if i were a travel writer... i'd write of places near or far... of places i've arrived to by plane, bus, train or car... and along the way, i'll take some photos... and so, here my story goes...

I honestly can´t believe I have been here in Guatemala for only two days. It feels like a lifetime ago that I left West 4th Street for LaGuardia. My time here so far has been split between the colonial city of Antigua and currently in what they call the ¨New Age centre¨ of San Marcos La Laguna, one of 13 villages that surround El Lago de Atitlan, aka ¨The Lake.¨ And in just these two days, I´ve had so many experiences that on the one had, I couldn´t wait to share them all in an email like this and on the other hand, I kind of wanted to keep it a secret. I guess this place is strange like that. And the many coincidences that I have experienced here, even before I got on the plane, have made me realize that maybe, just maybe, this was the exact moment in time that I was supposed to be in this place. It´s funny but I didn´t even know a place like San Marcos existed in the world. I arrived in Guatemala City, with not much of a plan - just an overpacked backpack (that´s what happens when you put it all together 10 minutes before leaving your apartment), my journal, The Rough Guide to Guatemala, The Power of Now, and both of my cameras. I slept the whole trip from LaGuardia to Fort Lauderdale, and before I knew it, I was on the next flight and was landing in Central America. The airport is fairly small and even at baggage claim (just 2 conveyor belts), there are no signs to let you know which bags are from which flight. So, of course, after about 30 minutes of watching a ton of bags that were not mine pass by, I started to get a little anxious, thinking how I´d do this trip without my bag. But then this band started playing. It was so strange - 2 sets of 5 men playing what I think was a xylophone (a big one) and then another man on the drums. It was honestly, such a warm welcome to the country. And moments later, my overpacked backpack came around on the conveyor belt. I walked outside to find Kate (my former roommate who moved to Guatemala in October) and her fiance Andreas, who she is marrying on Saturday (funny how it worked out that I would be here for it)! We decided to take the chicken buses back to Antigua instead of waiting for Brian & Jeremy to arrive an hour later at the airport - I studied 8 years ago with Brian & Jeremy in Granada, Spain and ironically, Jeremy lives a few blocks away from Kate in Antigua and Brian happened to book his trip at the same time I had to visit Jeremy and his village where he did the Peace Corps two years ago. (By the way, that whole irony is only the beginning of the coincidences). So, after 3 transfers in the very exhaust-filled city of Guate (I swear, comparable to the exhaust-filled city of Hanoi, Vietnam), we arrive in the beautiful city of Antigua. It looks familiar to me - kind of like the streets of Portugal. Very European in style (I suppose it makes sense given the history of the Spanish in Guatemala) but the ¨ruins¨ that are part of a lot of the buildings and churches kind of give it this hurt feel... not a hurt that makes you sad, but just gives you the sense that this place has been impacted or touched by something greater - like the many earthquakes that hit it in the past. Oddly enough, there is a photograph of three men sitting on a white-washed stoop on my vision board for 2008 (¨the ¨girls¨ will know what I´m talking about). Anyway, as I was walking through the city, I thought - ¨my God, this is it.¨ I had no idea why I had originally cut out that photograph and pasted it on my board, but here I was - somewhere that could certainly be the setting for that photgraph. I eventually met with Brian and Jeremy, which even after 8 years, seemed like we were just meeting up at a bar in the Albacin in Granada. But, we weren´t there. We were at this gringo bar called Mono Loco, watching the last college basketball game between Memphis and Kansas (I think). Good game, but I was excited for it to be over and actually feel like I was in Central America rather than some dive bar in the States =) We continued on to another bar, No Se Cafe which believe it or not, Jeremy is a partner. It´s really crazy to look back 8 years ago and try to imagine where a person would be 8 years later. I would never have thought that Jeremy would be exporting tequila from Guatemala to other countries. But he´s happy. And that´s even what I found with Kate. She came here, for some reason. And spending Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning with her and her fiance, I felt like it was normal. It´s natural, it´s what it´s supposed to be. And in a place like Guatemala, it just seems right. I asked Jeremy as he was driving me to my hostel from No Se if he had to take a driving test. He laughed and passed me over his ¨driver´s license¨ which literally was a copy of his passport. Ha. I started to think, there are no rules here. And yet, it works. And really, what are rules good for? I always used to think they were necessary, but honestly