Part 1
Where the author almost arrives at why he chose Tzununa
Let's go up one level. Why Guatemala at all? And why Lake Atitlan? For one thing, it's a lake. Though I may not have said that living by water was a real concern of mine, one quickly sees how extremely nice is it to live by water. A lake to me feels more personal than a river or ocean, more a friend, especially this lake. Atitlan has no outlets; it's mountain and volcano-locked. The reasons for the surface level rising and falling are a mystery. Of course, the rain is one cause for rise, but no one is sure why it goes down a certain amount, less and less recently, each year. Theories include volcanic and techtonic activity and underwater river mouths clogged with trash. Right now, the water is at a major recent high. Gringoes, and some rich Guatemalteco families, along with municipalities and businesses have lost a ton of land to the water. I'm told if the surface level rises 15 meters, it will top out there as it begins to spill to the ocean via an outlet to the south. Some people say it's on a 50 year cycle of which we're approaching the high end, so it should begin to recede soon according to those folks.
The rising and falling is part of the Atitlan magic, as I think of it. There's enough of this magic to write a book on, but I don't want to attempt that now. I'll just mention it has to do with the shape of the lake, the water, the wind, the contours of the mountains, the active volcanoes, the lightning, the tremors, rivers, waterfalls, rainbows, rocks, stars, sun, clouds, moon and all the other ways that nature, weather and landscape impress the spirit as they impose a way of life on the Mayan people here. A day living here is so saturated with beautiful landscapes, cool plants and birds, and food loves sprouting from the earth and falling from trees. It is a privileged place to live.
Being lakeside is definitely better the longer you stay. The more you learn about what's around and can handle walking up and down steep hills to get to those places, the more fun you'll have. You'll get strong, you'll get in shape. You'll relearn to breathe and walk around slopes that are so steep, if still farmed with corn and coffee, that you worry you'll fall right off the face. I easily admit that living here, or even visiting here, isn't for everyone. If you're OK with the reasons that Guatemala is different from home, like unfixed pricing, transportation you have to jump on and off, language, food, and chuchos and chickens everywhere and you don't lament the lack of things you just don't get here like internet shopping, choices in ethnic food, affordable dairy, tv shows about cakes, or your car and you enjoy all the things that Guatemala throws into the deal like incredible scenery, terrific people, and an inexpensive life then you may really enjoy that life or visit here. For me, it makes sense with the mindset I had nine months ago. Go for less stuff, more experience and cooler surroundings.
So I got here and though the plan had been to stay awhile then take off and explore Central then South America, I got pretty stuck here. Maybe it's being a little older and also listening to my buddy Aaron tell me that you need to travel but also have a good home base so you don't have to come home broke and stay with mom and dad again, but I felt like this was a good enough place to set up that home base. Walking around now, after four months, at times the world-class lake and volcano view starts to feel pedestrian, like walking through our own Forest Park, but most days I'm as stunned by the landscape as my first day here. So when I say it's good enough, I mean it's an incredible place to build a house. I still want to explore Central and South America and the rest the rest of the world, but I'm setting up my home base, and it will be here on Lake Atitlan.
As far as Guatemala in general, I have had nothing but a good time in all my excursions away from the lake. I've seen some amazing things and have loads more to see for the first time. The people are friendly, helpful and interested. The traffic infrastructure is efficient and smooth and any journey, if a bit cramped at times, is so entertaining with bus vendors, bus driving, scenery and conversation that trips seem to come to their end swiftly. Even though very mountainous, Guatemala is only the size of Pennsylvania, so your domestic journies can't be that long. I've spent some time in the infamous Guatemala City and was surprised at its moderness and cleanliness. My opinion is that the US State Department Travel Bureau has some motive for deterring citizens from traveling to Guatemala, or maybe traveling in general, and misrepresents the true level of danger here and I think that's unfortunate. Having lived many years in the United States, I know it has its fair share of dicks, thieves, drug addicts and drunks, probably a higher share per capita than Guatemala. Take measures to reduce your chances of being targeted and when you show up here your worries will quickly fade.
