i didn't have to use my A.K., today was a good day!

Just like the Ice Cube song says! But let me set up the day first. Yesterday I made my way accross the lake to a tiny town called San Marcos. San Marcos is a town of about 3000 people. There is a big mix here, seemingly 50% locals and 50% tourists and expats... tons of expats. San Marcos has the reputation of being a hippie town (why do I always find myself in these towns) as there are a few meditation and yoga centers/retreats here. There is one road, to speak of, and the rest of town consists of paths, mostly dirt, but the main path is stone and concrete. The paths aren't even wide enough for two people to pass each other without turning their shoulders to avoid a collision. All the paths are under a canopy of bannana trees and strange, broad leaved, tall plants. The town gets its' water from natural springs apparently, so they don't have quite the same worries that other towns here on the lake have (with the quality of the water). I stayed in a hostel last night, in a tiny room that I had to climb a ladder into, which was over the kitchen. This is by far the most "interesting" room with the worst bed, I have stayed in on this trip. The bed would be laughed at by 20 year old futons if they had the chance. Besides the room, the bed, the chanting til way after dark (from the meditation center I can only hope) and the tiny streetlight (pathlight) that shone through the curtains all night, I actually didn't sleep half bad.
First thing in the morning, I went to check out a lakeside hotel called Hostel del Lago and found a super cool place! The property is flanked by a metal statue of Don Quixote riding Rocinante, so it couldn't be too bad, right?

Some recent American expats had just bought the property less than a month ago and are in the process of doing some repairs and putting on a new coat of paint. The property goes right up to the lake with gorgeous views of two volcanoes on the other side. They have tons of cool plants and nicely manicured grass, and I must say, I do love walking around in the grass barefoot!
After throwing my bag in my room, I went to the local market (which is 2 Mayan ladies on opposite sides of the street) and bought some veggies and supplies. I got 2 big roma tomatoes, a jalapeno, small onion, 1 whole bulb of garlic, a local bell pepper looking thing, an avocado and a cucumber, then went to the little store 10 yards away and got a pound of regular ol' pasta, a small thing of shredded mozzerella and a tiny thing of olive oil and spent $6. I'm pretty sure I got ripped off in the process, but getting ripped off at these prices is cool with me. I then made a little lunch that's probably gonna last me 3 or 4 meals, sort of a spagetti with garlic olive oil sauce with fresh veggies type of thing. The coolest part is that the hotel has this outdoor kitchen that is covered and huge with tons of plants all around. After chowing and smelling like garlic (I cant believe I used the whole bulb!) I sat in a hammock and read/slept/zoned out for 3 or 4 hours.

Sitting in the shade, listening to the little waves lap on the shore, the wind in the bamboo trees above me and slightly rocking in the hammock was awesome. I know it sounds a bit dainty... but it really was delightful! Then about 6 Guatemalan kids on the other side of the fence, 15 yards away started yelling, "El Gringo!" and "Manos arriba!" as they shouted, "Bang! Bang!" and shot me dead with their sticks. Actually, i'm pretty sure I died about 15 times because we continually acted as if we were in the wild west, shooting at each other. Apparently taking refuge behind a hammock is not adequate cover. Just when I thought they had gotten bored with me, back they came for more.

It's funny thing because at the time I was reading Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. It's a story about a 12 year old kid and his brother enjoying the simple pleasures of summer: running barefoot in the grass, playing kick the can in the evening, buying new sneakers (believing that they were twice as fast with their new sneaks on), enjoying summer picnics with the family all the while dreading the autumn. When the little local kids ambushed me with their stick guns.... let's just say I don't believe in coincidence.
As if that were not a overly enjoyable afternoon, I started hearing short, loud, precise whitstles off in the distance, followed by children yelling and I Immediately knew what the sounds were. I made my way around a ravine, down a small dirt foot path and through a bunch of trees, follwing the whistles until I found the soccer game. It really wasn't a game, things were too casual, more of a scrimmage as the coaches were stopping the game too often to give the 10 to 12 year old boys instruction. I watched them play on the dirt field and couldn't help feeling like alittle kid again. I made my way back to the hotel right as the darkness was taking hold. The owners of the hotel had asked me if I would want a sauna later in the evening and i replied of course, I would.
We had talked earlier in the day, getting aquainted, and they were telling me about some of the cool features of the property. They had fired up the Mayan sauna for me and it was ready to go. I guess the idea behind the Mayan sauna is similar to the sweatlodges of the American Indian. I hear they both had spiritual meaning and bonding connotations, I don't know anything about that, I just know a sauna is hot and sweats out the bad stuff!
It is a small igloo looking thing made of big stones with concrete and mud type plaster to fill the cracks. It had an oil barrel drum with one side open to stoke the fire with wood. The open side facing the outside, so the smoke could escape, and the closed off end cemented halfway into the inside. It felt like a real, live sauna (maybe because it was) and before I knew it I was sweating like a whore in church! Man, was that awesome! After a good 45 minute sweat, they came to the door to make sure I was ok. I figured it was about time to get out also, so I jumped into a freezing cold shower and stood under water til I stopped sweating. Not just a good day, a fantastic day!