San Marcos, Part II

Well, I ended up staying in San Marcos until today. Now, I am on the other side of Lake Atitlan in San Pedro, a bigger and much livelier town...

San Marcos treated me well, I did lots of swimming, sun bathing, yoga, sauna, some kayaking, hiking and lots of cooking and eating amazing food...mostly guacamole. Yesterday we did a crazy long hike from one town to another which took nearly three hours, most of in in the pouring rain, and felt like 8 miles in the hills around the lake. Wednesday, the hostel had a big potluck. People came from all over the lake to share food, use the sauna and play music. It was such a great night. I met a really awesome girl from Canada who I have been spending my time with since then, and at the potluck we met three guys...2 from Portland and one from Ashland...whos sister I went to high school with. SMALL WORLD!!! Anyways, the guys are in San Pedro to play music for a few weeks and we are staying with them in San Pedro to watch them perform tonight at a local bar.

The lake is so wonderful. I am surrounded by beauty...the scenery and the people. There are giant volcanoes around the lake, the sky is so blue and the water so clear. Although I have been warned not to swim in the lake...but I have not gotten sick yet! You cannot resist the clear water, the rocks to jump off of and sun bathe on. Its absolutely amazing. I have a feeling Ill be around the lake for a few more weeks before I work my way into the mountains. I feel so wonderful and so alive. If you ever need a place to escape to, I highly reccoment Lake Atitlan!

Well, thats all for now. Hope everyone is well!!!

San Marco, Lake Atitlan

Well, Ive been in San Marcos at Lake Atitlan for the past few days and its been relaxing. This small town is filled with gringos from all over the world who come here to do yoga, reiki, silence retreats, massage, and other spiritual things. It has been wonderful for me as I have been doing yoga, swimming in the lake, using the sauna at the hostel, eating and napping. I am ready to escape though as I dont want to get sucked into the easy life style. I haven´t spoken a word of Spanish since Ive been here as its primarily gringos. I guess I have spoken a bit to buy my fruits and vegetables. I have been living on guacamole here as you can buy an avocado from 25 or 50 cents. They are AMAZING. The hostel Im at has a community kitchen, so we have been cooking lots of delicious vegetarian meals with all the great local veggies. I am ready for some meat though! Today, I am exploring San Pedro in hopes to find a good meal with some chicken or steak. Tomorrow I leave San Marcos...not sure where I´m going yet but I will let you all know. Hope everyone is well!

Jackie

Well, my last few days in Antigua have been pretty awesome. Yesterday I put on my LA Gears and hiked the active Volcan Pacaya with some other tourists, mostly Canadians. My lack of exercise has been a bad choice as I thought I was going to pass out within the first 5 minutes of the hike. There were young children behind us with horses yelling ¨taxi!!¨ It was soooo tempting! But, I perservered and as we got higher up, it became much easier. Our little Guatemala tour guide was a speed racer! We passed every other group and made it to the top before the other groups who started at the same time. She says she does this hike every single day, most days twice and some days three times. Well, we made it to the top of the 2500 meter volcano and for the very first time I saw lava flow. It was incredible!!! And people were roasting marshmallows and hotdogs over the lava. So freaking awesome. The hike was so worth it. When I can post pics of the lava, I will!!! We hiked down as the sun was setting, pretty amazing. Although I stepped in quite a bit of horse shit. Oh well!!!

Well, today I am leaving Antigua to head to Lake Atitlan, more specifically to the city of San Marcos. I met an American who owns a hostel there with his girlfriend and its dirt cheap. Hoepfully it works out! Peace out for now.

I made it!

I made it to Guatemala City problem free! I walked out of the airport excited to see the sign with my name on it, as the hostel I booked was supposed to pick me up. Low and behold, there was no sign with my name on it and I wandered around for 45 minutes trying to figure out what in the world I was going to do. Fortunately, I met a really nice couple, one from Spain and the other from Germany who were headed to Antigua. I hitched a ride with them in our own private taxi. Once we got into town, the driver helped me find a place to stay. The hotel is nice, but my room feels like a muggy prison cell. No complaints though. I am happy to be here and to have met such wonderful people. Well, I am off to do some exploring and try to figure out what in the world I am going to do with myself for the next few months...

Countdown

The countdown has begun...5 days until my departure for Guatemala, just one more day of work. My room is halfway packed up, and I plan to finish it up before Sunday is over so I can spend Monday relaxing before my departure. The nerves are creeping in as is the sadness to leave behind all that is familiar. My friends, my family, the comfort of my bed, tap water and most importantly, bacon. I am told that I can find bacon down there, but that it's quite expensive. As excited as I am about my journey, I am also a bit fearful of the bugs. After seeing pictures from a few friends who've spent time in Central America and the bug creatures they encountered and have living in their intestines, I'm a bit freaked out. I've been told that if I take probiotics, I should be able to avoid those aggressive parasites. Let's hope this advice is useful, as I just spent half a days paycheck on probiotics. Oh the joys of traveling.

Well, I probably will not write again until I am down south unless something really exciting happens. Doubtful. Signing off...

Starting Over

I started this blog a while back and have not utilized it in many months. I have decided to start using it again as my travel blog. That's right...I'm leaving the country on February 16th, 2010 to begin a new journey. I am packing a backpack and leaving everything else behind (in my wonderful parent's house and step sister and her finace's house...THANK YOU!!!) I fly into Guatemala City and what lies ahead is unknown. I plan to do lots of exploring, soul searching, relaxing, volunteering and pushing myself to try new things and meet new people. I hope to really immerse myself in the many different communities that exist and to speak Spanish. I want to increase my level of energy and get out of the daily routine of work, eat, sleep. What better place to do this than Central America? As I said before, I don't have any concrete plans. I plan to volunteer with an organization called Semilla Nueva (http://www.semillanueva.org/www.semillanueva.org/Welcome.html) which was founded by some wonderful people I grew up with in Ashland. I look forward to working with them, living in a rural city in Guatemala and experiencing such a rich culture with an elusive history. I am not sure how long I am going to be gone. My tentative plan is to make it down to Costa Rica and head back up to Oregon sometime in July, or when I am completely out of money. I have applied to graduate school for my Masters in Social Work and my hope is to get into a program that I can start when I return in the Fall of 2010. I'll hear from schools in March and April.

For the next two weeks I am going to be preparing to leave. There is so much to do and so little time. At this point, reality hasn't set in...that I am leaving the country and have no idea what I am doing. I know it's happening, but I just don't feel it yet. I guess those feelings will come when I am on the airplane and about to land in a country that is foreign to me. In the meantime, if anyone who follows me through my blog has been to Central America and would like to give me some advice or recommend a place to go, eat or stay PLEASE DO SO! I am open to suggestions and any connections that anyone might have. I will do my best to write and post pictures, but I will not have my laptop with me, which means I will write when I find internet cafes. I hear they are pretty prevalent down there, so I shouldn't have any problems. Wish me luck!!!