The beauty, the beasts...and the black tongue.

She shimmers with the sun rays reflecting, dazzling off her surface. Atitlan's beauty is bold and breathtaking, captivating, it curiously lures your senses. Beyond the magnetic beauty lies another side of the coin. Flipped over uncovers the darker side of the moon. The lurking beasts of poverty and poisonous creatures that call her home, dwell unattended.

Living on Atitlan has its charm...but beneath the surface...a startling reality. Unfortunately the lake most often sits stagnant, as it was created thousands of years ago from a volcanic eruption, leaving it without any water flowing to and from.
Each year water levels rise, but as does the pollution. Alex and I both were sick and found it hard to get well. The little beasts were running ramped in our bodies... the parasitic herbal remedies were not even strong enough to fight them off.

And then a very obscure phenomenon hit us one morning as I brushed my teeth getting ready for work, Alex still half asleep in bed across the room.
After not feeling right for a couple of weeks now I had decided today was the day I should visit the doctor and we had this conversation:
"Hey darling"
(As he barely stirs from beneath the covers) "ya..."
"Do you think you could come into work a little early for me?"
...unimpressed he looks at me.
"Why" he questions.
"I think I need to go to the doctor, my tongue is black." I reply simply.
Alex then shoots up out of bed "WHAT??"

So yes, it was true my tongue had turned black. Like scary black. Not like eat a candy and it colours your tongue...but like death black. Black as night. Black like the fear in your mind that is all consuming because you think you are dying because your tongue is black!

Truthfully I was quite calm about the whole thing, felt somewhat normal, even though it was quite apparent I could have doubled for a creature in a horror film. I was good as far as black tongues go.

Alex in a frantic scurry: "omg let's go, we are going to the hospital right now, we are calling into work sick, hurry up let's go now, we need to get you to a doctor!"
"Are you okay, how do you feel?" He nervously asks me.

Me, now shaking with the adrenalin from his reaction:
"Well, I thought I was okay until you freaked me out!!"

So now we are off down to the doc en route to the doctor.
A boat ride to San Pedro. A poop test. An ultra sound. =
It was Parasites.
A very common occurrence on the lake due to pollution, poor filtration and water systems. But nonetheless...
The little beasts were taking over, my tongue was still black and I couldn't drink coffee or have ice cream anymore.

The doc really never went back into great detail about the black tongue thing...but more or less blamed it on all the vitamins I had been taking the past 5 days when I couldn't poo getting backed up in my system.
(On a side note, the amount of conversations about bowel movements i have had with fellow travelers in the past two months should break some kind of record! Everyone was having some type of popping or stomach issue and sharing it liberally to friends and strangers alike.)

That was our exit. Over worked, underpaid...and now my tongue was black! We had only one mission to remedy the situation.
BEACH.
and of course that was preceded with 10 days of wretched, feels like you are constantly eating pennies, antibiotics.
Then a short vacation in Antigua...where Alex started his meds (of course he had the little beasts too).
We were having a little antibiotic party to get ourselves healthy.

The great silver lining to the Black Tongue incident of 2013...it pushed us to reevaluate our current circumstances, our current contentment levels and our paths to our dreams.
Running away is most often not the answer but I believe firmly in meeting current circumstances with an open mind and heart. We looked at our higher objectives to see what was serving us, what was not and what we should do to continue on our higher paths...
And so we now find ourselves exactly where we need to be...doing what we need to do.
Thank you beauty.
Thank you beast.
Thank you black tongue.

This new chapters story to come.
I am off to go live it. One day at a time. From our new house...on the beach in El Salvador.

Passing trees

Looking out the window of a shuttle...trees, fields...passing by, we pass by. A familiar scene, reminiscent of my up-bring in Ontario...road trips north, trees and farms.
Looking out I catch myself time traveling back to those moments as I set my eyes on this landscape. I look the other direction and see the shanti shacks of reality in this third world nation.
Its such an interesting experience to call this soil home. Vastly differing from all my other travel experiences of simply visiting places, coming and going.
I am not sure if the passing trees remind me of home, or if this home has become that much more familiar.
Probably a bit of both. It really is beautiful here.

I was homesick for the first time yesterday...my body is trying harder than usual to balance itself...as I have a slight sickness at present. I am patient with my body, but I miss the comfort of my mom, her home and a nice bath. :-)
I am grateful for Alex and our wonderful home we have created together...wherever we go we have each other and that's the comfort of home in the best way.

Days and time pass as we continue to live our lives here...but the passing is different. As trees pass in the landscape its as if to say...stay here. Time is slow, life is rich, and trees are trees.

