Reflections on the lake

Mastering the art of cuteness

I´m not exactly sure how it happened, but somehow a day or two on Lago Atitlán has stretched out into almost three weeks. It´s not exactly a hard place to stay, Atitlán is mezmerizingly beautiful and offers a million different moods, shades and colours that I am sure could never all be experienced and appreciated in just one lifetime. Atitlán is the third and probably most spectacular of the lakes I have been fortunate enough to visit here in Guatemala. It is a high altitude volcanic crater lake, situated in the central highlands to the west of the Capital. It is ringed by three impressive volcanoes and a sequence of steep ridges and gulleys, carved into a patchwork quilt of green and earthy tones - corn fields, coffee plants, vestiges of original cloud forest vegitation and at least 13 mayan villages.

It is not just its physical beauty which lingers in the mind though - the mesmeric affect of the waters seems to weave itself into peoples psyches at a deeper level as well. I´ve always felt that there are places of power or energetic signifcance, and without care of being labeled a new age quack, I feel comfortable to say that I have personally experieced the power of the lake myself and witnessed its effect on many other people I have encountered here.
There is definately a palpable energy here, I have felt it myself and out of interest I have talked many other travellers and expats who have also felt the strange workings of the lake and its environment upon their own lives. Almost everyone here I have met in Santa Cruz has similar stories of coming here for a few days and staying for weeks / months / years / never leaving. I suppose many travellers just pass through, but for others who come here, especially with a relaxed mentality and space for the spontaneity in their lives, it seems to become a nexus for novel ideas, interesting people and new directions. I wont even go into all the ridiculous synchronicities that started to occur, plus the mysterious disasters that would strike every time I tried to leave the lake.


Ripples on the surface




Often when the lake is calm in the morning it can appear like a gigantic mirror, reflecting the volcanoes and surrounding landscape from its crystal clear surface. I feel like the lake almost acts like a mirror on a more psychic level as well - normal emotional and psychic processes that would almost go unnoticed suddenly become greatly amplified within the sphere of conscious awareness. Both positive and negative energie spirals are possible, depending on what kind of head space you may find yourself in. Perhaps its as simple as this - the lake is a relaxing place, you let your mind slow down, and this creates new space for deeper layers to come up from the depths of the mind, or perhaps just allows for extra awareness of what is already there, that to which we usually do not give sufficient attention due to the hectic nature of our lives and our own minds. For me, I have observed more clearly the way that I interact with other people, and how easily I fall into the orbits of other rather than being my own little star (to use a cosmic analogy) I have also found a bit more space and come closer to being reunited with a pure sense of self. I also have been running to the toilet a lot but that is just between me and my bowels thank you very much.


Space cowboys of Sololá


Strangely, it has also been a good place for shopping. This is one of the few places in Guatemala where the indigenous mayan people still where their traditional traje, or attire. It varies from village to village - the men from Sololá have often been refered to as space cowboys due to their psychedlic, rainbow coloured cowbow threads - complete with 10 gallon hat and mini skirt wrap around. In Santiago Atitlán, the men have a special type of short pants they wear, which are often hand embroided with bird and flower mottifs around the bottom. This is completed with a colourful patterned sash which is wrapped around as a type of belt. I was lucky enough to buy a pair of these shorts, I will be searching for a opportunity to sport them upon my return home. Interestingly, while women of all ages can be seen wearing their beautifully embroided huipil (tunics) and traditional skirts, it is mainly the older men who are seen in traje, in fact I have not seen one young man here carrying on the tradition - they seem to prefer jeans, sneakers and t-shirts (ranging from ¨Jesus the saviour¨ to various death metal bands) It will be interesting to see if the younger men will keep the tradition going as they get older or if this is a sign of a dying tradition. It certinaly would be a shame to loose this cultural richness and diversity, but it is the ultimately the choice of the young men as to which cultural matrix they will subscribe to - and western fashions seem to be winning. I wonder why the women are more likely to keep the traditional clothing? Perhaps because the women are less likely to travel outside the area of the lake then the men they are not exposed as much to modern fashions. Some of the women will never leave the area of the lake in their lives, and many do not speak any Spanish. (I am starting to feel afraid to leave the lake too, my mental map seems blank beyond the borders of Atitlán - ¨There be monsters¨) I even had a few women giggle and run away upon my approach in one village, maybe they were shy or just repulsed by my clamy white skin :) Nevertheless, I am now burdened with a whole bunch of traditional clothing and many peices of second hand fabric as examples of the weaving skills of the local cultures.

