It was reported that, in some remote districts, sacrifices were still offered, but this is very doubtful. The Padre observed that the Indians at Panajachel, and in the villages bordering on the lake were excessively superstitious. In their houses or huts they usually had a room or space set apart for the abode of their saint’s image. This image would sometimes be carried to the parish church and be left there for a time, and then would be taken back to the house again with ceremonies and lighted candles. I mentioned to the Padre how I had noticed that the Indian women here had a habit of talking together in a low tone. He said this was chiefly owing to the dialect of the Quiché language which was spoken in this district, in which many of the sounds were expressed like a whisper. At daybreak Augustin was at the door with the mules, and my kind hostess prepared for me a cup of chocolate which she said would fortify me for the journey. We then left for Sololá, and soon were watching a glorious sunrise. The lake of Atitlan is irregular in its shape. According to my travelling map it has a circumference exceeding thirty miles. The most remarkable features are its great depth, and the almost perpendicular cliffs on the northern side which seem to be of volcanic formation. The deep blue of its waters is possibly owing to their depth, and the rarefied state of the atmosphere at this altitude. Our road led us through several villages containing chiefly Indian populations, and then we ascended a long and abrupt hill. As the day advanced we were joined by bands of Indians with cargo mules, travelling to the market. Sololá is the chief town of the Department, and the Corregidor was good enough to add some recommendations to my government letter. We stopped there long enough to rest the mules, and then proceeded on our way to San Tomas, eight leagues distant. Upon reaching the upper slopes of the hill I dismounted, in order to visit some Indian farm buildings that occupied several acres of rising ground near our path. Although there were evidences of what may be called comparative wealth, these Indians—like all others that I had seen—only possessed a single hut with one large room in it. Men, women and lads were all busy; the boys cleaning and spinning wool for their black ponchos or cloaks, and the women, as usual, engaged in grinding maize and making tortillas. We followed a steep ascent. The path was cut into broad steps, up which my excellent mule clambered with the utmost ease and rapidity, and in a manner which brought back to the memory many rides amongst the Druse villages in the mountains of the Lebanon. Upon reaching the summit of the sierra, I turned the mule’s head round to enable me to look at the lake and the group of volcanoes beyond it. It was then a scene of great beauty, but at some remote period in the world’s history, it must have been a centre of great volcanic violence and devastation.