I think it´s just because rules help you to know what you can expect. And that´s probably why so many people are bored in their lives or so many of us fear the ultimate unknown, death (myself included). I think about why I am here at this moment - two weeks after I was originally scheduled to make this trip. And I think, you can never know what will happen in life. No matter what rules you have or what plans you forsee for your future, it can all change in one second. And I do think, given all of the coincidences that I have observed (because I´m sure coincidences are always happening, and it is only now, more aware, that I recognize them), I was brought here by some greater power (maybe God) at this time for a certain reason. I took a 1pm shuttle from my hostel, which is also a vintage clothes shop/cafe/bar/restaurant, from Antigua to Panajachel (about a 2 1/2 hour trip). By the way, this whole combination of businesses (cafe plus bookstore plus jewelry shop, etc.) really does work (yay, Kambry) and yes, it does make me think that maybe a dog run cafe wouldn´t exactly be suitable in Central America (there are dogs that basically live in every bar and restaurant in town... my favorite is Feo, at No Se... Jeremy says he doesn´t even move, just lays there and enjoys the live music and people around him), but I´m sure I can think of two or more ¨businesses¨ to combine into one place. Don´t worry though, I´m not moving just yet. Anyway, the shuttle ride was pretty impressive. I sat next to two Swedish girls headed to San Pedro, in front of three boys who by their vocabulary (awesome, tennis shoes), my guess is they are from California... behind a dredlocked couple with holding a little baby in their lap. Again, no rules. No stroller or carseat or seatbelt. No breast pump or baby bottle. When the baby cried, she just opened her shirt and fed it. It´s so free. And here, so normal. I thought knowing what I know about rules and safety, I would never be able to be okay bringing a baby into this vehicle that is speeding up a windy road that makes Locust Ridge Road in the Poconos look like the straightest road in the world, inches away from the edge of a road that is in fact, a cliff, protected by a barrier no higher than your average NYC curb. But, in another life, I´d love to be that dreadlocked woman. So, I arrive in Pana and they say, it´s easy to take the boat ride over to San Marcos or whatever other village you want to spend your time. I get my first view of the Lake and it is breathtaking. Three volcanos and this body of water. And I´m finally alone in my travels, which on one hand is a little scary (because I really haven´t gotten used to where anything is here) but on the other hand, liberating. For the next three days, I can go anywhere and there is nobody here or there that will know where I am at any moment. Or so I thought. But this country has proven to be smaller than probably the West Village. I make my way over to San Marcos after an extremely scary and overpriced (the boys at the lancha (pier) talked this gringa into a privado boat ride costing Q200 instead of Q20. Smart gringa, huh?) 20 minute ride. They claimed the ride would be more beautiful than taken with a crowd of people. I´ll tell you the only thing I saw on the trip was my life flash before me. This is when the fact that nobody knows where you are is not liberating, but scary. I even attempted to text my girls and let them know I was on a trip quite like the one we had taken years ago at Playa de los Muertos in Mexico... minus the thunderstorm... but add some serious waves and bumps that even my cushion couldn´t handle. You know, this Lake, is really serene and beautiful from afar but once you get in it, it is so fierce and strong. I was reading in my travel book that they say the surface of the lake is calm and clear in the morning, but by early afternoon the xocomil (the wind that carries away sin) blows from the coast, churning the surface and making travel by boat quite a rock ´n roll experience. I´d have to agree, wholeheartedly. What a moody lake, this Lake Atitlan. Upon my arrival to the shore, I agree to have two young boys - Mateo y Alejandro - walk me to a hostel. At this point, I am SO sick of getting lost and really they were quite cute and helpful. The stone walkways are so narrow and so confusing, that I probably wouldn´t have made it otherwise. I choose this amazing hotel, Aaculaax. It is this ecohotel made from thousands of recycled bottles and wood, with stained glass windows and these butterfly lampshades (mariposas, also on that vision board of mine). Every room is different, and really amazing. Guess who I saw as I checked in? A couple that was sitting in the row ahead of me on my flight. Linda and Max. I thought when I saw them coming from Fort Lauderdale, that they were a really interesting pareja. And now, they are here - at the same hotel. Linda said their room had a rock in the middle of it. Amazing. Mine overlooks the patio that they serve breakfast on each morning. Even the bathroom is so beautiful. And this place. There are no lights, so after dark you