The alarm went off at 5am this morning so that we could get an early start. We decided to visit Chicabal Volcano and we had to be away early because the volcano spends much of its time under the clouds. In the centre of the crater is a lake and the site is sacred to the Mayan people. The bus could only take us so far and we had to walk the rest of the way. It was approx. 5.5km and all up hill! I really struggled because the air is so thin but I made it to the top. It was a bit disappointing because it was completely in the clouds and we couldn't see a view from the top.
The walk down was much easier but halfway is the ranger station and we negotiated a ride down in the back of a Toyota truck for some of us. It was great fun and very bumpy. We had a bit of a wait at the bottom and there was a shop with a house attached and two girls, Catalina and Maria (see photo), were weaving inside. It was very interesting and the work was beautiful. The girls were sisters aged 21 and 15 and they were working without a light. They lived and worked in the one room and the bed was in the corner. Maria was very shy and agreed to have her photograph taken. She hadn't been photographed before and was interested in seeing the photograph on my digital camera and smiled coyly.
The morning has been quite an adventure regardless of not seeing the lake from the top. I'm back at the hotel and hoping to go out for some lunch soon. I'm keen to track down the Cathedral and could do with some quiet time alone.
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