Thanks for the care package!

Not sure who sent it, but thank you (whoever you are) for the xmas package! It was exactly what I needed... two gringas and new year's at the beach.



Well, another bold pair of gringos has ventured south and survived the savior. By now we've put together quite the little packaged tour. A little bit of community time, a night in the mountains, some coffee time in Juayua, and finishing up with a few days at the beach.

Here are a few shots from the week...

We started out in my community, where the fearless gringuitas dove head first into the experience. Bucket baths, hot, dusty roads, and of course, the infamous roosters. "You mean roosters crow at two in the morning too?" Yep, they do.

They met my neighbor, Melida, and her four beautiful daughters, and got a good taste of campo life. Here they are at my local wholefoods



And here's mom giving tortillas the old college try



Ellie using the "dishwasher"



In general, we just sort of hung out in and around my house. I wanted them to acclimate and to sort of soak in the pace of life in the campo. Plus, they were visiting in one of the driest, hottest months, and even my idiot dog who eats rocks (yes, eats rocks) knows walking around in the afternoon sun means certain death.

But when the air cooled, we ventured out. One afternoon we hiked to the edge of my community and up to a hill overlooking the volcanoes and nearby lake, shared with Guatemala. We turned around and were stunned by a pretty amazing sunset. I couldn't remember the last time I actually sat and watched one.



Afterwards, we went mobile and hopped around to mountaintop villages and pueblos around the country, trying to give them a sense of tiny El Salvador. Highlights included small artisanal workshops, a healthy amount of hitchhiking, and an impromptu reiki session at a french bakery.





Hitchhiking mom



Hitchhiking Ellie



Later we met up with a few of my buddies at the beach. Here's one of those idiots showing off the guns



We hotel hopped and found a nice one with... drumroll please... a waterfall and an infinity pool. Here's Ellie enjoying infinite relaxation







I think in the lead up to the trip, I definitely had my concerns about what type of a trip we were going to have. They weren't exactly like Ben and Adam, my camping compadres and indestructible as far as I was concerned. But I knew it was important for me to share my life in the campo and reconnect with my mom(s) worrying about me back home. I think most people have a tendency to imagine the worst, like how I had been worrying about them, until they step foot in my house, talk with my neighbors, and see the people I work with. In short, see how good a life it is.

I think after that, all those fears, irrational or not, seem to fade away.

Besos and abrazos to the ladies for taking the plunge. Much love. G

Let's catch up. It's been a while - Part II

Guatemala, aka, Indigenouslandia

A while back, actually like months ago, Lauren and I took some time off to visit our upstairs neighbor, Guatemala. We could hear the music and smell the food and just couldn't resist.

If you haven't been, which I'm guessing you haven't, Guatemala is a remarkable country. Somehow able to modernize with the times, yet retain its indigenous heritage. Add to that some of the most impressive geography around, and you got yourself a pretty cool place.

As usual, our week hitchhiking and couchsurfing flew by. Along the way, we met some amazingly cool people. Guatemalans who opened up their homes to us without a second thought, gringos living down south, making maps, teaching art and yoga.

If you've never traveled without a plan, I don't think I could ever fully express what it's like. You begin to feel like a leaf floating in the breeze. Just trusting that you'll get where you need to get eventually. It's truly freeing.

You could literally spend months exploring Guatemala's nooks and crannies. And it would take me just as long to write about it. But here are a few memories from the trip.

Indigenousness

Probably the one word I would associate best with Guatemala.







I mean, damn! Look at those colors. We were struck by the rainbow of clothes and people. It was actually way cooler than I could ever show, but enough people told me about Mayan law and how the people reeeeeally don't like getting their picture taken (read: public lynching), so I decided to holster it for a while.

Halloween at 14,000 feet

In search of something a little off the beaten path, Lauren and I decided to spend Halloween waaaaay off the beaten path, on Tajumulco, the highest peak in Central America.

Imagine a dirt road that just sort of dissolves into pastures, and those pastures dissolve into pine forests rising up out of the hillsides, which then dissolve into boulder fields leading into whiteness above. Eventually your only guide is the mountaintop playing hide and go seek above you through the clouds.



All in all, it wasn't a terribly hard climb. But the last few thousand feet, the altitude starts to hit you and you begin to feel your heartbeat pounding throughout your entire body. It's amazing, I distinctly remember clinging to the side of the mountain, trying not to get blown off a cliff in virtual whiteout fog conditions, and the only things I could hear were my own breath and the pounding of my tired little heart. It was memorable.

When we finally reached the summit, we took a couple photos, ate a banana, and started realizing how underdressed we were.

The wind picked up and it didn't take long before we decided it was best to make a push to head back down. The decision was made even easier when the lightning, which had been casually striking the valley below us, started rising up towards the above-treeline summit. Yikes. Like I said, an easy decision, made easier by the hail (yes, hail), mother nature's final warning that maybe we overstayed our welcome.

Here's Lauren, before the lightning and hail kicked us off the mountain and reminded us living is way cooler than dying.



Back down at the base, where I experienced the worse hypo of my life. Took me 30 minutes just to get the feeling back in my hands. But worth it!




Lago Atitlán

Hippie sanctuary and all-around beautiful place. The allure of it is obvious. We stayed at a penthouse hotel overlooking the lake that cost 30 quetzales a night. In case you're wondering what that breaks down to, it's cheaper than a latte at starbucks. And that was for the both of us.

Many gringos come down to the lake to meditate, chill out, eat buddhist food, whatever, and don't ever leave. It's very tempting.











Well, for lack of time, that's how I'll have to leave it. But it goes without saying, I'll be back, and there will be more Guate photos in the years to come...


PC soccer team

Really good at posing. Not so good at scoring.



Couchsurfers

A couple weeks ago, a few acro-yoga teachers from San Francisco crashed at my place. So cool. They actually led an impromptu yoga class in my site and, probably the best part, they taught me how to do it (haven't dropped anyone yet!).





They were fun, and reminded me how much I used to love yoga. We'll see if the women who attended their class ask for a repeat.


Shampooooo with my women's committee

Last month, I made organic aloe shampoo with my women's committee and you won't believe it, people can't get enough of this shit. Even a few business owners in town are selling it in their stores. Who knew? The best part is it's actually good shampoo and crazy easy to make. Maybe next time I'm in the states we can do a little shampoo workshop. That way, Adam won't have any more excuses for going weeks without taking a shower.