March 6-13, 2010 was spent in Highland Guatemala, where Maya peoples have retained their cultural traditions and ethnic identity for centuries, especially in their religious devotions and their pride in their remarkable handwoven clothing. We explored the heartland of this tenacity, in the village of Santiago Atitlan on the shores of what is often called the "most beautiful lake in the world", in the thriving market day bustle of Chichicastenango, and in the ruins of Iximche, once the capital of the Kachikel Maya. We watched jade being carved, climbed an active volcano, visited a coffee plantation, and were dazzled by the Sunday Lenten processions down the cobblestone streets of colonial Antigua. This trip was not sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh