"All this wandering around 'Our America with a capital A' has changed me more than I thought."
The Motorcycle Diaries
After a long week of traveling last week, I was in the mood for some rest and relaxation, so I decided to check out San Marcos La Laguna for the weekend. My Lonely Planet guidebook had mentioned that it was "without a doubt the prettiest of the lakeside villages" as well as "a magnet for global seekers, who believe the place has a spiritual energy that's conducive to learning and practicing meditation, holistic therapies, massage, reiki and other spiritually oriented activities." On my boat ride over to San Marcos, I met a couple from Colorado who literally live only a few blocks away from my house in Denver, so I had a feeling that the universe and I were on the same wavelength even before I arrived.
View of the lake, from the jungle
San Marcos is an incredibly serene and beautiful pueblo. The town is very quaint, with only one road that is actually accessible to cars. Most of the attractions are located on one of two small cobblestone paths that are perpendicular to the main road and parallel to each other. The jungle weaves through the small paths, and there are only handmade signs pointing you to your destination, so I was glad that I had time to find my bearings before the sun set and had packed my flashlight for the evening. I walked around the town for a while with two women from my boat ride, and ate a delicious veggie burger at Restaurante Fe. Note that vegetarians and vegans are very welcome here. Although it was available in some restaurants, I didn't eat meat the entire weekend because of the wide variety of delicious vegetarian options. For accommodations I chose La Paz, as I was drawn to the A-frame huts with bamboo thatched roofs-- rustic but relaxing.
La Paz hotel
Paths leading to the hotel
I had some time to get stuck in my new book, the Motorcycle Diaries (great movie, but really awesome book too!), and I also watched a movie at a neighboring hostel before calling it an early night on Saturday. On Sunday morning I opted to take a yoga class, as La Paz offers 90 minute classes each morning at 9 am. As I suspected from the town vibe, it was more mystical than other courses I'd taken, and involved meditation, introspection, a bit of massage, some chanting, and a gong. It was actually a really pleasurable way to start my morning!
Some of my yoga classmates mentioned taking a lucid dream course later that afternoon (who knows what that entails...) but I opted to seek my zen through a hike, so I walked over to the Cerro Tzankujil Area Protegida. It's a beautiful nature reserve, with about a 45 minute hike to the top of a hill overlooking the nearby lake and volcanoes. There was also an awesome cliff jump that must have been about 40 feet tall and beautiful swimming cove. I certainly couldn't resist jumping in the aqua-colored water after my hike. Although the jump was actually kind of painful (how do you say "wedgie" in Spanish?) it was exhilarating and the water was the perfect temperature. What a wonderful weekend!
Nature reserve
Relaxing after a swim
View from my hike
You can't tell here, but this is a 40 ft jump to the water!
Here's a video I made of San Marcos-- some really amazing panorama shots of the lake and the volcanoes! Enjoy!
Visiting the Just Apparel women this week has been an extremely rewarding and fun experience! Dolores and I traveled to neighborhoods on the outskirts of Santiago to visit each of the women one-by-one in their homes. We were able to check in with each woman individually to make sure that she understood the Just Apparel project, and also see if she had any questions or concerns. I also had the chance to speak with each woman and learn a bit more about her family and her background, as well as check out some of the other embroidery and beadwork that she was working on at home. It was a good way to help build a personal relationship with each woman, and gave me an opportunity to appreciate her unique artistic skills!
Petronila and her daughter, and an example of her work
Concepcion can multi-task as a momma
Sharing a laugh with Micaela
Some of Carmen's beaded bracelet designs
As I was traveling around Santiago and the surrounding communities this week, I decided that you all might like to know how I’ve been getting around in Santiago. The heart of Santiago is pretty bustling during the day, and pedestrians have to watch out for the three wheeled tuk-tuk taxis that zip through the narrow cobblestone streets. Tuk-tuks cost about $0.50 per ride and take you anywhere around Santiago. The communities nearby Santiago are usually accessed by pickup trucks with built-in handrails in the truck bed. To board, you climb into the back of the truck— standing room only! When you are ready to get off the truck, the proper way to notify the driver is slamming your hand on the truck cab or the side of the truck as hard as you can, until the driver hears you. These are cheaper (about $0.15-$0.25 per ride) and take you much farther than a tuk-tuk.
The coches, with passengers in the truck bed
“Chicken buses” (as the gringos call them) are available for longer trips. So far, most of the chicken buses I’ve seen that start in Santiago are headed towards Guatemala City. Chicken buses are often old American school buses. The school buses are auctioned off and driven down to Guatemala after they have been deemed that they are too old or have too many miles for American use. Chicken buses are usually brightly painted, but behind their playful exterior there lies a bloody secret. Being a bus driver in Guatemala City is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, with over 900 bus driver fatalities in the past decade due to a sharp rise in gang violence. I have had really positive experiences riding chicken buses through my travels in Nicaragua. For obvious reasons I have chosen to avoid them here in Guatemala, even though Santiago is a quaint indigenous town and is nearly a four hour drive away from the capital city, where most of the violence has been occuring. However, the stories about the bus dangers are a constant reminder that even though Guatemala’s brutal civil war has been over for more than 15 years, civilians in Guatemala still have to be wary of the potential of violence on their way to work or their way home to their families.
All warnings about Guatemala City aside, Santiago is a spectacularly beautiful town with some of the most amicable people I have ever met. I hope you enjoy this video I made that highlights a day in my life traveling around Santiago!
