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Volcan San Pedro, viewed from across the lake in Panajachel. Lago Atitlan, Guate. |
| Volcan San Pedro, viewed from a boat approaching the Maya town of Santiago. The morning haze is smoke from the hearths of a small Mayan village on the hillside. Lago Atitlan, Guate. |
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Volcan San Pedro, viewed from the shores of the tiny Mayan village of Santa Cruz, more specifically, from my hammock slung beneath a thatched hut on water’s edge. Lago Atitlan, Guate. |
| The Sunday market in Chichicastenango is perhaps the largest and most famous Mayan market in all of Guatemala. It is enormous. Here you see many Mayan women selling flowers from the steps of a Christian church. On the front steps of this church, Mayan men perform ancient Mayan religious ceremonies of fire. | ![]() |
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Another view of the market. Chichicastenango. |
| This is the only permanent building in the Chichi market, where primarily produce is sold. The rest of the market is stall after tarp-covered stall, where one can find everything one needs for life in Guatemala’s western highlands. Chichicastenango. |
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Rooftop view of Chichi, as seen from the cemetery on the opposite hillside. |
| My lovely escort for an afternoon of wandering. Chichicastenango. |
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Typical homestead in Chichi. |
![]() The colorful above ground crypts of Chichi’s cemetery. | |
![]() In the upper reaches of the western Guatemala highlands, in the remote Mayan town of Nebaj, I became friends with Jacinto and his family. On the right is his wife Maria, wearing the colorful woven head-dress of women in the valley. She is standing in front of the comedor owned by her and Jacinto. She makes excellent tamales. | |