Dreams of Christmas

Life in Guatemala...through my eyes.

Even in the midst of the sweet stillness of San Marcos there lies the excitement and adventure of a new way of life.
A house, a job and a good sense of grounding I find myself more than ever; happy. Many new amazing pieces of life's puzzle on the horizon...humbled but satisfied that my dreams are becoming a beautiful reality every day.

Alex and i spent many of our days together this past year envisioning our lives - individually and collectively. Over many pots of tea we spoke and wrote of our dreams and now life's enriching paradise continues to be created and uncovered.
In the mornings we walk down from our cabin in the mountain, through the streets and footpaths, passing locals, we are warmed with the words Buenos días, smiles, and all our local street dog friends wagging along :-)
We pass by Restautante Fe (a quick hello before we return there to work in the afternoon), and then onwards to the main dock where we catch a launcha to San Pedro to visit our favourite breakfast spot, The Clover. Nachos have become a staple breakfast item in past weeks...but a little bit more mindful lately we have been opting for fresh fruit with yogurt, honey and homemade granola.
I do miss the nachos :-)

Today's visit to the Clover was particularly wonderful as we had the added pleasure of speaking with two friends via skype who will be arriving tomorrow for a 13 day retreat with us!
We continue on to Christalina's Cafe, halfway up the hill in el centro San Pedro, to sit with a cafe con leche and go over some additional details of the upcoming retreat.
Shortly after we are back on the launcha to San Marcos and directly on to work at Fé.
Alex typically works from 1pm onward and I join him at 4. Its here we spend many hours together as a dynamic serving team, closing the restaurant around 11 when the last guests filter out.

As we have experienced... It can be a very relaxed job, chatting and hanging out with fellow travelers, sharing beers, stories and exchanging travel knowledge. The restaurant rush finds us at the other end of the spectrum, running around like crazy trying to keep up with requests and doing our best to communicate in Spanish with the Mayan women in the kitchen with whom we place our orders and share space. We dodge each other in a small kitchen, fight over the use of one blender, and hope they are making the food we ordered, as they laugh and speak about us in Quetchiquel (their native language), It is a whirlwind!
Emotions can sometimes run high...but our boss Paul has a way of defusing and making us laugh with his dry British humour.

"What do you mean he is yelling at you!?" asks Paul as Alex explains of his encounter with a guest. "Well tell him to Fuck Off!!"
Straight faced, in all seriousness. Amazing.

I love Paul's no bullshit approach, it is refreshing and makes our job easier when facing some rather complicated guests.
Personalities aside (which is all a part of life's wonder) our job is extremely gratifying.
We hang out and get to make peoples days...and them ours.

Alex and I worked together throughout both days of Christmas and we wouldn't have had it any other way. It was the best Christmas ever. We dressed up nicely. We worked very hard. We enjoyed each others company...and on the night before Christmas joined a pair of travelers with a huge firework and blew a watermelon to pieces on the side of the path as a prelude to midnights epic firework celebration!
We can just say "when in Guatemala" -as when it comes to fireworks there are no rules and no such term as street legal ;)
Not to mention the twenty three year old Rum, Zacapa, we enjoyed as a night cap in the late hours of the 25th.

Celebration everywhere.

Midnight arrived and we were standing high above the lake outside our house gazing at the distant lights of Santiago...the sparks of coloured fireworks popping up so peacefully above the lakeside city; so surreal and absolutely stunning.
I will remember that moment for the rest of my life.

Returning into our newly decorated cabin (I had surprised Alex by stringing lights, tinsel and a mini tree!), we stuffed the Christmas stockings for each other... And drifted off to sleep....the sounds of fireworks continued into the night...their bright flashes reflecting in our window.

I had dreamed about spending Christmas in a foreign country for as long as I can remember. A special place it was indeed, to mark our first Christmas together.
And as I reflect on the most perfect Christmas I begin to realize that this place is not so foreign at all. So very familiar, we find ourselves grounded here allowing all the dreams of our lives unfold.

An adventure story & an accidental miracle.

