From Coban we headed into the Capital City of Guatemala. arriving in the capital was a bit like a home coming. Our very good friend Kelly Nichols is living and working in the Capital and as is typical of her hospitality her home was very graciously presented as our home. It was a wonderful family reunion and our time was spent lounging and cooking. The first week several adventures were planned but aborted because Pao was pretty sick. We did however do quite a lot of exploring around one of the most chaotic, hectic and poorly planned cities I've known. The Multileveled central market took up a whole city block and had everything from Comida Corrida to Vegetables to an entire hallway of Leather goods.
Thanksgiving came and we made tracks to a beautiful beach house in El Salvador for the weekend. A group of 10 shared the house and made it a home. We celebrated Thanksgiving dinner with beers, shrimp and beautiful views. Kelly, Pao and I spun fire around the swimming with brilliantly bright stars above. The weekend ended with an amazing reggae party a failed attempt to find an after party followed by a long walk home in the dark - and with out shoes for our friend Chris.
We returned to Guatemala and after a few days and an important car repair we made our way back to the border to fix our visas. What was to be a one day adventure turned into three when a problem with the right rear wheel presented its self. Unfortunately we couldn't find a mechanic or the proper parts to do a proper fix and had to make do with a temporary solution. Skeptically we made our way to Lake Atitlan - a collapsed volcano that is now home to the most beautiful and pristine waters I've known. We fell in love instantly and spent the next three weeks soaking in the sun, water, food and people. We found community with ease and made friends for life. We spent a majority of our time in a wonderful ex patriot community called San Marco La Laguna. A disproportionate number of massage therapist, healers of all kinds, yoga teachers, sweat lodges and organic food made for an irresistible energy.
Our first week there we stayed at a wonderful Hostle/massage boutique/restaurant called La Paz. Just next door we found our local hang out Rico Tenango owned by Rick a man I am happy to call a friend. We read books, practiced yoga, took poi lessons and swam in the lake - and jumped into it from 30 foot cliffs.
We returned to the city for a dentist appointment and then right back to San Marco. This time around we were giving the option to camp on a beautiful piece of land next to the cliffs with a beautiful view of the whole lake and the towering cloud cloaked volcanoes. We bathed in the water every day waking early in the morning to the healing rays of first sun light. We had two very meaningful and healing acupuncture treatments from a very powerful and inspiring woman named Michelle. We shared experiences with past life remembrances and talked about how to access them more completely and pull forward useful knowledge from those lives.
We stayed through new years and partied like crazy people. We did a fire show with Claudia's poi teacher and our friend Jorge. A traveling performance/volunteer group from San Francisco was in town a few of their dancers performed as well. A group of fantastic drummers kept the party going until midnight and then it was the DJ's turn. It was a hell of a party and a great experience.
The next morning we took it slow- Pao barely able to eat and for some reason just before dark in our typical crazy fashion we packed up the tent and decided it was time to move on. We drove the steep mountain hills away from the lake in the dark making it to the capital just before midnight. We stayed long enough to welcome Kelly home from her christmas vacation to the States and finally get the problem with our wheel fixed.
Even though we could have stayed forever it was long past time to move on. Good bye Guatemala we love you.
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