Where the author almost arrives at why he chose Tzununa
Let's go up one level. Why Guatemala at all? And why Lake Atitlan? For one thing, it's a lake. Though I may not have said that living by water was a real concern of mine, one quickly sees how extremely nice is it to live by water. A lake to me feels more personal than a river or ocean, more a friend, especially this lake. Atitlan has no outlets; it's mountain and volcano-locked. The reasons for the surface level rising and falling are a mystery. Of course, the rain is one cause for rise, but no one is sure why it goes down a certain amount, less and less recently, each year. Theories include volcanic and techtonic activity and underwater river mouths clogged with trash. Right now, the water is at a major recent high. Gringoes, and some rich Guatemalteco families, along with municipalities and businesses have lost a ton of land to the water. I'm told if the surface level rises 15 meters, it will top out there as it begins to spill to the ocean via an outlet to the south. Some people say it's on a 50 year cycle of which we're approaching the high end, so it should begin to recede soon according to those folks.
The rising and falling is part of the Atitlan magic, as I think of it. There's enough of this magic to write a book on, but I don't want to attempt that now. I'll just mention it has to do with the shape of the lake, the water, the wind, the contours of the mountains, the active volcanoes, the lightning, the tremors, rivers, waterfalls, rainbows, rocks, stars, sun, clouds, moon and all the other ways that nature, weather and landscape impress the spirit as they impose a way of life on the Mayan people here. A day living here is so saturated with beautiful landscapes, cool plants and birds, and food loves sprouting from the earth and falling from trees. It is a privileged place to live.
Being lakeside is definitely better the longer you stay. The more you learn about what's around and can handle walking up and down steep hills to get to those places, the more fun you'll have. You'll get strong, you'll get in shape. You'll relearn to breathe and walk around slopes that are so steep, if still farmed with corn and coffee, that you worry you'll fall right off the face. I easily admit that living here, or even visiting here, isn't for everyone. If you're OK with the reasons that Guatemala is different from home, like unfixed pricing, transportation you have to jump on and off, language, food, and chuchos and chickens everywhere and you don't lament the lack of things you just don't get here like internet shopping, choices in ethnic food, affordable dairy, tv shows about cakes, or your car and you enjoy all the things that Guatemala throws into the deal like incredible scenery, terrific people, and an inexpensive life then you may really enjoy that life or visit here. For me, it makes sense with the mindset I had nine months ago. Go for less stuff, more experience and cooler surroundings.
So I got here and though the plan had been to stay awhile then take off and explore Central then South America, I got pretty stuck here. Maybe it's being a little older and also listening to my buddy Aaron tell me that you need to travel but also have a good home base so you don't have to come home broke and stay with mom and dad again, but I felt like this was a good enough place to set up that home base. Walking around now, after four months, at times the world-class lake and volcano view starts to feel pedestrian, like walking through our own Forest Park, but most days I'm as stunned by the landscape as my first day here. So when I say it's good enough, I mean it's an incredible place to build a house. I still want to explore Central and South America and the rest the rest of the world, but I'm setting up my home base, and it will be here on Lake Atitlan.
As far as Guatemala in general, I have had nothing but a good time in all my excursions away from the lake. I've seen some amazing things and have loads more to see for the first time. The people are friendly, helpful and interested. The traffic infrastructure is efficient and smooth and any journey, if a bit cramped at times, is so entertaining with bus vendors, bus driving, scenery and conversation that trips seem to come to their end swiftly. Even though very mountainous, Guatemala is only the size of Pennsylvania, so your domestic journies can't be that long. I've spent some time in the infamous Guatemala City and was surprised at its moderness and cleanliness. My opinion is that the US State Department Travel Bureau has some motive for deterring citizens from traveling to Guatemala, or maybe traveling in general, and misrepresents the true level of danger here and I think that's unfortunate. Having lived many years in the United States, I know it has its fair share of dicks, thieves, drug addicts and drunks, probably a higher share per capita than Guatemala. Take measures to reduce your chances of being targeted and when you show up here your worries will quickly fade.
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