An amazing day spent with Anita, my 24 year old Spanish teacher from San Pedro. She boats 20 minutes across the lake every day to spend two hours with me. We get along very well and I look forward to spending the next 4 or so weeks with her studying. This day though in particular began at Moonfish cafe on the main road coming into San Marcos. Alex and I went for our typical morning coffee with milk (cafe con leche)...that we always share as we try to mange our addiction - the coffee here is unreal... And for those of you who know us well, know we are die hard tea drinkers and rarely, if ever, touch coffee. Its just that good here!
Moving on with the day, Alexander wasn't feeling great and ventured back to the casa (me finding out later, he slept all afternoon).
I enjoyed a calm quiet meal of soup and tortillas (I obviously asked for butter to serve my other addiction) and shortly after finishing my meal at La Paz Hostel and restaurant, ventured to meet Anita in the terrace garden patio of acculaxx hotel.
So back to the beginning of this post, I spent an amazing day with Anita. My Spanish is coming along and particularly flowed this day as we laughed and joked surrounded by colibris (hummingbirds).

After class we wandered around the town and decided to bring Alex up some of his favourite soup - the same stuff from LA Paz. The walk/hike to our casa is pretty intense and I am sure I will write about it in more detail another time.
So we finally made it up, dropped off the soup, checked on Alex and I told him I was about to join Anita on a boat to San Pedro to go to the bank, her house and would be back soon.
His last words to me were "don't do anything I wouldn't do, and I probably wouldn't get on a launcha this late". (Fyi the launcha's always stop running at sunset.)
So off I went - BEGIN ADVENTURE.
Of course I got on the boat, haha. Anita could have sworn there would be a boat back...but as I have now learned, don't trust the Mayans on anything related to time!
As soon as we pulled off the dock my friend Jessie, randomly in the boat with a crew of people I also know - heading to the yoga farm, turned to me and was like dude - the last boat back from San Pedro was at 5! It was of course already after 5:30 and I now held a one way ticket to another town with no way to reach my love to tell him what I had got myself into. And as he will later tell me again gloatingly - shit can get fucked up quick here, as I clearly didn't believe him before when he was giving me warning stories about travel and his past experiences. Yep. Things had definitely escalated from pleasurable boat ride to - stranded, in a matter of minutes.

I have never been one to really listen to advice when adventure is at steak... admittedly so, I like to experience things on my own...luckily it worked out.
An idiot mistake. A big lesson. And a great story.

Here i am now, Down almost three days of my budget, I sit in my hammock laying low for the next few days to make up the 300 quetsals (30 dollars) I dropped to get myself home.

The boat not only had a crew of friends en route to the yoga farm, but also my buddy, Kyle - a friend who works at San Marcos hostel who I have known for two weeks.
Kyle! I yelled at him, to the bow of the boat where he was sitting. You going home tonight? I asked him.
Ya buddy, he tells me, on a tuk tuk at 8:30.
Cool, can I meet you!? He says yes and we arrange to meet at the bar by the dock.
So immediately I at least have a plan, I will just have to chill out for a few hours until I can get home.
Off the boat now and figuring out my next order of business in operation "Retardidly take boat to San Pedro at sunset."
Not wanting to worry Alex (and of course we have no phone yet) my first order of business is get a message to the info hub in San Marcos and get our friend there to get a message to another friend who can come up and tell Alex where I am and when I will be home.
Obviously don't have the number so this leads me into an internet cafe to acquire the number.
Two numbers for the hub don't work, can't find the number to the hostel to tell another friend where I am - on another note both bank machines have no money...so now all I can think is why am I still here - I have to get home! Can't wait 2 hours to share a tuk tuk with Kyle...gotta venture home now, so as not to worry my boyfriend even more who has already spent the whole day sick in bed.

As I have rambled on and on..,you get the gist of the story.
Probably should have listened to Alex...spent almost three days of my budget on a privado (private boat) and a tuk tuk from el centro San Pedro to San Marcos to get back to my house at a reasonable hour.

Silver lining... One of the most epic boat rides of my life. I gazed up at the sky littered with stars, the moon's light beaming onto the volcanoes; I was perched at the bow of the boat. At that moment nothing else mattered... I was in the middle of the most beautiful lake I have ever seen, with a view of the perfect landscape contrasted by the twinkling lights that made up the surrounding villages. A moment that cannot even properly be described in words.

300 quetzals, 300 dollars, 3000 dollars, wouldn't matter, I could never put a price on this little accidental miracle. 

These accidents are everyday miracles and are moments that serve to define the best experiences in life.

An adventure story & an accidental miracle.

