Lake Chicabal Lake

Where do I begin????

I was told that we would walk to a lake and that it would be very pretty. We would learn about the Mayan Culture, participate in activities and crafts. Little did I know it would be a day of survival.

We rode on a bus from Xela for about 45 minutes with students from other schools. One of our teachers sat with me and we laughed about the many languages on the bus.....Spanish, English, French and German..............I was strong and stuck strictly to Spanish :)

One teacher told me that the trip was much easier now since the bus could take us part of the way up. He smiled as he told me this so I could tell he was pleased with this development. Well, this was not the case today so we started hiking from the bottom. I could tell he was not happy. We were divided into groups of ten, each having a guide.............and the hike began. The climb was very pretty.

This was the first sign we saw.....so we knew we had 4.39 km or about 2.7 miles.

There were parts of the hike that were difficult but not terribly bad. The altitude made it a challenge. The incline was steep a times but you could see where it would level and that gave you hope :)

We arrived to a very nice clearing. We had a short break and you could buy some drinks and snacks. Elubia was very sweet and had packed me a bowl of fresh fruit. I really appreciated it. I shared it with Sarah, another student at the school. Sarah is a runner but was having trouble due to the altitude. I was glad that I had extra water and other things to share.

There was a special ceremony. I did not understand most of it since the language spoken here is mam.

Then we were told we would now begin the climb and descent to the lake. We were warned that it was a difficult climb and we needed to sign a waiver form. After everyone signed, we were divided into groups of four and each group had a mam speaking guide.

This was the first sign I saw as we began our 1.81 km or 2.7 mile climb.............up. The sign states that the lake is sacred. I will explain more of this in a minute.

When we arrived at the lake, it was very cloudy. If you waited for a minute, there would be a short clearing and you could get a photo. It was very pretty. The lake is considered to be very sacred. People do not bath or swim in it. It is very clean and used only to petition the Mayan gods for your needs or wants. There is a story that in the time past, that the Mayan gods were angry with the condition of the water so parts of the lakes had dried up. Since this water has remained, people feel it is sacred.

My legs legs were a little shaky from the climb up but I was still doing ok. I was not aware or had forgotten that we were then going to hike down to the lake. These were two of our mam speaking guides who spoke a few words of Spanish. When I took this photo, I was about 3 steps below them.

This is the view down the incline. The steps were steep and moss covered due to the humidity.

Have I told you how many steps there were? I will tell you in a minute :)

When we finally reached the lake there was a lot of fog. It was moving fast so it would clear and then return so you could not see any of the lake.

As I mentioned, the lake is considered sacred and used for sacrifices and offerings. There were some burnt remains and places of smoldering ashes. This was a flower arrangement left from a previous offering.

Thao, from the school, is so happy to have made it this far. He thinks there is a lake behind him :)

Common sense tells me that since I have descended to the lake, I will have to climb back up.

The guides tell us there is an easier way up and we do not have to climb those 528, yes I said it, 528 steps.........................so we begin to ascend.

We continue to ascend without seeing any sign of progress. It comes to the point that you don't even look up and you just move one foot in front of the other. The guides keep saying it is not far, in broken Mam and Spanish. Then they tell you this hill is the last one but you have learned there are more! I really questioned if I was going to make it as the legs were giving out.

Eventually, we make it up the hill to begin the descent down to the place we signed the waiver form. One of the guides grabs my arms like the Guatemalan ladies walk and I am not sure why. Yes, it is slippery and I find out she is slipping on the hard-packed mud. I ask her if she is scared, not knowing if she understands me but she does and she tells me she is nervous.

We finally make it back and I am offering many prayers of thanks! I am very serious about that. Sarah and I sit on the sidelines of the soccer game. It has been about 6 hours since I have sat down and it feels like I have forgotten how.

This guy is announcing the soccer game from the end of the field. He rigs his loud speaker like we rig ours when we announce a clinic.

The guys play out in the hard rain as we find cover and have lunch.


During lunch, the rain continues and it is hard! I am wondering how we are going to get down and return to the bus. Surely, we can not hike 2-2.5 hours off this mountain in the hard rain.

Hugo tells us to climb in a truck....................everyone gets in the back and it is filled with 18 people. No one had climbed in the cab so they tell Sarah and I to get in the cab. We were very lucky. We made it down the mountain and then waited in some vans until the bus returned to take us home. Needless to say, I slept on the way home and I was so thankful to get to Elubia's safe. She fixed me some coffee and some bread and I went to my room to sleep.

I am glad I went on the hike. I am very thankful that everyone was safe. It was pretty. Would I do it again? I am not sure..........................................