I also fell in with a intereting bunch of travellers at La Iguana Perdida hostel in Santa Cruz, which resulted in a few interesting cultural excursions. Lionnel, a really cool guy (duuuuuude) from Colorado (but of Argentinan ancestry) seems to have devoted his life to walking the shaman´s path, and the study of shamanic principles of consciousness. His life and attitude was very inspirational to me personally, and I tagged along with him and a few others to meet a local shaman of Santa Cruz. Andres had shamanic background in his family - his father was a famous shaman in the village, and also the father of his wife (or mother?) was also shaman to if I remember correctly. I participated in something similar to a traditional mayan fire ceremony. This took place on top of a rocky peak perched high above the village, often obscured by wisps of cloud which scrape along the high edges of the rocky walls that ring the lake. (Originally the crater of an even grander volcanoe perhaps) Andres did not seem to be a fully fledged shaman though (though with my limited knowledge I probably wouldnt know exactly what that was), but in the sense that he was at a point of reconciling the traditional spiritual practices of his ancestors with the influence of christianity upon the village, especially the growning spectre of the Evangelical churches which are popping up all over guatemala (The words creeping eruption seem to spring into my mind, a type of travellers rash described in the lonely planet latin america health guide. I was reading up on types of diarrea and the urethra fish) I have heard that for a while there he was encountering a lot of grief from the evangelicals in the village, and had to tone down the shamanic aspects of his practice. The ceremony still had power for me though, the 2 hour walk up step paths through the hills above the village helped to prepare my mind to be in a good state for the ceremony.

Various rituals were conducted around the fire, including the burning of herbs and incencse, the placing of candles around the fire and the purifiying ones body(or bodies) with the resulting smoke (it can seem like a contradiction I know). We were asked, each member in turn, to meditate on or visualize stongly that which we wanted to manifest in our lives, and surrendered our requests to the fire. I asked for the health and well being of my family, especially a particular member who is in a very dark place, and has been for a long time. I believe that the happenings and rituals of the ceremony are only symbolic markers that help to facilitate an internal psychic process whereby we may use the power of our minds to create what we want in out lives. Therefore, the value of the ceremony is only equal to what you put into it yourself and the level to which we each are able to harness the great power that lies dormant within. (We usually only use a very small part of our brains and are barely aware of the infinate potentional that exists beyond this) It was certainly a worthwhile experience, and after the ceremony we were generously provided with food by the shamans family, even though they barely have enough for themselves. We had the pleasure of a brief meeting with Andres´ wife and 9 (!) children. (Managed to get them all in one photo I think)


toda la familia



I feel like I am leaving the lake a slightly different person, perhaps I have come one or two steps closer to knowing myself (only 999998 left to go!) But as a wise chinese sage once said, a journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step. Also I know that I will return here, the hypnotic pull of the lakes´ waters will be present in my dreams for some time to come.

Lovely to meet lionnel, ombi and alex, kirsten, rebecca and mike and anyone else. x

back again sooner rather than later I hope
peace







Sooky dogs get sausages in the end


mmmmm.......racoon eyelids .....more sausages please....



dusk over San Pedro


more drama


the people here understand car pooling, why cant we?


any colour you like


Sololá markets


Santa Cruz


another day on the lake


climbing to the village


San Pedro from La Iguana Perdida


Need time to digest that scorpion




Lanchas


Room with a view


Panajachel dock - mind the sewerage