Day 15, Monday, 5 Aug.
Day 16: Tuesday, 6 Aug.
Day 17: Wednesday, 7 Aug.
Day 18: Thurs., 8 Aug
The dorm has a friendly atmosphere in the morning.
I talk with a traveller who took a 3-day trek out of Nebaj, staying in the homes
of villagers in rmote mountain villages (see
www.nebaj.org).
I like my Spanish school,
Asociación Centro de Estudios de Español "Pop-Wuj".
It has a different atmosphere from my school in Antigua.
A bit more informal, and much more politically aware.
They encourage participation in weekly volunteer projects -- currently,
building energy-efficient wood-burning stoves for poor villagers.
After my class, they are showing the beautiful but sad film
Under the Puma, about a Maya village that suffers brutally
during the war.
It is abouT all I can do to crash on the floor
in front of the TV.
I am reminded of a poem I read in my second week of studying in Antigua. I don't know if that was the intent of the poet (Mayan poet Humberto Ak'abal), but it seems to fit (here in the orignial Spanish, and in my attempt
at translation).
De vez en cuando
Si caminara sólo hacia adelante,
From time to time
If I walked only forwards,
The the contaminated air of Xela is not good for me with my chest congested.
It actually hurts to breathe. Not sure what I am going to do tomorrow.
I don't know if I can stay here.
RECUERDOS
camino en revés:
es mi modo de recordar.
te podría contar
como es el olvido.
REMEMBERING
I walk backwards:
it is my method of remembering.
I could tell you
how it is that people forget.
I am feeling worse here.
I regretfully tell my school I canot finish the week,
and I decite to treat myself to a night at the
Fuentas Georginas hot springs.
It is a beautiful spa high inthe cloud forest.
Each guest is given a candle, and at night,
the pool is litwith a half-dozen flickering lights.
I meet Jeff & Aaron, american ex-patriates who have been working
for several months in a bar in Antigua.
They are making their way back north through the Guatemalan Highlands
and Mexico -- Aaron, with his surfboard (which he left at Pop-Wuj,
where he studied on a previous trip).
Jeff teaches me how to swear in Mexican (he thinks the Mexicans, in general,
are less amiable than Guatemalans).
Aaron tells me of his travels to densely populated El Salvador
(where the surf is excellent).
He tells me he has heard that from the air, you can see the outline of El-Salvador
because of the massive deforestation on one side of the border.
I wonder out loud if Gutemala may look the same in another generation
when all the children here have children.
I decide to make a tactical retreat back to the recuperative powers of Lago Atitlán.
Jeff recommended a Spanish school in San Pedro (lots of Gringos there, I know,
but it sounds easy).
When we pull into Panahachel, the last launcha has already
left for San Pedro.
On the bus I met Macarena from Spain, who is in the know
on budget Gutemalan travel.
Her lead on a 15 Q ($2) / night hotel doesn't pan out,
but we find one for 20 Q / night,
close to the water, and far from the Gringos.
We have no trouble finding ingredients for a delicious meal of
tortillas, frijoles y guacamole, which we share on one of the
several deserted piers.
The northern constellations Ursa Major and Minor are noticeable in
their absence, but the Milky Way is clearly visible.
The volcanoes of Atitlan stand tall against the stars.
Macarena teaches me how to say Falling Star in Spanish.
Day 17: Wednesday, 7
Aug.
I find my school San Pedro Spanish School,
and the hotel (more of a hostel) Macarena recommended
(11 Q/night/person), TiKaaj.
The school is able to fit me in that afternoon.
I take a nap in one of the many hamacas hanging in the garden.
The school is in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable, in a beautiful
garden on a hillside right next to the water.
Each student and teacher gets a palapa with breathtaking views
of the lake.
My teacher, Tosho, is a bit ADD, but otherwise, knows his Spanish.