Yoga Goes Great, Getting Home Goes Guate

YOGA

Triangle Pose

It struck me over the weekend how seemingly out of character this was for me. If someone would have told me a year ago that I would be on a Yoga Retreat, at a lake surrounded by volcanoes, in January, I would thought that someone was confusing me with another person...but nope, there I was, holding Dolphin Pose, arms shaking, and soaking in the beautiful view and warm breeze.

Yoga has never been part of my vocabulary, part of my lifestyle, or part of my exercise routine. It is now! Audrey, a P.E. teacher who spent 5 years in an international school in Malaysia, is also the resident yoga expert and pose-holder. She organized this women's yoga retreat to help us better understand the poses we 13 ladies try so desperately to hold for 5 breaths -- a lifetime -- each week. I did not start attending her yoga classes until after Thanksgiving, when James and I spent a relaxing weekend at the lake with Audrey and her equally great husband, Tony. One morning that weekend, Audrey went outside to do yoga, invited us along, and in that short time I gained respect for those who practice yoga. After realizing how difficult it was more me to hold these poses in a brief 15-minute session, I decided this was an activity worth pursuing, so I started taking her class. Each week, I am amazing and exhilarated at how sore I am in muscles that have remained unknown until now.

Although there are many forms of yoga, Audrey teaches the Ashtanga Yoga type, which has lots of power poses, and as one website describes, "The very nature of the way the ashtanga series were designed mean that they satisfy the caveats every yoga practice should if your aim is also to be physically fit in the traditional sense. The constant movement, and the pace mean you build up a sweat and get a cardiovascular workout." So this is not the relaxation-style of yoga I had previously been exposed to....it is physically demanding, well-paced, and intense! I love it. This article will give you a better understaninding of some of its other benefits.

Our yoga retreat consisted of 3 different sessions, each lasting between 1-2 hours. The first 2 sessions were more for teaching and learning (still difficult and sweaty), and we put it all together to do the entire series of poses in the final session on Sunday morning. We were looking out onto the serene Volcan San Pedro and Lago Atitlan for each session, and even though I was instructed at several points to close my eyes, I found it so much more peaceful to look out onto the lake or watch the clouds swirl around the top of the volcano!

Volcan Pedro (above)

Attempting a Head Stand (below)

TRAVEL

Of course, no trip in Guate is complete without some level of transportation drama, and this trip takes the cake thus far. Here is my list (in order of events) of the

Top 25 Reasons you know you chose the wrong travel agency in Guatemala

AKA: Top 25 Reasons Gran Jaguar Travel Agency wins the "Worst Travel Agency. Ever." award

25. When you show up a week early to give the travel agency -- Gran Jaguar -- a check for the trip, there is no written record of the itinerary and the front desk person is clueless. You trust and give them the check anyway.

24. On Friday to leave for the Lake, your van shows up an hour early. They claim there was a problem with the check, and they need cash instead. The van leaves to get gas and does not return for an hour and a half, even though there is a gas station less than 2 miles away. No explanation was given, and the trip gets off to a late start.

23. For the return trip on Sunday, your driver shows up looking like he's on drugs, drunk, or just mentally "vacant," as one girl put it. He tries to smoke in the van.

22. Your beat-up Kia van has a near-flat tire and squeals on every turn as if the brakes are going out.

21. Before the trip home even begins, driver insists everyone get out of the van to go down a slightly inclined driveway of the hotel. This makes no sense in the long run. See Number 18.

20. Your driver keeps touching you when he talks to you. (NOT acceptable or part of the culture) I was in the front seat. This happened frequently until I put my backpack up as a barrier and buried my head in my book and prayed fervently; I could not focus enough to read.

19. Your driver keeps trying to get you out of the van - he asked me 5 times "Do we need to stop?"

18. Your driver insists on taking the backroads through the steep mountains (dangerous roads - the highway's nickname is "The Snake") instead of the straight-shot highway path everyone in the van agrees is safer and more direct.

17. Your van breaks down (hole in radiator) near The Cave People - indigenous Guatemalans who are rumored to live in caves and come out to rob/harm people who break down along The Snake, which inevitably happens because it is so steep and windy.

