The Villages of Lake Atitlan- Troy

During our stay at Casa del Mundo (possibly the most beautiful place on the trip) we visited two villages, San Juan, which is a working-class Mayan village that is very quiet and portrays the traditional Mayan life and Santiago de Atitlan, a tourist-oriented town.  To start off-... in San Juan we only saw 2 gringos (slang for Americans).   We visited a cooperative where Mayan women engaged in traditional weaving techniques and showed us very unique products that were different than those in the market.  We learned about thier unique history and about their corn (which is very important, believe it or not).  Our second village was Santiago Atitlan.  It is tourist oriented with many shops and gringos.  We started the visit by having lunch at El Pescador, a very nice restaurant with divine food.  I ordered barbecued steak of loin with the infamous Coca-cola that blows american Coke out of the water.  After, when the rest of the group went to the church, Connor and I travelled around the city and embraced the culture.  We talked to fellow Americans along with helping a man move a metal desk into his store.  We also bought some hand-made pants that remind me of Aludians pants, but they are very comfy.  We then made our way to the boat and travelled back to Casa del Mundo marking the end of an amazing day.