Lake Atitlan a magic place or what?

So let me start at the beginning, where I should start.

Ont he 4th at 1:20pm I boarded a plane to Panama. With a 4 hour lay-over, the journey wasn´t too bad and by 9:45 pm I was stepping out of the taxi in Antigua.
My hotel, Posada San Pedro. was cute and completely sufficient for my one-night stay. With my bags safely stored away behind locked doors I still headed out into the streets, to stretch my legs and discover some beautiful places in this small and secluded town.
But having had a long day I was soon enough ready to go to bed and so I did exactly that!

My next day was to be one of the toughest I have ever experienced in my life, but as I woke up at 6:30 am this still wasn´t clear to me. Completely at peace, and ready to start my journey to Lake Atitlan, I waited for my shuttle and hopped on at 8:30 am. Just over 2 hours later I was suddenly faced with a place most beautiful and tranquil. The vast mass of water, which now carries the name of Atitlan is surrounded by volcanoes, steep hillsides and villages, where traditional Mayan culture meets the international travel scene. Now, do not get confused with the term ¨lake¨. The deepest point is 350m, it spreads 8km from north to south and 18km from east to west. I got off the bus in the town of Panajachel and straight away I knew this place was going to be rich in anything one is looking for. All the kids ( and there were plenty) had huge smiles plastered across their faces and one could not resist but smile back constantly. Before I knew it I was on the first ¨barca¨( boat) to Tzununa. A 20min ride and several conversations with locals ( who spoke english) later, I climbed out of the boat at the dock. There I met Samantha, the other volunteer from the US and Dita, the supervisor of our project. Wasting no time, we headed into the mountains, to do some good!!

Tzununa is a village high in the mountains, where the women all wear beautiful traditional dresses and all have long, black, thick hair. It was unlike anything I had encountered before. The average woman had 5 or 6 children by the age of 28, where their oldest might be 14 or 13. Whilst the husbands might be out on the fields, earning little money, the women carry the hardship of all the other things necessary. They cook on stoves, which we might consider very simple, and yet they produce beans and tortillas unlike any other you will ever taste. The children can use a machetta at the age of 6 with a level ofexcellency, many in Europe do not acquire until their late twenties. Living in houses made out of twigs and anything found, their life-styles are completely basic, yet their humor and energy to work and care for children seems never-ending. My admiration for these women started high and continued to grow. It was however at about 3pm, when we faced the horrible consequences of seclusion and lack of education. Maria, a local woman, with a large family and a hard-working husband husrt her foot. It was not until we saw her lying on her cement bed in a clamy hut, that we realized the extent of her injury. Maria's foot got pierced through with a rebar 4 days ago!!! carrying wood on her head in the dark, she walked straight into it and it entered on one side and exited through the other. Not only did she pull it out herself, but due to her lack of knowledge, she then went into a bathing room, each house has, which very much resembles a sauna. Heat obviously only sped up the process of spreading bacteria and so by the time we got to her, her upper thing was THREE times the size of the other. She hadn´t eaten nor drunk anything in 4 days and we all feared that the infection might have spread to the rest of her weak body.
The public hospitals in Guatemala are places the locals fear to visit, as many enter and few leave alive. Maria was one of those people.
After 2 hours of cleaning the completely infected wound with only remotely appropriate gear, we managed to stabilize Maria. As if by a miracle, we got our hands on some anesthetics and penicillin, and so combined with some clean water, pain-killers ( I luckily carried around) and a lot of good spirit, we left Maria in a relatively 'good' state.
It is impossible to describe the situation to its full extent BUT I can say, without hesitation that it was shocking and magic at the same time. The people, who never even heard of penicillin ( let alone had it), still kept up their good spirits. Maria lay in her bed for 4 days in a state, where we considered amputating her leg, and yet she withstands it. It is incredibly impressive and my respect goes out to these women!

After this long day, we finally arrived home, which was the village of San Marco, at about 6pm. Not having eaten anything and absolutely knackered, we just about managed to eat some dinner at a local restaurant and by 7:45pm all of us were tucked into bed.

We all, Sam, Micheline ( the other volunteer) and me, share a bungalo. Surrounded by the jungle our accommodation, 'La Paz' is magical! Every morning at 8am there are yoga classes and then at 5pm mediation!!! San Marco generally being a bit of a hippie commune, I feel completely at home here! We all woke at 6am - Micheline and Sam went for a jog whilst I practiced an hour of yoga. After a freezing shower in an outside shower we headed for some breakfast of fruit and tea and by 8:30am, we were on a boat, once again heading for Tzununa.

Now I would gladly continue to praise this paradise for eternity BUT I have a meditation class in 5min and so I have to rush off...

Tomorrow I will try and write more, as my eyes open to this amazing place of lake Atitlan!