16. Your driver does not know what to do except let the van cool down while you sit on the side of the road. The van always becomes mysteriously drivable when people become disgruntled enough.

15. Your driver asks to borrow your cell phone because his phone is out of minutes.

14. Your driver asks for a hug after someone lets him borrow a cell phone.

13. Your driver does not want to drive to a town where you can get cell phone reception or be around other normal human beings.

12. The travel agency who hired your driver -- Gran Jaguar -- keeps hanging up on you or is generally unavailable and unhelpful.

11. Gran Jaguar's best offer is to wait the 2 hours on the side of the road while it sends another van.

10. After driving for 5 minutes, the van breaks down yet again.

9. Your driver asks for hugs because "he is nervous" and then when offered advice, he tells us to "Callete" ("shut up").

8. The travel agency director instructs the driver to use the tobacco from "10 cigarettes" to plug the hole. No one, and I mean NO one, understood how this would help. Not the girl whose father is a mechanic or the girl who worked for a tow-truck agency for 2 years.

7. Your driver keeps saying he wants to get some water for the radiator from the nearest town, and ignores the enthusiastic pleas from the group that we have gallons upon gallons of water WITH us, so we do not need to wait; we need to find civilization.

6. Your driver hails down a tourist van driving by for water. See #7.

5. Because of the dire Sitting Ducks situation, you have to hail down a colectivo (truck), load in the back of the truck with all of your belongings, and ask to be taken to the nearest civilized civilization.

In the back of the colectivo. Audrey's face (bottom left) says it all.

4. Because of the lack of trust in Gran Jaguar or driver, you have to call your significant others in Guatemala City (2 hours away) to come and pick you up at a random restaurant in a random small town, and hopefully before it gets dark.

3. While in the colectivo, you suddenly see the van you just fled from driving behind you, flashing its lights, and the lunatic driver trying to hail you back into the van to continue the trip home.

Crazy driver trying to flag us down to get back in and journey on. Yeah right.

2. You have to wait 2 hours at a restaurant while the driver of your van keeps driving by and Gran Jaguar owner keeps calling you to convince you to get back in the van.

Waiting in Restaurante Don Mario for our men to come to the rescue

1. After men come to pick you up, and you make it home 4 hours later than planned, the travel agency refuses to refund your money or take any responsibility for the ordeal.

***

So, that was the transportation drama that found me at home later than expected on Sunday. It reaffirmed how important and priceless it is to have your own car and know who is driving you and where you are going. Luckily, in the moment, everyone (except for me, I think) had a sense of humor about the whole thing and really, once we were saved by the colectivo, spirits ran high and we spent 2 hours drinking beer and playing scrabble in a lovely restaurant, Don Mario. My friend Courtney claims I will name my first child Mario. Mario Mildren. I like it.

I cannot stress, though, what a great weekend overall it was, and how much I am enjoying my newly discovered activity, Ashtanga Yoga!

Roca Sunzal - Weekend on the beach in El Salvador

While Beth headed off to Santiago for a girls-only yoga retreat this past weekend (she'll provide a recap), I went with a group of 19 others to a tucked away surfing community in El Salvador. We rented two 12-person vans and loaded up directly after school Friday afternoon. I volunteered to drive for the first part in my van, and as we left the city, a storm began to roll in. We first had to climb up in elevation as we left Guate, which put us amongst some low clouds for a stint. It was somewhat nerve-wracking driving a slow van with a manual transmission in bad weather and being responsible for everyone's lives. Thankfully the rain never picked up and the traffic thinned as we got out of the city. After about an hour in the van, the clouds started breaking and it turned out to be a gorgeous drive, with sweeping views of the land perfectly lit up by the setting sun. It was hard keeping my eyes on the road!

I was under the impression that it would only take three-to-four hours to get to our destination. That time frame is doable in a car, but not in a slow van with a lot of people and different bladder needs. All the pit stops slowed us down, but everyone has having a lot of fun and we weren't in any big hurry to get there. The border crossing only took about 10 minutes and consisted of an official reviewing our passports. I ended up driving the whole way, and we finally made it to our hotel/hostel, Roca Sunzal, around 9:30, making it a six-hour trip.