An amazing day spent with Anita, my 24 year old Spanish teacher from San Pedro. She boats 20 minutes across the lake every day to spend two hours with me. We get along very well and I look forward to spending the next 4 or so weeks with her studying. This day though in particular began at Moonfish cafe on the main road coming into San Marcos. Alex and I went for our typical morning coffee with milk (cafe con leche)...that we always share as we try to mange our addiction - the coffee here is unreal... And for those of you who know us well, know we are die hard tea drinkers and rarely, if ever, touch coffee. Its just that good here!
Moving on with the day, Alexander wasn't feeling great and ventured back to the casa (me finding out later, he slept all afternoon).
I enjoyed a calm quiet meal of soup and tortillas (I obviously asked for butter to serve my other addiction) and shortly after finishing my meal at La Paz Hostel and restaurant, ventured to meet Anita in the terrace garden patio of acculaxx hotel.
So back to the beginning of this post, I spent an amazing day with Anita. My Spanish is coming along and particularly flowed this day as we laughed and joked surrounded by colibris (hummingbirds).

After class we wandered around the town and decided to bring Alex up some of his favourite soup - the same stuff from LA Paz. The walk/hike to our casa is pretty intense and I am sure I will write about it in more detail another time.
So we finally made it up, dropped off the soup, checked on Alex and I told him I was about to join Anita on a boat to San Pedro to go to the bank, her house and would be back soon.
His last words to me were "don't do anything I wouldn't do, and I probably wouldn't get on a launcha this late". (Fyi the launcha's always stop running at sunset.)
So off I went - BEGIN ADVENTURE.
Of course I got on the boat, haha. Anita could have sworn there would be a boat back...but as I have now learned, don't trust the Mayans on anything related to time!
As soon as we pulled off the dock my friend Jessie, randomly in the boat with a crew of people I also know - heading to the yoga farm, turned to me and was like dude - the last boat back from San Pedro was at 5! It was of course already after 5:30 and I now held a one way ticket to another town with no way to reach my love to tell him what I had got myself into. And as he will later tell me again gloatingly - shit can get fucked up quick here, as I clearly didn't believe him before when he was giving me warning stories about travel and his past experiences. Yep. Things had definitely escalated from pleasurable boat ride to - stranded, in a matter of minutes.

I have never been one to really listen to advice when adventure is at steak... admittedly so, I like to experience things on my own...luckily it worked out.
An idiot mistake. A big lesson. And a great story.

Here i am now, Down almost three days of my budget, I sit in my hammock laying low for the next few days to make up the 300 quetsals (30 dollars) I dropped to get myself home.

The boat not only had a crew of friends en route to the yoga farm, but also my buddy, Kyle - a friend who works at San Marcos hostel who I have known for two weeks.
Kyle! I yelled at him, to the bow of the boat where he was sitting. You going home tonight? I asked him.
Ya buddy, he tells me, on a tuk tuk at 8:30.
Cool, can I meet you!? He says yes and we arrange to meet at the bar by the dock.
So immediately I at least have a plan, I will just have to chill out for a few hours until I can get home.
Off the boat now and figuring out my next order of business in operation "Retardidly take boat to San Pedro at sunset."
Not wanting to worry Alex (and of course we have no phone yet) my first order of business is get a message to the info hub in San Marcos and get our friend there to get a message to another friend who can come up and tell Alex where I am and when I will be home.
Obviously don't have the number so this leads me into an internet cafe to acquire the number.
Two numbers for the hub don't work, can't find the number to the hostel to tell another friend where I am - on another note both bank machines have no money...so now all I can think is why am I still here - I have to get home! Can't wait 2 hours to share a tuk tuk with Kyle...gotta venture home now, so as not to worry my boyfriend even more who has already spent the whole day sick in bed.

As I have rambled on and on..,you get the gist of the story.
Probably should have listened to Alex...spent almost three days of my budget on a privado (private boat) and a tuk tuk from el centro San Pedro to San Marcos to get back to my house at a reasonable hour.

Silver lining... One of the most epic boat rides of my life. I gazed up at the sky littered with stars, the moon's light beaming onto the volcanoes; I was perched at the bow of the boat. At that moment nothing else mattered... I was in the middle of the most beautiful lake I have ever seen, with a view of the perfect landscape contrasted by the twinkling lights that made up the surrounding villages. A moment that cannot even properly be described in words.

300 quetzals, 300 dollars, 3000 dollars, wouldn't matter, I could never put a price on this little accidental miracle. 

These accidents are everyday miracles and are moments that serve to define the best experiences in life.

