Blogs from San Marcos La Laguna, Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean

San Marcos La Laguna is one of the smallest towns on the lakeside. Most of the buildings in the town are in dense rainforest and the place felt really isolated. San Marcos was really relaxed and friendly with lots of Gringo´s (foreigners). We found a place by the lake called Hostal de Lago. This hostel was really basic but the owners Brian and Sarah and the atmosphere of the place was great. In San Marcos we met lots of hippies and travellers all just chillaxin and watching the world go by. We wentto a place on our last night that was re-opening after several months of excavation of hundreds of tonnes of boulders that had destroyed the last cafe in a landslide in 2010.... read more

My real reason for rushing back to Guatemala was the start of the Moon course in San Marcos La Laguna. Far more hippy and low-key than San Pedro, the lakeside lanes are home to crystal healers, massage therapists and herbal remedies as well as the locals selling fruit, veg and cake. The village is also home to a meditation and yoga centre called Las Pyramides; here I will make my home for a month and try to get to the bottom of who I really am. This is the objective of the Moon Course; to give you time, space and exercises designed to help you think about your own reality. It teaches you the techniques for lucid dreaming and meditation, stretches your body into balance and gives you the lowdown on sorting your chakras from your ... read more

Demonic Possessions We were about three-quarters the way to San Marcos, crossing Lago Atitlan in a little boat, when the vibrantly tattooed ex-pat ex-lawyer from Los Angeles told us, "Yeah, some indigenous were moving some church walls around and disturbed some bones, some men were touching them, messing around, and then they started getting sick. Like they have seizures and attack people, the other day I saw three huge men trying to hold down one skinny man who went wild. After the men, the families got sick and neighbors, now it's like an epidemic, people are going crazy. People believe souls are rebelling and leaving the bodies, so they go around the town with whips, whipping the souls, herding them like livestock back to the bodies. Every night they go by my house, whipping at my ... read more

Wednesday, January 14,2009 Today I ventured on to the launcha for the first time. I thought I would head to Panajachel...but because the waters were so rough, I opted for going to San Marcos which was just a five minute boat ride away. The climb down to the dock was about 200 steps...all of various sizes...and not easy. There is a railing made of bamboo only part of the way down, so I walked down very carefully . I waited about 20 minutes for the launcha and when it arrived...I climbed on and wrenched my knee. I knew my right knee was not feeling great as I began the decent down to the water. San Marcos center is a maze of tiny little streets lined with little hotels and restaurants and lots of holistic therapy places ... read more

Monday, January 12th...(continued) The road up from San Marcos to my location at Pasaj-cap was mostly unearthed dirt and rock...making driving very difficult (and walking it not so great either)...but alas, the sign .....Pasaj-cap appeared and my sense of relief was visibly obvious! Once thru the gates, we were greeted by several of the worker's who helped bring all my luggage and groceries down to my apt. I could not have been more thrilled! It's perfect! Look at this view!!! ... read more