Blog by Miriam, tourist visiting Lake Atitlan

Lodo = mud.

Lodo (mud) + three days of downpouring rain + mountain = landslide.

 

Landslide in San Pedro de Atitlan = ~150 homes lost, a 10 year old girl still missing after two days.

10 year old girl missing = day in and day out of digging, searching for a body. Searching for a closure. Searching for peace.

People that didn't lose their homes in the path of the landslide have houses filled with mud up to their wastes. No place to cook. No food to eat.

Everyone has stopped attempting to find things and are now solely looking for a child's body. A group began digging where a river of mud remains...hardening by the minute at least a meter thick.

Where their were once houses, gardens, trees and families, only a wasteland of mud, mud and more mud hardens with poeple's hearts as they rebuild homes, look for food, and hope for a body.

People's belongings float peacefully in the 1200 feet deep Lago Atitlan.

Here are a couple of shots from the last couple of days in San Pedro de Atitlan, Guatemala during the roar of Tropical Storm Agatha.

 

I had my first day of classes in the San Pedro Spanish School here on Lago Atitlan yesterday. The school is located on gardens and huts for teaching that stretch and stretch until you reach the lake. It's paradise.

You can find the school from two different paths. One that runs between the Pana docks and the Santiago docks. This is the main entrance. It is right past the Buddha Bar, which is a big gringo hot spot for chillin and smoking a hukkha or playing pool. It's not my scene, but a good reference point, nonetheless!