Santiago Atitlán, our destination today is the largest of the lakeside Mayan communities. It's main claim to fame is 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. It is a great privelidge to have Maximón or Saint Simon stay in your house, partly as you can charge people to come visit him. We asked some kids where we could find his current locatio and took us there directly. This deity is rather amusing, enjoying strong liquor, cigars and money! He is a very human deity..... the legend of Maximón has it that one day while the villiage ... read more

We woke early and after dining on a very extensive breakfast of bread, plantain, black bean (much enjoyed by myself but admittedly the marmite of Guatemala cuisine!) fruit and tea we packed up and boarded the bus for Panajachel, more affectionately known as 'Pana', a small town on the lakeside of the mysterious Lago de Atitlan. We drove with a varied group, a couple of backpackers from the US and some spanish tourists. Several hours were passed watching the Guatemalan countryside roll past and reading about the folk legends surrounding the Lago itself. As we arrived, the 'roads' of Pana seemed too narrow to accomodate both our fairly small, narrow minibus and the throngs of people bustling around the higgledy-piggledy stalls that lined the main street. We stopped in what seemed the centre of the hustle ... read more