Sharing

Daily writing experience - day 66

Sharing

Leland and I had an eventful day today. He was excitedly writing about the day to share with his people. I’m exhausted, and I recognized an opportunity to share his words here, if he’d only let me. And he said yes! I’m ever grateful to share momentous adventures with Leland!

Here are Leland Katz’ words:

"Our last day at Lake Atitlan and the special Hotel Atitlan. We hired a boat to take us across the large volcanic body of water to several of the villages that populate the perimeter.

A guide awaited us to efficiently take us to the features of the village. The boat took about half an hour to reach the first town where we wanted to see murals, a market, and church. A tuk tuk took us from place to place and our lovely young guide Myrna provided the narrative.

After about 90 minutes we boarded our boat for the next village. Again we were met by a guide, Antonio, who drove his own tuk tuk.

First he drove to a high above the town viewing spot. Careening around and motoring up steep and narrow streets and down barely missing people,carts, and other vehicles isn’t my favorite activity. I couldn’t have functioned without my cane and Iczel’s arm.

We then saw an impressive Catholic Church built in the mid 1500s.

Next a visit to a room in a home pretty secluded and in a narrow cul de sac. The room had been turned into a shrine to Maximon, a Mayan saint. A life sized figure of a sort of human with a lit cigarette sat facing a “priest” who chanted continuously and had 15-20 candles lit and on the floor in front of him.

The room was semi dark and the smoke from incense floated around us. A man sitting next to Maximon and across from the, probably drunk, priest periodically replaced the cigarette in the saint’s mouth as it burned down.

Next to the priest was a man who was there to have Maximon remove the spirit that caused him to have severe leg problems that doctors couldn’t cure.
It was an amazing and unforgettable ritual to experience.

Our young guide delivered us next to an art gallery before delivering us back to our waiting boat for the trip back to the dock at Panajachel, the town where our hotel is located.

The lake gets choppy in the afternoon and we bounced along and I’m hating every second and then the motor dies. I was worried I’d have a heart attack. We’re bobbing up and down, side to side and we’re only two thirds the way back to the dock. Luckily the driver had a charged phone and called for help. It took half an hour for a boat to arrive and tow us in.

I wasn’t quite myself after being helped out of the boat and walking back to the town center.

I said to Iczel that I’d love a cigar right now and she said “I understand”.

Two minutes later I smell cigar smoke and I walk back to an elderly man and ask “cigar, where?” “No! It’s from Spain, near there, Andorra not here “. I said “oh”, “okay", and we walk on. Five seconds later he shouts something and we walk back to him and he offers me a small cigar from a pack.

It was a day so out of the ordinary that we will be retelling it to each other for a long time.

Tomorrow is Thursday and we drive to Antiqua where there isn’t a lake or a resident Mayan priest."