San Pedro, Foremost

The wind blew for four days in a row last week and that means the weather was "bad" and "cold". Today, the temperature is something like 77F, and no wind, lots of sun, a normal day in San Pedro.

Now I have mentioned upon my arrival in Guatemala that I came here for a lake. This lake has many towns on the shores, each one very, very unique. "So why did you choose San Pedro Sarah?". Good question, I will answer.

San Pedro is certainly like no other place on Earth and today we will scratch the surface of its unique features.

San Pedro is first and foremost a Mayan town. The Tzu´tuhil Maya that are here have been here for generations before the tourists ever showed up. The modern Maya culture is totally in effect here in Guatemala, one of the last places on the planet that has an indegenous stronghold. The Maya make up about 60% of the entire population of Guatemala, a staggering number compared to any other place.

The Maya in San Pedro, and a couple other towns on the lake, are Tzu´tuhil Maya. This means that they speak Tzu´tuhil language and that everybody is cousins. Spanish is the second language here in the highlands of Guatemala, so I´m not the only one! Yay! Really though, the Mayan languages(numbering nearly 24 in all in Guatemala)are NOTHING like Spanish or English or any other language for that matter. I know four words in Tzu´tuhil and I struggle to know those.

The Tzu´tuhil Mayans are tough as nails, I have never seen people work so hard in my life. They carry loads of firewood on their backs as large as they are. And they carry them down the volcano, on hundreds year old path ways, back home to make fire for tortillas, not just down the street. The women carry huge baskets of laundry on their heads all the way down to the lake, wash it all by hand, and carry the wet laundry back up the hill on their heads to hang dry at home. The Tzu´tuhil are also some of the first tribes to hold off the Guatemalan military during this country´s 35 year long, very bloody civil war that ended in 1996.

Walking around San Pedro, one cannot ignore the children running the streets everywhere. I swear it´s the children that actually own this town. So needless to say the Tzu´tuhil are fertile folks as well. Mayan babies I think qualify as the cutest and best behaved in the world as I have never seen one actually cry. I have heard, but not seen. It´s amazing. And nothing is cuter than a 1.5 year old little Mayan girl dressed in the traditional clothes the females wear from the time they can walk. Tiny little blouse and tiny little skirt with a tiny little belt. OH! It is too much.

Funny I should mention the word tiny. The Mayan are not known for their stature, unless its speaking of very small stature. But their low center of gravity has its benefits. I´m convinced that they can carry huge loads on their heads and backs because it doesn´t necessarily make them top heavy. How can they be top heavy when they are so close to the ground? I am a freaking giant here, and there is a lot of comedy to be enjoyed by seeing me in a market surrounded by 4´6" Mayans.

For today, this is all. Ponder and begin to paint the picture of San Pedro in your head, it´s a colorful one!