really need to have a flashlight or have your wits about you regarding direction (which as you all know, I don´t have). I settle in and then spot the three boys who were behind me on the shuttle to Pana, also at the hotel... which can I add, only has a handful of rooms. Small town, small country, small world. At some point, as it´s getting dark, I realize I´m pretty much alone... with my journal, or my book, or my thoughts. And I wasn´t exactly ready for all that, so I thought maybe I´d get a bite to eat. Domingo, the nightwatcher, walked me to a restaurant nearby (thank god) and we made a plan for him to pick me up there 40 minutes later. I guess he was my escort, ha. I sat at the bar - although get this, there is really NO bar scene in this village - and met an El Salvadorian man named Carlos who at the very least, helped me practice my Spanish. The people here are quite friendly. Even on the narrow, stone walkways, every time you pass someone, there is an ¡Hola! exchanged. I love that. So, wow - that was only 2 days. And this morning, I woke up at 5:30am to the sound of dogs howling, roosters crowing and the prayers of the Evangelist (I think) and noticed that the sun was rising over the lake and volcanos. Luckily as I ran out to the front of the hotel, Domingo was unlocking the gate so I could head over to the water. Again, at the first sight of the massive volcano over this beautiful and seemingly calm lake, I lost my breath a little (kind of like when I first stepped around the corner to see Buddhakan´s main dining room, kind of). I took a few photographs as you would expect, but really for the first time, I wanted that moment for myself. It was something I knew I couldn´t completely capture in a picture and honestly, I don´t remember the last time I´ve felt that way about something. I headed back to the hotel and decided I´d try to find Las Piramides, which is the meditation retreat centre here. I made it in time for their 7am yoga class which was in an actual pyramid built from wood. They have these month-long courses, but you can also just go for a week or even just a day. I think they are in their third week, so the focus was on the strengthening the spine. Unlike any yoga class I have been to, but really interesting especially in terms of your connection with the other people in the room. It was like this energy was pulsating from the center of the pyramid which housed this glass-encased crystal (not really sure what that´s all about, but I felt it). It´s funny - Max & Linda told me last night that they felt this certain energy around me and that they just sensed that I was protected here. Just another moment I realized eventhough I don´t have a plan for the next three days, I know I´m supposed to be here right now. After breakfast on the patio, I headed back to Las Piramides to hear this Metaphysics course - back to the wooden pyramid with the glass-encased crystal in the center. We started with some breathing exercises and then the woman who started the place, started talking about the ¨sistema iniciativo.¨ Today was just an overview of the 7 disciplines which include some stuff that is quite prevalent in the US - tarot, numerology, astrology, even kabala. I guess this week - the third week - they will go deeper into the ¨tree of life¨ and how it is connected with each of the 7 disciplines and how when you make those connections for yourself, you will be brought to another state of consciousness. To be honest, all this, coupled with reading ¨The Power of Now¨- I mean, I´m at the point where I just don´t even know what I should think or if I should be thinking at all. But I´m writing a lot (as you can see) and trying to figure out what I was brought here unknowingly to figure out. I do feel, in a way, between all the coincidences thus far as well as all that has happened back home in the past 2 weeks, that I was called here to this particular place. But who knows for what reason? It does go back to that vision board of mine though, as overwhelming as it looked when I completed it - there are so many things that I have seen or felt here that have reminded me of the words or scenes I pasted on that board two months ago. So, there is so much more I can write but I will save it for my own journal because honestly, anyone who has read this far in one sitting is amazing. You all are, anyway. I hope you are having a great week and I will keep in touch throughout the next week. I have so many thoughts on some of the experiences I have observed or had in the past three days, I just want to sit and write a book about it. Hopefully, someone would want to read it, but I think I´d just feel fulfilled in having written it. Hasta luego, Deanna PS: There are a few of you that I know would absolutely LOVE this place at this point in your lives. So, here are some links to my li´l´ ecohotel and the meditation center. Oh yes, and Mom - Linda, from the couple I met, is here doing research on teaching ESL in the neighboring village of San Pedro this summer. I´ll pick up some information for you ; ) www.laspiramides.com.gt niecolass@hotmail.com - info for Aaculaax.