Mayan Life

Colorful skirts and woven blankets, avocados and bananas, dedication and kindness.
The Mayan way of life has captured my heart. Its hard to believe The people of Guatemala live in such trying conditions - but most of them very much so...radiate happiness.
It has been extremely humbling to live amongst them. We walk the same streets, and share this special landscape.
There seems to be an understanding here at the lake - between the Mayans and gringo populations. There are Mayan owned businesses, notably our local tienda operated by Lewis who has much patience with me as I continue to practice my Spanish with him everyday. On the contrary, an English owned bar and restaurant called Fe, selling comforts of home...at a price of course but particularly great are the currys. The owner has been here for so many years he has a Mayan wife and child...but looks worn like he needs a vacation and a break from the steady flow of coffee and cigarettes.
Its an interesting fusion here and everyone seems to find their place.
Old ladies, their daughters and grand daughters all selling textiles, fruits, homemade bread. Ladies, I am sure as old as 80, work hard, and Alex tells me they were selling the same small bananas at the same corner 4 years ago when he first arrived.
Its easy to be a tourist, to come and go, to buy souvenirs and observe a different way of life. I continue to feel lucky though, to have found a place here for the moment, to enjoy these inclusive ways of Mayan village life. To integrate with mindfulness into the peaceful San Maros makes me smile, and laugh, as the ongoing joke always highlights the fact that when people arrive at the lake - they find it hard to leave, and almost never do.
I am here now, no intention of packing anytime soon - but rather allowing my time to be spent sharing my joy with this beautiful community.

Antigua. Chicken Buses. The beautiful journey home.

Imagine cobblestone streets, colonial architecture, a Centre square lush with plants, birds, the tranquil sound of a water fountain that has been heard by the ears of passersby as far back as 1739.captivating Antigua; the original Guatemala city which now acts as the main tourist hub in Guatemala. It is rich with restaurants, bars, cafes and if you forgot to look up and see the volcanoes surrounding you, you'd feel lost in a perfect little European town.
You can find many comforts of home here in Antigua...especially in the ways of food.
Since this was the first place we stayed...it was important to both of us to get a little gritty first, and didn't opt for a nice bottle of wine and cheese - rather we dined out and acquired our first dinner together at a local street vendor.
Dinner was followed by drinks at Cafe Nosae, hitting the Irish pub, running into a travel friend of Alex's and concluded with a late night strol back to Hostilico Hostel.
As much as I have read and heard stories of the power and magesty of the lake when you experience it first hand...the whole world melts away and there is just beauty waking we decided, as we had loosely planned, to continue on our travels to the lake. Packed up our rucksacks and we were off in search of a chicken bus.
On a side note... At this point I am starting to realize how essential it is to speak Spanish!
(As I sit and write this I have just signed up for Spanish lessons...but its one week after the events I am currently writing about...more on this later)
Chicken buses. Holy shit. I am sat beside local Mayans...there are probably over 60 of them surrounding me on a converted blue bird school bus originally designed for 30 people that is whipping through the Guatemalan streets at top speed.
Super crazy driving...but at this point not really a bother.
I was more concerned about my pack that had just been flung onto the roof while I ran to catch up to the already moving bus which I then jumped onto!
Talk about adventure.
5 more buses, 2 boats and about 4 hours later...Lake Atitlan.
We made it.
I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on my new home. The anticipation of the past year had settled and beyond the tropical landscape out in the distance there she was. Clear and calm the beauty of the ripples reflecting the sun's rays...a near perfect sight. I never expected to feel this overwhelming sense of joy, but it radiated from my heart and I couldn't help but cry.
One of the best moments of my life seeing the lake for the first time and I knew right then I was changed forever.

A new chapter begins

I can see the palm trees only from beyond the windows of Miami international airport...but can feel the heat sneaking in from random corridor openings. How close I am to the unknown...a few hours and I will touch down in Guatemala City. Feeling a sense of calm...but reassured by my partner that I am about to sh*t my pants soon enough ;)
Funny really. Its more fun than nerve racking.
Last night's farewell wine seems to still be lingering and I am drinking tea and water by the gallon!
It wasn't hard leaving - many goodbyes and safe travels spoken...the last weeks though overwhelming, were rich with life. Many conversations and time with friends, but the quiet reflection was essential and I enjoyed as much of it as I could. Enjoyment?? Perhaps not the most fitting way to describe the intensity of the conscious process...enriching rings more true.
This next chapter will bring a whole new set of challenges; rock on.
Slept most of this flight... Lost in the melody of a few albums on my iPod. Visions of what is to come. Revisiting my intentions and knowing I am exactly where I need to be. I created it all.
I now find myself watching the cloud-lined window of Taca airline...alone and quiet again. My partner in crime is behind me somewhere in the sea of Spanish conversation...as the reality sinks in...40 minutes from landing; prepare to be wowed.
The rum and coke is like a breathe of fresh air as the aircraft begins to make its decent.
I lay my eyes on a foreign landscape; wide awake.