Who knew promiscuity could lead to a life of leisure (posting from the road)

I have travelled to many places and seen some strange things...but this...even as I try and type it, I know you will all be shaking your heads in disbelief.

The day started fairly routinely for a tourist in Antigua, Guatemala - rise early and hop in a van for winding, vomit inducing drive to "the most beautiful lake in the world", Lake Atitlan. It was exciting for me as this now became my 98/100 Places to See Before I Die. The lake is truly lovely, nestled in a former crater and surrounded by Volcanos on all sides, shores dotted with fairly authentic Mayan villages.

Despite the charm of our first stop, Santiago Catarina and the wretched touristy feel of our next stop, Santiago Atitlan, became the highlight of my day. A town still steeped in traditional Tz'utujil ways, it is one of few places in the world where you can visit Maximón, a folk saint that is believed to be a form of the pre-Columbian Maya god of Mam that has been blended with influences of Catholicism. While the cult-like following Maximón is not fully understood, legend has that when the village men returned from working they discovered Maximón had slept with all of their wives, enraged the men cut off his arms and legs. Somehow after all that he became a 'god' and still has locals bringing him offerings of cigarettes and alcohol in exchange for good health and good crops.

Today the effigy Maximón still enjoys a mysterious exiscence. The local people work to keep him in hiding for fear that his "sexual desires my run amok". So this squat, brown statue (remember he has no arms or legs) is kept hidden in people's homes or outhouses - frequently changing locations. As always, for a small fee, locals will take tourists to the secret locationto visit Maximón. How could I not go?

So we dutifully followed our local guide through a series of alleys to the back of a home...the scene that greeted us was...eerie. Maximón was there, surrounded by several lit candles with a man chanting in the local Tz'utujil language. The caretaker was there to provide Maximón with his needs...which literally were flicking the ash off his cigarette and pouring spirits down his throat.

Yes, you read correctly. This inanimate man sits there, draped in fabrics with a lit cigarrette in the hole of his mouth. When the ash end grew too long, the caretaker would flick the end into an ashtray. Sometimes he would take the cigarrete out of the mouth, tip that statue back and pour rum in the hole. He would then stand Maximón back upright, wipe his "mouth" with a cloth and return the cigarette. I am not making one bit of this up.

I am not sure if I will ever have the chance to return to a Western Guatemalan Tz'utujil village and visit Maximón, but if I do I will be sure to bring a nice bottle of Crown Royal.