We drove in 15-passenger van about 30 minutes to the outskirts of Xela. It always interesting for me to see the indigenous communities. In one particular community, the traditional attire for the men is an outfit that looks like a robe/dress. I think we were supposed to drive further than we did, but our van ended up nearly getting stuck in the mud.
The climb was absolutely ridiculous! I thought I was going to die! The paper with the description of the activity said to bring lots of energy. It did not say we would hike for 3.5 kilometers either up or down. Honestly, I think much of the hike was at 45 degree angles either up or down! Plus, it had rained very hard during the entire night before, so the trail was muddy and slippery. I fell flat on my booty a couple times. And the final stretch to get to the lake was 579 steps down, which meant we had to climb up them on the way back. I was last nearly the whole hike, which was pretty embarrassing. Luckily, my friends Michaela and Heather stayed back with me so I wasn't by myself. (It was a mixture of the altitude, having a cold, and not being very athletic in the first place.) Afterwards, I joked with Enrique (the director of ICA ) that it was mi primer y mi ultimo volcan (my first and my last volcano)!
The view was amazing, though. I completely understand why it is a sacred place to the Mayans and a place where they conduct many rituals. The entire site is blocked off to tourists during the first week or two of May so that the Mayans can conduct their rituals without nosy tourists bothering them. When we arrived, it looked beautiful, but like any other lake. However, we stayed for about an hour and the clouds started coming in over the trees and forming neblina (mist) over the lake. You could watch it travel across the entire lake until it finally enveloped everything in white. It was truly magical. I was sitting in the clouds.
Some students enjoyed throwing rocks into the lake and watching them float. (They were pumice.) I wanted to take some of the pumice sand home for my sand collection, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It seemed wrong to take something that was so sacred to someone else.
After the hike back to the van and the drive back to Xela, we all went out to a restaurant to celebrate. I spent about US$11 on my meal, which has definitely been my most expensive meal so far! It was much deserved, though! My legs are aching today!
Parking the van after it got stuck
Incredible mountain view
In case you thought I was kidding, here's a portion of the trail. The picture doesn't do it justice.
View of the lake from the lookout (and I think that's the active volcano in the background)
Close up of the lake after going down 579 stairs!
Enjoying the tranquility
The mist coming across the lake (same location, taken a couple minutes apart)
Sitting in the clouds.
The lovely bathrooms and the sink (yeah, the tub of water was the sink)
Here's a video of the stairs, in case you thought I was exaggerating
And here's a video of the mist. The video doesn't do it justice, but it will give you an idea of what I saw
1 comment:
Ok, I didn't know you could do videos! More, more!
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