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BREAKING NEWS!
The Mayas and the Finns are close relatives!!!
At least it seems like that, because we visited a perfect sauna last night for the first time since last July, and it was exactly like the Finnish versions we are so used to. The Mayan version was a small hut, in kind of a shape of an iglu, with wood heating the room and us throwing water on a kiuas (sorry dont know the English word for that) inside. A perfect ending for a perfect day.
So, everything good comes to its end in some point. Our time in the language school ended on Saturday when we left Xela (Quetzaltenango) after having a good last night with our friends and exchanging farewell gifts with our host family. It was kinda hard because we had many friends there and we got a bit attached to the place. Well, like our host mom Patricia said, we always have a family in Guatemala that we are part of.
Now we are at the Lake Atitlan, staying in a peaceful village of San Marcos. Trip from Xela to the lake was an adventure in itself, because of a slight mistake that was near to create a ridiculous situation. We splurged extra 2 euros on the Saturday morning, and took a first class bus (instead of a chicken one) from Xela to the connection point of Los Encuentros, from where the plan was to take some mode of transportation for the last 10 kilometres to the lake. The plan worked well and after spending 15 seconds in Los Encuentros, eager bus dudes had moved our bags to the roof of a chicken bus and ourselves inside the bus with 247 new Guatemalan friends. (No chickens insight this time.)
When it was time to pay for the trip, Jukka became worried. Although 30 Quetzales (about 3 euros) is nothing in European standards, in Guatemala you can usually drive at least 2 hours by bus with that. And there should only be 10 kilometres left to the lake. Jukka asked the neighbour passenger how much time does it take to San Marcos, and when they answered that 2 hours, Jukka pulled a Guatemalan map from the backpack and noticed that there is two San Marcoses in the area, and we were definetly now traveling to the wrong one. Funniest thing was that the wrong one was beyond Xela, so we would have ended back to square one without this discovery.
Next couple of moments were a great proof of the Guatemalan friendliness. After letting the ticket collector know that we are in the wrong bus, he gave us our money back and stopped the bus at a place where we could catch a new one. After getting from the bus, and older lady accompanied us, and escorted us to the right bus, and a right tuktuk after that.
Now we have been at the Lake Atitlan for a couple of days, just enjoying our time. Aldous Huxley said famously that this lake is the most beautiful in the world, and it is certainly not surprising why so many people have stayed here for years and years without ever going back home. However, this comes with a downside, as a local tour guide told us yesterday, that most of the lakeshore is private property nowadays, owned by extranjeros with loads of money. This lefts the local people watching, when their land is being bought piece by piece.
Our village is very peaceful, with a strong hippie community offering all kinds of spiritual services like meditation, yoga, reiki, tarot card reading and Swedish massage. (Why Swedish, I dont know.) I think Jukkas mom would love it here! Although we are not so much into that, it has been a very relaxing experience, and we have also had a lot of other activities here. Yesterday we rented horses and a guide for three hours, and went horseback riding to the nearby mountain paths. The experience was totally awesome, and really exciting as it was Jukkas first time on the back of any kind of animal. (Excluding elefants.) Horses were nice but smelly, and only one dangerous moment occured as Michelle ended up hugging her horses neck after a strong acceleration.
Now we are in the commercial center of San Pedro to do laundry, writing stuff to this blog and arranging our tomorrows transportation. The plan is to take a ride to the notorious Guatemalan capital, and as soon as possible a connecting bus to El Salvador.
Thank you, come again.
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