Uggg! the anticipation for the upcoming trip is brutal. The first official countdown was 180 days now we are looking at 3 days and a ‘wake up’. Been checking out some business opportunities in Ambergris Caye, an Internet Cafe looks promising…probably not going to happen, but it is fun to dream. Ah, living life on a barrier reef makes me think of J. Maarten Troost’s book “The Sex Life of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific”.
The Sex Lives of Cannibals tells the hilarious story of what happens when Troost discovers that Tarawa is not the island paradise he dreamed of. Falling into one amusing misadventure after another, Troost struggles through relentless, stifling heat, a variety of deadly bacteria, polluted seas, toxic fish—all in a country where the only music to be heard for miles around is “La Macarena.” He and his stalwart girlfriend Sylvia spend the next two years battling incompetent government officials, alarmingly large critters, erratic electricity, and a paucity of food options (including the Great Beer Crisis); and contending with a bizarre cast of local characters, including “Half-Dead Fred” and the self-proclaimed Poet Laureate of Tarawa (a British drunkard who’s never written a poem in his life).
Lake Atitlan is surrounded by many villages, in which Maya culture is still prevalent and traditional dress is worn. The Maya people of Atitlán are predominantly Tz'utujil and Kaqchikel. The Maya weave textiles and each group has their own pattern. Santiago Atitlán is the largest of the lakeside communities, and is noted for its worship of Maximón, an idol formed by the fusion of traditional Mayan deities, Catholic saints and conquistador legends. The institutionalized effigy of Maximón is under the control of a local religious brotherhood and resides in various houses of its membership during the course of a year, being most ceremonially moved in a grand procession during Semana Santa. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lago_de_Atitlán The rain was starting to let up as we walked through a maze of cobblestone alleyways to the house of Maximón. The courtyard was was thick with the smoke of incense and the light drizzle of rain collected on the blue plastic...
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