Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, 1/15/2010
I can’t believe this is my last night in Santa Cruz and, most importantly, on Lake Atitlan. The past week or so that I’ve spent here has been extraordinary. My experience in Guatemala has transformed me. I believe that I will be leaving this country was a new man. I think reading the Bhagavad Gita and witnessing the poverty in which people live have had their toll on me. I am convinced that no matter what path I take in life, I shall always seek to serve others selflessly. I pray that God guide me on the right path to achieve this end. There is no denying that Guatemala has been a heavy dose of reality.
Today was the last leg of our mission in Guatemala. We awoke at 8am, had a quick breakfast, and were on the road (or rather the lake) once again. We met Paulina at the dock and boarded a boat for San Marcos. It was hard to believe that this would be one of my last boat rides across the lake. It almost felt as it that Lake Atitlan had become my new home.
Since my youth, my mother had always taught me to say “goodbye!” to anyplace I was leaving, so I began bidding Lake Atitlan farewell. This time around, I was more aware of the little things that made this lake a special place. I think photography was the best way for me to express my appreciation for Nature’s beauty, and I photographed everything from the misty mountaintops to the sailormen on their canoes drifting calmly along. Also, the super-luxurious houses on the cliffs and shores of the lake gave it its own charm.
Some shots from one of my last boat rides:
We reached San Marcos around 9am. We had an appointment with Carlos, a local staff member of the Ministry of Public Sanitation. Carlos was a valuable asset since he had previously conducted various “culture” tests on water samples from Tzununa, the community we would be serving. Contrary to our findings, Carlos indicated that there were indeed various concentrations of coliform and E. Choli in the water samples he tested. We took his word since his tests were much more sophisticated than ours and involved incubators, which our testing kit lacked. Overall, his free consultation provided us with much of the data we needed about Tzununa’s demographics, water treatment infrastructure, and water sources.
After our meeting with Carlos, Paulina showed us around San Marcos. This was another shabby town on the hills overlooking Lake Atitlan. Despite the rampant poverty, there was so much vitality in this town with the spontaneous commotion of a third-world country. There, we stopped by a church. This must have been one of the cleanest buildings I had visited in Guatemala, which showed the Guatemalans’ devotion to their faith, which I respect tremendously.
A view of San Marcos
One of the churches we passed by
We returned to Santa Cruz around 1pm, where all five of us (my group members) went to the Iguana for lunch. There, we watched Slumdog Millionaire, a very moving movie! We later pulled out our books and decided to have a reading session on the dock. I continued to read the Bhagavad Gita, which put me in a very spiritual mood. I finished the introduction. If there’s anything I got out of the Gita so far is that faith in God will guide you on the straight path. While on the dock, I also snapped a couple of shots of the lake while the sun was still up and wrote a page in my diary.
At around 5pm, Liz and Hiba passed by me so that we could attend the inaugural opening of the Atitlan Gallery, a new art gallery on the lake. The opening ceremony was of course attended by only expats. There doesn’t seem to be much interaction between the indigenous population and the expats, which is quite sad, but what I respect about Westerners is that they keep take their intellectual heritage wherever they go. The recurring theme of the exhibition was artists’ perceptions of the lake, and there were many representations of the lake and its natural and scenic beauty. The art scene was very lively since the artists were there to discuss their pieces with visitors. Also, there was live music and alcohol. I can’t seem to understand why alcohol is the only social lubricant Westerners have. In any case, it was an interesting gallery.
Some photos of the artwork from the gallery:
After our visit to the gallery, my group and I sat on the lawn for a bit and enjoyed the sunset. This was followed by more photography of the disappearing sun:
For dinner, we had one last meal at the Iguana where we played some trivia game. As usual, the Iguana’s dinner was fantastic. This time around we had tortillas and orange cake for dinner. I made my exit earlier than the rest so I could come back and write this last entry dedicated to a wonderful week spent on Lake Atitlan. Tomorrow we set sail for Antigua, supposedly one of the most charming cities in all of the Americas because of its Spanish colonial past. I am eager for this last leg of our journey in Guatemala!
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