San Pedro La Laguna, Solola, Guatemala

Guatemala is an amazing country. It´s so chock full of history that everywhere you look, another photo op takes place.

Most of the local people in this area are Mayan, and speak an ancient dialect called Tzutujil, usually as a first language. Spanish and English are also spoken by a lot of people that deal with tourism.

So I took the plunge and signed up for Spanish lessons. After two weeks of thinking I am getting too old for this kind of thing, I can put a sentence together and almost make others understand me. The subtle differences in certain words makes for some fun times. Today I said ... I can go swimming in the Chicken Bus. When you see what a chicken bus is it´s actually pretty funny. So, I am learning. Good thing the Guatemalans have a great sense of humour. And I can laugh at myself.

The history of the peoples here is nothing short of astounding. Everything is somehow connected to life .. and you can see this even in your walks around the town. Most of the interconnected pathways to property and homes are worn paths. Used by every footed and hoofed critter you can image. And what every footed and hoofed creature does naturally when nature calls. Makes for an interesting waterway in the heavy rainfall.

I´m still absorbing the culture. I am still getting used to not having the internet at my fingertips when I want it. But I saw emerald green hummingbirds today that took your breath away when their feathers hit the sunlight. They come within inches of you and think nothing of it. I´ve seen small children who play with marbles in dusty streets and are happier than any children I have ever seen playing games on the computer. There are lessons to be learnt here. Big ones.

Life. It sure makes you wonder what is really important and what we should be making our priorities are. Even if I have to go swimming in a chicken bus to learn.

Lake Atitlan, Solola, Guatemala

Mornings on Lake Atitlan, Solola, Guatemala are pretty incredible. There is a misty-fog over the water and the air is surprisingly cool.

I've spotted this same fisherman every morning on this particular walk I take along the lake. He always waves back at me ... and sometimes I wonder what he is thinkng. Why anyone would possibly want to take a shot of him doing what he does to eat everyday.

Sometimes I feel like a peeping-tommette person spying on someones life like this. Not sure if I have come to terms with doing "people-pictures" yet. I know we all like to see how other people in the world live. But think about it. Would we be very happy if some camera toting tourist wandered along the street where we live and started snapping pictures of us having a drink on the balcony or a BBQ in the back yard?

Nice of this man to put up with me in the mornings -- maybe we share a bond of the beauty of this place and the peaceful mornings where the birds and and water are the only sounds that lull us into a sense of "all is well with the world".

This world, this morning, anyway.

Lake Atitlan, Solola, Guatemala

I know this is a blog on Vancouver. My creative dry spell made me hop on a plane for parts of the world I have not seen or experienced yet. Well, life just keeps taking all of these interesting twists and turns, and finally I just accept holding on the for ride and not trying to change things.

This is an incredible part of the world on a lake called Atitlan.

Solola is the "department" that Lake Atitlan is located in. A department is like our Canadian provinces.

I haven't gotten to see all the villages yet. Most are from the Mayan days. Amazing culture that I'm still taking in. You have to leave your North American senses behind and just let all of this slowly seep into your pours ... some people come here and never leave. I am having a hard time putting all of this into words -- so for now I will let the camera make up for that.

With all this raw nature, I think the creative dry spell might be getting some rain.