This is the view from my hotel room in the early morning.

Yesterday we went by boat to visit several Mayan villages on the periphery of Lake Atitlan, where we saw the contrast between vibrant color and grinding poverty. Now and then we have met Americans who came here 30-40 years ago, as hippies, and stayed.  Easy to see why one would stay in this beautiful place with its benign climate as a young person; harder to see how one would stay while aging, with no good medical or dental care available.

But oh, the colors!

This afternoon we move on from here to Chichicastenango where tonight there willne noisy fireworks and New Years Eve celebrations. From there we continue by air to the north, to jungle and Mayan ruins (though probably no internet)