Dalama Adventures Tale of two corporate types ditching their jobs and traveling the world for 14 months... check out all photos, blogs & interesting tid bits at http://www.dalama.net

We're in Lago Atitlán, an amazing little town surrounding a dormant and now flooded crater lake.  The vistas surrounding the lago are stunning, and local culture is alive and thriving here.  Looking out over the lake we can see three other volcanoes:  Volcán Atitlán (3537m), Volcán San Pedro (3020m), and Volcán Tomlimán (3158m).  On the slopes of the volcano crater are small pueblos of colorful houses and cobblestone streets, tucked away into the nooks and crannies.  We're on a mission to experience the local culture here, learn about the local artisans, religion and spiritual rituals.  Our boat driver cruises us across the clear, glassy lake.  It's an amazing day, the clouds and slopes of the crater reflect vividly off the surface of the water.  We make our way through the back streets of a little pueblo  called Santiago Atitlán.  The roads are cobblestone, and most in disrepair.  Tiny colored casitas line the back streets, and we duck our heads through a tiny door entryway of one of the village elders.  We are led through the narrow, dark passageway of this home, and into a tiny room filled with smoke.  In the corner sits an elderly women wrapped in blankets, with her head covered; we can't see her face.  Next to her a man faces his backside to an open window draped with dark curtains.  He's swinging an can of burning coals and incense, chanting hypnotically.  Several men sit toward the back of the room quietly conversing, and in the center of the room is the mysterious Maximón adorned in colorful scarves, wearing a big sombrero, and smoking a cigarette.  Maximón (San Simón to the Spanish) is spiritually very important to several pueblos here in the Guatemalan hills.  They come from great distances to pray, present offerings of cigarettes and rom (local rum), and seek healing.  We learned from our guide that locals here pray to Maximón for everything, especially when praying to El Señor (God) doesn't work, they turn to Maximón.  Maximón can be found in several pueblos in the highlands here and we're lucky to be in one where his presence is so alive with the locals.  Maximón sits about 4' high, he's a carved wooden man who is really a chain smoker.  A young man sitting to his right hand side occasionally taps his cigarette butts, and always keeps his mouth plugged with a fresh new one when each runs out.  Candles line the floor in front of him, different colors have different meanings.  For example, a candle representing health is placed upright in front of him, and we're told that if the wax burns smoothly with little to no drips down the side, the person seeking his blessings will received good health.  However, should the candle tilt or drip lots of wax, it's apparently a bad sign.  Maximón is an intriguing character.  The chanting man in front of Maximón communicates in a strange language that only he and Maximón can understand.  We pay the 10 Quetzals to take a photo, as the scene is just too hard to describe in words, and we wanted a photo to show you all.  He will move to someone else's house next year, after a celebration where the locals parade him through the town.