Laguna Chikabal

Last weekend I went with some friends to Laguna Chikabal, a lake in the crater of a volcano. The hike to the top of the volcanoe was beautiful, while the endless stairs that ascended into the crater offered breathtaking views. There was a group of indigenous people praying and chanting on one edge of the lake and their voices flowed over the whole of the crater. It's definitely easy to understand why they consider this area a sacred spot.


Brain and Justin posing with their "Xela Sticks." They decided that these newly found sticks would be their weapon of choice for walking the streets of Xela at night. Their logic: "Well, it's longer than a machete"

Self-portrait- can't have too many of those

Felicitas with a really cute dog that was hanging around the beach

Flowers that had been placed in the water for ceremonial reasons

Look out point. Does a sign that says "Only 8 people, maximum" make anyone else nervious? We limited ourselves to 4 people at a time. We figured to achieve safety in Guatemala a general rule should be divide all given estimates in half.

Like I said, breathtaking!

Flowers on the hike up

The view from the top of Santa Maria in the distance with Santiaguito erupting right beside it