Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

As Dave Letterman would ask his studio audience, "How many here have heard of Guatemala?"  Don't be afraid to admit you have.  Guatemala is Central America's Cinderella.  A less well-off Cinderella.  She doesn't even have one shoe, but she's beautiful.  We cruised Lake Atitlan, which sits between the volcanoes and has spectacular views. 

Unlike being at the shore, the temps were cool, the humidity was low and we had to walk up steep hills to visit spots like the women's cooperative where they spin and die cotton by hand.  We also rode in the bed of a pickup truck to see Maximon (pronounced Mashimon) the AWESOME demi--god of one of the villages we stopped in.  Basically, this "Jesus" is a department store mannequin who they treat like Buddha.  People win the right to take care of him for the year; they put him away at night, take him out in the morning and visitors pay homage by plying him with cigarettes and liquor.  Yes, they tip Maximon back and poor booze down his plastic throat.  How religious is that?!

Also, last night marked the passenger talent show.  If you you watch Letterman, you know he has a spot called "Is It Anything?"  An act comes on and he and Paul guess if it's anything (i.e. a real act or not.)  Ours was a good old fashioned talent show.  Everything from an eight-year old reciting Shakespeare to an 80 year-old doing stand up to a couple of chicks doing a pathetic gymnastics routine.  It was something.