Journal Entries

Saturday, Aaculaax Hotel, San Marcos la laguna, Guatemala

I am insane. Its official. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. I have no words to explain it except that I am travel weary. I do not love the crazy go go travel pace. I met my limit. So maybe that is the point of doing it. I will remember this lesson. My soul has been craving peace and stillness for the last couple of days. Making things up as I go isn't so bad, but it has its price. Anyway, after an insane 4 hour van ride from Antigua to San Marcos with those insane people was Gods irony, as best I can see it. I just kept praying not to wretch. I almost laughed out loud when the taxi ended up being a modified motorcycle-golf cart thing. Ill find a photo for you. It just became comical. This is what I signed up for right?

Sunday, Posada Schumann, San Marcos la laguna, Guatemala

Another great day to remind me what life is all about and what I love about traveling. I just remembered a story from Antigua I want to remember. I was sitting in the park waiting for my visa card to work to take out cash for the trip and a Mayan boy came by selling something. Id been asked many times the day before, but I stopped seeing the vendors as people, but as annoyances. This isn't normally like me, but after so much travel and I'm not really buying anything, I just move on. Anyway, I struck up a conversation with the boy, age 7. I found out he was selling 2008 calendars with photos of Antigua on them. He hadn't sold any that day. Probably everyone was treating him like I had been. We talked about various things as he climbed on the bench next to me. He said he will use the money to buy new pants, as he put his hands through the holes in knees of his jeans. He works to live as most children in the developing world, but he is still a boy, who loves spiderman. I told him to pick out his 3 favorite photos and I would buy them ($.40). He meticulously went through them and chose wisely. Then he suddenly ran off, the local police were coming by and I guess that's not a good thing. Anyway, it was a real moment of humanity that I so needed.

I met some other kids today, no surprise I meet kids...they are my favorite. I'm still not sure what to do with all this free time I have. After 2 hours and too much money posting my photos, I came back to my perfectly quaint cottage by the lake. The kids were playing soccer nearby and asked me to play. We exchanged basic questions and then they started teaching me their native language, the San Marcos Mayans have their own indigenous language. So the said a word in Spanish and then told it to me in their language and I tried my best to repeat it. Its not a simple thing to learn because of the sounds that you make rather than just pronouncing the letters. It was great fun. They want to work in Guat city when they get older and work in tourism in Spanish and English. I guess that's how it is, everyone leaves home for a better life. Currently when not in school they work 4 hours a day with their fathers cutting grass for animals to eat. Anyway, these interactions are much needed and make me feel less like a detached tourist. I'm much happier interacting with people and learning from them. I needed more conversation than just talking about renting a room, buying food or transportation. Human interaction on a meaningful level is crucial. I feel vacant without it.

So, today was great. I spend an hour walking all around the area looking at housing options...if I was going to stay for 5 days I had to have the best place for the best price right? This place is a series of narrow passage ways that wind around the buildings and somehow link together. Its quite interesting. Then I went back to my Pescado room with the luxury balcony view and made the most of my investment. I finished the wonderful book Chasing Francis-A Pilgrims Tale. I highly recommend it. It is a fictional story but has a poignant message. It has a study guide in the back and makes for great group discussion. Its about how St. Francis of Assisi might speak to the situation the Christian churches find themselves in today.

Anyway, I sat and soaked in the scenery and laid in the bed that has felt the most like home. I needed that gentleness. My new spot at Schumann is right on the lake and a very relaxing place. It reminds me of camp Perkins only a tad more tropical. I got a kayak with my rental and so I took an hour out on the lake. It was fantastic. Great waves, vista, sun, temperature. Its still weird doing things alone, but I'm used to it. I really haven't had a travel friend in a while, but I think that's good. Its causing me to be more introspective and quiet within myself. That's what I said I wanted. It just takes a while to settle into it. Ive decided to stay put for the next 4 days and that will be great. Without a schedule life can get a bit weird. Adirondack chairs have replaced my hammocks for the time being, a decent substitute. I haven't eaten much lately, maybe 2 meals a day. Food is a major expedition.