango. But, we decided that, even arriving at 10:45, we could do the hike up to this lake, which takes about 2 hours each way. And, oh man, the two hours up were INTENSE. I don´t know if it was the altitude or all the polluted air we´ve been breathing, or maybe the lack of excersize as of late, but both of us were out of breath from the very beginning. We hiked up from town, through impossibly cultivated family farms on the sides of steep mountain terrain, up up up up a dirt road through a forrest that smelled like geraniums and green. It was delicious!
Right after we arrived, the clouds started rolling in around us, so our trek was foggy and cool. We arrived at a clearing where the "ranger´s station" is, as well as some bungalow-type buildings, and a wierd rocky soccer field. There, we paid our 15 quetzales, and the man who watched the enterence told us that it was just another 40 minutes to get to the lake. This sounded lovely, until I saw a sign with a drawing showing the path we were about to take, which went very vertically up a mountain, and then down to the lake, which is at the top. It was tough, but the endorphines kicked in, and we made it to the mirador, at the top of the steps. A mirador is a lookout, and the 50 feet of visibility we had was really beautiful! Later, someone told me that if you get there earlier, before the clouds roll in, you can see an active volcano, Santiaguito, from the mirador. Who knew?
At this point, all that was left were the 690 stairs down to the lake. I didn´t think this was much, until I calculated that that is the equivalent of like 30 or 40 stories of a building. It was so increadibly beautiful, though, and completely worth the effort. The lake is supposedly a really sacred site for the Maya people, and a lot of rituals are performed there in May. As soon as we arrived, we sat down on the bank, and looked over the lake for a few minutes. We could see to the other shore at first, but then a cloud FELL on us! It was so cool, like the mists of Avalon. Then we could barely see anything. I´ve never been in a cloud before. It was really peaceful and quiet, and a little creepy.

I don´t even want to talk about the trip up the stairs. The good thing was that it went a lot faster than I expected, and neither one of us decided it was better to live in the woods there than continue on. We wobbily walked/ran/slid back to the entrance, and as we were about to come out of the forrest, we heard a horn honking. For some reason, both of us took off running, with the idea that it might be some kind of public transportation. We RAN up to the microbus, and stood behind the other people who were getting in, who all looked at us funny. Then I realized that every one in the bus was part of a nice (and large) family we had met on the trail, and that it was a private van. We all started laughing, and they offered us a ride back to town. It was super nice of them, because, while it would have been nice to be in the forrest some more, both of us were dehydrated and shakey. They dropped us off on the highway (after giving me their phone number to go visit them when I pass through Colomba, where they live), and no 4 minutes later, a chicken bus passed by that was headed for Quetzaltenango. We squeezed on, and away we went. It was a beautiful and exhausting adventure...one that I´d like to repeat EARLY on a day that ISN´T Sunday!

Actually, we have had a weekend of nice adventures. Yesterday we went to the Fuentes Georginas, which is a hotspring outside of a beautiful town called Zunil. I don´t know if I can really describe the beauty of this place. I think I´ll have to try another day. The fuentes were really nice and relaxing, and I was really glad that I went back. At first, I thought about skipping it, because I had gone 4 years ago. But it definitly merits multiple trips.

Tomorrow, I am setting off for a community called La Florida, which is outside of Colomba. It is a coffee finca with a really interesting history. If you are interested in learning more, you can go to www.websamba.com/laflorida . I think I will be there for a week, volunteering. So don´t worry if I´m keep up even less with communication!