Guatemala, Xela, Lago Atitlan, Yoga, Crepes, and More!

February 20th , 2010

I have eight keys on my key chain. Is this a sign that my life is overly complicated? Maybe a psycho-analysis would show I'm insecure. Five keys alone are for the truck. The truck is definitely a complexity for the travelling life. One key for the truck ignition and doors, another for the back canopy door, one for the “Club” lock, then one for the garage we're renting in Xela, and finally one to get into the garage parking area. At least behind five locks and a secret switch on the fuel injection unit I don't worry much about the truck disappearing. In Xela, Guatemala, we're renting a room at the Posada San Andres where two more of the keys come from. One for the main door and one for our room. Finally the last, and eighth key, is for a room at Hotel Peneleu on Lago Atitlan. We're visiting Lago Atitlan for a few days to get out of Xela and for one last trip with Ilsa.

Ilsa has just finished a week at a Spanish language school in Xela. Ilsa spent the week studying, going on “field trips”, and staying with a host family. Aña and I we're busy investigating volunteer work and studying Yoga. We all decided to spend our last few days together on the amazingly gorgeous Lago (lake) Atitlan which is a crazy two hour drive from Xela. After a few days here on the lake, Aña and I will go back to Xela, and Ilsa will do some solo travelling. She'll have almost a couple weeks on her own before heading back to the States.

Aña and I have decided to spend three to four months living in Xela. Although it is the bustling second largest city in Guatemala with some foul air in certain parts, it does have it's appeal. There are interesting volunteer opportunities, there is cottage industry income potential, many intriguing destinations are within a days hike or drive, and finally there's the Yoga House. The Yoga House is actually the main reason for us wanting to temporarily live in a city again. It is a large cooperatively run house with about 15 international residents, several outstanding Yoga teachers, and four Yoga classes a day. One of the best and most intense Yoga teachers we've come across, Kevin, we met three years ago when we last passed through Xela. Much to our surprise and delight he's still living at the house and defending his reputation for intense classes. Weekly class rates are about U.S. $4.40, but will be free once we move in to the house on the 8th of March. Then we can also attend some Mai Thai kick-boxing classes!

In Xela we've been investigating volunteer opportunities, but haven't found anything solid yet. We we're interested in one, but we're dissuaded by rumors of financial corruption and the 12hr/day - 7day a week work schedule. To their credit, we we're told you get one afternoon off a week. I guess lack of financial transparency is a trend among non-governmental organizations (NGO's) in Guatemala. PhD dissertations of U.S. scholars have been dedicated to this very subject. We also spent a day helping out an “environmental engineer” starting a reforestation nursery. Unfortunately he didn't seem to have a well thought out plan. He is set on growing a species of cypress solely because he likes its shade of green. Other problems with finding earnest volunteer work are numerous. There's a matter of being able to see a difference, funding issues, involving locals, volunteer scams, sustainability, privatization, etc.

We've only been in Guatemala a week and have been staying busy. We've hiked up mountains to geo-thermal saunas with an older Mayan woman (Alejandra), up to high altitude lava rock precipices, explored mercados, studied Yoga, looked for work, made traditional dinners with a family in Xela, and now we're at Lago Atitlan. Here it's kind of a vacation within a vacation. We're currently in San Pedro; one of the several villages on the lake. Our hotel is U.S. $5/night with a private bathroom, parking for the truck, and an unbeatable view. It is a huge lake surrounded by mountains and volcanoes with peaks over 9,000'.

San Pedro, the town we're staying in, specifically, is quite bizarre. Along the lake is an area referred to as the vortex. There, restaurants, bars, hotels, and spas have been opened by people from all over the world. People that have been trapped in “The Vortex”. Up the rather steep hill takes you into the town of the local Mayan people; the Tz'utujil. Here the local language dominates along with invasive Catholicism and it's surplus of churches and religious graffiti. It's as if the “sins” of drug and night life scene along the lake are offset by the worship of the locals on the hill. The only drug I've been enjoying here is caffeine.

This is a region of Guatemala that grows some of the best and most potent coffee in the world. Here in San Pedro we were happy to find a growing cafe that we stumbled upon three years ago. The owner, Luis, roasts and grinds his own beans everyday. He has expanded his cafe with a bigger roaster, computers for internet, and is about to start serving breakfast. I currently find myself extremely caffeinated from some powerful Americanos. He gave me a huge discount when he found out Aña and I have cooking experience. We're going to teach him how to make crepes tomorrow morning. He also wants to come to Xela for some more cooking lessons. He is a great guy and he's got some great connections. We'll also make him teach us some Tz'utujil.

Who knows? Maybe after studying Yoga in Xela we'll succumb to the vortex for awhile. The local people here are some of the friendliest I've encountered. Additionally, the local Mayan girls are some of the most beautiful in the world. Too bad their religious upbringing makes them unlikely to engage in any “scandalous” activities. Furthermore, the surplus of restaurants and hotels creates a highly competitive environment with very low prices; even by Guatemalan standards. Finally, there is a plethora of outdoor activities. On the lake you can go kayaking, and scuba diving and get PADI certified for U.S. $250. There is lush jungle to hike through and there are volcanoes to climb.