We were near the city, La Libertad, and close to the capital, San Salvador

The kitchen was nice enough to stay open for us so we could have dinner there. We all gathered in the outdoor dining area (it's all outdoor, really) and enjoyed drinks and food until midnight or so when everyone surprisingly called it a day. My neighbor, Matt, and I split a two-bed room in a hostel for only $21 a night. The room was very basic and didn't have a.c., but it did have it's own bathroom. The first night was pretty warm (daytime temp's in the upper 80s) and I slept OK, but the following nights I slept like a baby after being exhausted by the sun all day. Staying in the hostel is the way to go as it's right across the street from the hotel and you can access all of the hotel's amenities, like their pool, cabanas with hammocks, bar, pool table, and restaurant.

Inside the hotel grounds going towards the dining area and ocean

Some of the guys playing a game in the evening

The pool

The Sunzal beach we were staying on was a unique spot. It felt remote, yet there were a number of small hotels, restaurants, and surf shops. It was really a surfing community and you don't see too many locals selling their wares, just younger kids on the beach trying to sell shell jewelry. There were quite a few people in the area and a lot of seemingly full time surfer ex-pats. It was a young crowd and a lot of fun for all of us.

And then there's the beach and ocean! It was black sand, minimally built up (no high rises), and had the biggest waves I've ever encountered. I had so much fun in the water body-surfing and boogie boarding. The waves could carry you on the board easily 50ft. and 25ft. or so without. I played a lot of frisbee with people, some Scrabble on the beach, read my book and soaked up the sun, and thoroughly enjoyed watching the surfers. I've never seen surfing in action before, and I'm planning to try it when we go back in two weeks.




The big landmark of the area is the gigantic rock formation jutting out of the ocean just 30ft. or so off shore, hence the name "Roca," which means "rock."


A unique resident of Roca Sunzal is the cat/rabbit hybrid running around. The rumor goes that a frisky rabbit and cat got together and this creature came of it. It's even famous enough that a reporter came from the U.S. to do a piece on it and there's an article about it hanging up in the bar. I'm pretty sure it just has a deformation, but there's no denying it looks 100% rabbit from the waist down. Most everyone in our group was creeped out by it, but not me. I tried my best to befriend it and get some lap time, but it was more interested in getting table scraps and chasing off stray dogs, which it does quite well as I witnessed (those back legs don't make it any slower).

The cat/rabbit, or 'cabbit'

Sunday morning we were up early to get breakfast and spend as much time on the beach before leaving around 1 p.m. I was completely packed up and hanging around waiting to leave when another working spouse, Jen (who came on Saturday with her husband and two girls), approached me and asked if I wanted to stay an extra night and drive back with her and the girls on Monday. I had no reason to be back early as I'm still waiting on work, so it was an easy decision for me. I booked my same room for another night and had another full day to spend on the beach! That night I had dinner with her and the girls and spent the evening to myself reading and lounging. Monday morning I enjoyed more time on the beach and then we headed out a little before noon.

It was sad not sharing this wonderful weekend with Beth, but fortunately we're heading back to El Salvador in two weeks for a three-day weekend with a few other friends. We're not staying at Roca Sunzal, but we are going to an area that looks just as nice and we'll be able to go fishing, snorkeling, and diving. This weekend ranks in my top tier of favorite get-away spots. It's also easy to get to, so I'm suggesting to my parents we spend a couple days there when they come visit. I think it may become a regular weekend get-away...

*More pictures on our Picasa page*

New Camera Feature

James and I got a new digital camera for Christmas (thank you Mom and Dad!) and it has this REALLY cool feature on it called "Color Accent" that lets you choose a color, and when you take a picture, it takes it as black and white except for the color you have chose to accent.

Check out some of the pictures I've taken with it. Pretty cool, huh?!

Small outdoor market in Antigua

Cathedral in Parque Central in Antigua


Guatemalan Weaving

Palacio de la India in Guatemala

Putting the "A La!" in Guatemala!

On Saturday we ventured to Antigua, Guatemala! The weather has been so terrifically gorgeous of late that we just had to leave the city and spend a day in the fresh air of the small colonial town that used to be the capital of the country, Antigua! Our friends Matt & Amy joined us for the excursion, too. This was actually our first full day to just bum around with no goal or mission ahead of us...just to relax and enjoy the security of the town and comfort of its weather.

