I lost two years of my life for this pic

Some clickbait there, but I do not remember a truck this disgusting, passing me on an uphill, this trip or at any time. I felt it in my throat for at least 30 minutes after. And yes, I took a day-long detour to take a picture—or have it taken— of a colourful church, and probably won't have been passed by a truck this disgusting, hadn't I gone there. And some other things would not have happened.

The reason for me taking this picture is that I find the local adoption of Christianity, at different places, fascinating. The procession for Good Friday, the shamans/priests lighting incense in front of the church, even the weird posh-drinking ritual in Mexico: it is all different kinds of combining elements of Christianity with local Mayan traditions. This church isn't that well known, or not visited frequently at all, but still quite special due to its vibrant colours: I thought it would be worth the detour. It would also give me a chance to go above 3000 meters elevation, and it made me make a new friend at a rather random store, who referred to me to the next customer as "mi gringo amigo". And it made me go down a super steep hiking trail by bike, which meant an hour and a half of pushing and carrying my bike down the hill, fully engaging the brake. Which was not a worthwhile experience; this, on the other hand, partially went through coffee and avocado plantations, and made me stumble on a new fruit that I really like and haven't found yet, the white sapote. So, upsides and downsides.

I arrived in San Pedro La Laguna, at lake Atitlán, which is really a tourist hotspot. Insta girls and boys posing for selfies, and tourists that just do not seem to even look at other people or their culture but just their phones and being occupied with themselves. However, I ran into a dutch couple who were also travelling by bike, and have been on the road for 5 months, and it was great sharing experiences and talking to them for a bit. In a place where I feel more alienated from the people others (the locals) see me as similar to, it is great to come across like-minded people, if you know what I mean.

To elaborate: I don't hate tourists or tourism and the town and local people are very nice—the amount of effort a lady put into packaging some eggs for me was super cute—and I am also a tourist that wants touristy things (vegetarian food, good beverages, a hot shower). But the lake has been conquered by tourists, and the local culture is suffering under the pressure of building fancier places all along the lake. And I always dislike when the the gap between what the tourists are consuming and what local people can consume is so large.

I decided to spend three nights at the lake, to also try a touristy volcano hike up to 3000 meters, the Volcán San Pedro. Got up at 6am, hoping for the best views at the top and beat the clouds, but I kind of feel like I got trapped in a tourist trap: just clouds at the top, and the best view of the lake was close to the bottom. They did a lot of trail building though (would have been cool with a Mountainbike), so I did something for the local community; you pay 100 quetzal (11 euros) just to be allowed to do the hike. And my legs hate me— glad I can get on the bike again tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I love the lake and the area, and am enjoying good coffee and food (just not good craft beer, sorry, it was piss water with cacao added). And now only two more days of cycling though, before Antigua Guatemala.Read more