As a bonus, the villages around the lake are very culturally diverse. There are four Mayan languages spoken by people, mainly women, that wear clothing made by hand as it has been for thousands of years. The cultural integrity is quite amazing when considering what it has been up against. The Spanish conquistadors of the 1500's plundered, raped, and enslaved the locals. They sent the church to conquer areas where their military failed. Right before the Spanish arrived, Toltecs, migrating south from the Yucatan had also started battling with the Maya. More recently in the 1960's and 70's, government sponsored military euthanasia exterminated over 400 indigenous villages. The government only began to stabilize in the late 1990's, but oppression, segregation, and discrimination remain rampant. All of this in an area smaller than the state of Louisiana. Despite all this, the Mayan culture perseveres with it's beautiful languages and clothing. The people on the lake are friendly, upbeat, and optimistic.

Photos of Central to Southern Mexico

Monarch Menagerie in the Mountins, Hippy Beach, Land of the Maya

We have continued our whorl-wind tour towards Southern Mexico. We only made one more stop in the state of Michoacán before some long days on the road. We went up into the mountains to about 10,000' to a Monarch Butterfly reserve. We stayed the night nearby in the beautiful and chilly mountain town of Angangeo. The next day with frost on the ground we began our hike into the reserve past some mildly irritating tourism businesses. Hanging out in the pine forests the magic began to happen as the day warmed up. Swarms of Monarchs took to the air and ground from their fir tree roosts. They were everywhere! The forest was transformed into a surreal mixture of greens, blue sky, and vibrant fluttering orange. This is one of the stops in the bizarre Monarch migration between the Grate Lakes region and Mexico.

We didn't spend much time in Oaxaca City. Although it is a beautiful city with scenic colonial architecture, droves of museums, and cosmopolitan cuisine, it is still a big city. It was very noisy and extremely congested due to many streets being torn up in construction. The price of staying in a hostal has also more than doubled from my last visit three years ago. Unfortunately we didn't arrange a “couchsurfing” stay with enough time in advance. The most enjoyment the city brought to me was from one of the best licquado and juice stands in all of Mexico. In one of the oldest markets in the city, Mercado del Carmen, you can find “Super Jugos de Angelita” (Super Juices of the little Angle Girl). There you can choose a smoothie from over 30 recipes. They utilize around 20 local fruits, vegetables, cacti, herbs, grains, granola, eggs, eggnog, and spices to make their healthy concoctions.

We spent most of our time in Oaxaca in two amazing and rejuvenating places; Sierra Norte and the beach of Mazunte. In the Sierra Norte mountians, north of Oaxaca city, we camped under pines at around 9000'. We camped outside of a town of 150 people that is part of a small, but successful eco-tourism network. The eco-tourism here helps small communities make a living without carrying out extensive logging operations. We went on a hike that afforded us beautiful views of valleys from cliff edges at 10,000' in elevation. After a couple nights in the cold alpine mountains we made for the sultry tropic coast. The drive to the coast is the second craziest and scariest road in Mexico I've ever seen. This time I got to drive it! Luckily we decided to break up the trip with one more stay in the mountain village of San Jose del Pacifico. We learned that it is a town known for hallucinogenic mushroom distribution in the summer months.

The heat and humidity of the coast was a welcome shock after cold nights in the mountains. We camped at a small family run palapa business on our favorite beach, Mazunte. It is a small and beautiful beach that has never been over developed. Rocky cliffs frame each end of the beach. Pelicans, Frigates, sea turtles, whales, and speedy crabs (Mazuntes), make frequent appearances. We enjoyed three days here resting and meeting other young low-budget travellers from around the world. The first night there I was conversing in Spanish with a couple girls from Italy and France, and a guy from Germany. We also met people from Holland, England, Argentina, Chile, and other Mexican states.

Now we're in the state of Chiapas. It is the southernmost and poorest state in Mexico with a large indigenous population; mainly Mayan in decent. We are couchsurfing on the edge of San Cristobal de las Casas. We're camping in the yard of a mega couchsurfing house here. This weekend there will be at least 25 couch surfers staying here! So far there are people cohuchsurfing here from Venezuela, France, Canada, Argentina, Holland, and other places in Mexico. There's going to be a party here tomorrow under the auspice of a Super Bowl party. Should be interesting.

After exploring this magically beautiful city and a few natural attractions nearby we'll be headed to Guatemala. Our first main destination is the town of Xela or Quetzaltenango. Aña and I are going to check out a volunteer organization that could captivate us for at least three months. The organization is Quetzaltrekkers and would have us volunteering as hiking guides for 1-6 day hikes. They raise money to support a street kids dormitory and school. Ilsa plans to attend a language school for a week before doing some traveling on her own. She'll explore Guatemala some before heading back to the States on March 4th.