When we arrived, we decided to climb the Cerro de la Cruz ("The Hill of the Cross"), a small hill just above Antigua, looking over the entire town, dwarfed by Volcán Agua (no, we haven't climbed this one yet!). The view was spectacular and the climb only took about 10 minutes.




After that, we walked right past where my friend Brandi Martin and I did a summer homestay/Spanish immersion study in 2003. It was really neat to be back to a place I knew so well!




Then we had lunch at a recommended restaurant, Palacio de la India (our next best thing to India Palace from Lawrence!). It was a super small yet tastefully decorated restaurant that served, you guessed it -- our favorite-- Indian food! James and I were the only customers while we were there, so the service was obviously excellent, as was the food quality. It is a hidden gem that we hope will stay in business for quite awhile, even thought it's a ways from the Parque Central.



After a delicious and filling lunch, we decided to find a good place for local coffee, and Fernando's Kaffee did not disappoint! The Guatemalteca woman who served us was animated and friendly (and corrected me that she was a Señorita, NOT a Señora!), and we bought whole bean coffee that had been brewed the very same morning for about $5/lb. After sipping down an espresso, we went walking around, looking in boutiques and also found and checked out the posada (small hotel) we'll be staying in with my parents when they come in March, Posada Don Valentino. Everything looked great, so we decided to relax some in the Parque Central.


The Parque Central in Antigua is the focal point of the city for tourists and Guatemaltecos alike, which also attracts people trying to sell you things, too. It's not that annoying though....sometimes it's nice to have the sellers come directly to you!

Finally, we checked out a nice art store with interesting paintings that we want to buy one day. We rounded out the afternoon at the Casa de Jade (Jade is pronounced "Ha-day" in Spanish), a premier place in Antigua for buying quality handmade jade items, ranging from expensive jewelry to masks, chess sets, mirrors, and other decorative items. We couldn't afford anything in this store, but it was beautiful stuff, and also cool to see the people making the items on site!


According to La Casa del Jade's website, Jade was considered a stone more valuable than gold to the Maya, a symbol of eternal love, eternity, or the sky. When a noble-class person died, they were buried with masks or necklaces of jade. When someone of lower-class died, a piece of jade was placed in their mouth because the Maya thought that the spirit would always leave the body through the mouth, and when leaving, take the piece of jade with them as a passport into heaven. Interesting!

WOW! It is days like this that we love living abroad, and living in Guatemala! We can't wait to have family and friends visit this beautiful country.

Embarrassing Moments

I usually am not one to be embarrassed by anything, but Guatemala is really challenging this notion....so many words in Spanish are like so many words in English...change one vowel or forget to pronounce one sound and you have probably sounded like an idiot.

Recent faux pauxs of ours include:

"Buenos Dias!" We just proudly hailed someone a "Good morning!" 5:00 in the evening.

"Quiero pan con jueves calientes" I just asked for bread with hot Thursday on it (instead of eggs).

But this morning was most definitely the winner....every morning I stand on a busy corner and wait for MY school bus, which said "autobus escolar" on it ("school bus" formally written). Since EVERY school bus here is an old yellow bus from the U.S.A., the only way to know what bus YOU get on is by looking at the top where ours says "autobus escolar." During my 10-15 wait every day, I get faked out by other yellow school buses and I have to carefully look at the writing..."Bus" "Special" "Centro" etc. Not only that, but I have also been forgotten about and have had to flag the driver down at the light to let me on.

Today the bus was running late, so I was anxiously waiting for it long after it should have arrived. I see a yellow school bus carreen around the corner and go right pass me! I check, and it says "Bus escolar" on it, which in my panicked mind is close enough to "autobus escolar." So I go running up to it at the stoplight and have to bang on the door for it to let me in. Once I step on the bus, everyone is looking at me with mixed expressions of confusion, fear, and slight amusement.

The gringa has gone crazy. Once I return a similar look to them, I apologize and step off the bus. James was still on the sidewalk long enough to see the students laughing at me as the bus drove away. Guess I'll have to be more careful next time when reading my bus! The bad thing is that this bus drives by me every single day while I wait for MY bus. So I'm sure that schoolbus will have something white and embarrassed to point and laugh at for a good while now....