...The rest of Guatemala

Jonathan:
After two intense weeks studying Spanish in Antigua, we've spent our last week working our way north through Guatemala on our way to the small town of Rio Dulce where we are now. Without really intending to, within four days we managed to do just about every adventure activity Guatemala has to offer, and this country is an adventure's paradise.

Here are a few of the highlights: We went tubing down a crystal clear aqua-colored jungle river; we descended about 1km deep into a natural river cave with only candles to light our way (many times it was too deep to stand, so we had to swim while holding our candles above our heads); we ascended a rock wall to reach a high ledge above a deep pool, and we jumped off into the water below-- inside the cave; we slung ourselves about 20 meters out over a river on a gigantic rope swing, only to let go and fall into the river (sometimes gracefully, sometimes not); we went tubing again in a different river; we descended a waterfall on a rope ladder to explore a dramatic natural cavern behind the water; and we spent an afternoon swimming through a tranquil series of natural limestone pools. To cap off our action-packed days, we spent our evenings hanging out at our youth hostel with other travelers, drinking Moza (our favorite Guatemalan beer), and playing a giant Jenga game made out of 2x4s before going to bed in a bamboo hut with a grass roof.

Yesterday we took a sunrise tour to the Mayan ruins at Tikal. Having gotten up at 3am to make our way from Flores to the ruins before dawn, we arrived at the top of the tallest temple just as the fog was lifting to reveal the absolutely massive series of dramatic temple pyramids peaking out of the dense jungle below. We watched the sunrise in silence, and basked in the rich energy of this ancient Mayan capital.

This afternoon, we will depart from Rio Dulce on a seven-day sailing trip up through the southern reef islands off the coast of Belize. We'll see how it goes since it's been raining here for a solid two days, and evidently there's a decent sized storm on the way... but we are looking forward to trying out our sea legs for a few days, and getting our first glimpse of the abundantly rich sea life of the western Caribbean.

Antigua... within reach

Megan:
So much has happened in the three weeks since we last wrote. We spent most our time in Antigua, Guatemala taking in four hours per day of intense one-on-one Spanish lessons for two weeks. The colorful city of Antigua is nestled between three active volcanoes and filled with cobblestone streets, rich textures, and wonderful little restaurants - I think the only down side was that almost everyone spoke at least a little English.

Jon and I stayed with a local family again while in school which was a very rewarding and educational experience in itself. We spent every meal around the kitchen table with the mom, dad, three sons and one other student from the school. We enjoyed chatting with Sylvia, the mom, about the variety of Guatemalan meals she prepared for us each day; and with the boys we enjoyed discussing all the homework we had to do each afternoon - for us it was Spanish and for them it was English. It was refreshing to see that even in the relatively traditional country of Guatemala, the father of the house, Marvin, often helped his Sylvia with everything that needed to be done to keep the household running smoothly. I was pleasantly surprised during our first meal together to realize that I know a lot more of this new language than I did when we were sharing meals with our host family in Guanajuato.

The one-on-one teacher experience that our school offered provided potential to learn a tremendous amount of material in a small amount of time since everything was tailored specifically to our level of experience with the language. Jon was able to take advantage of this situation from the beginning as he and his instructor, Gustavo, hit it off quite well. As you can imagine, if the dynamic between student and instructor is not a good fit, it becomes apparent pretty quickly. I seemed to fit into this second category the first week, struggling to resonate with my teacher´s slower pace and style of interacting. For some reason it was really challenging for me to decide how I wanted to handle this tough situation.

After deliberating for hours over whether to request a new teacher for the second week - asking myself "what if the new teacher isn't as good? what if it's awkward to see my current instructor in the hall on Monday?" you know, the typical questions you ask yourself when breaking up with someone - I decided I needed a change! The second week I got a fresh start with a new teacher - I told her specifically what I was hoping to cover that week, and low and behold that's exactly what we went over and she was able to answer all of my questions quite concisely and thoroughly.

It felt pretty empowering to have facilitated a positive outcome for this unhealthy and seemingly unproductive situation. It´s amazing how obvious the solution seemed once I experienced a more rewarding alternative. I was reminded that when something doesn't quite fit, I need to take the initiative to change it - it's not worth settling when something better is within reach.

Sinking in

Jonathan:
We have just arrived in the city of Antigua after spending the past week working our way around the shores of Lago Atitlán in the highlands of western Guatemala. In addition to climbing nearby Volcán San Pedro and basking in the peace and quiet of rural Guatemala, the highlight of our time here has definitely been the "Casa del Mundo"-- a spectacular hacienda spread over a series of stone terraces built into a cliff overlooking the lake. We spent three days exploring the hacienda's seemingly endless maze of steep stone stairways, hidden patios, and enchanting flowered gardens. We spent our mornings swimming in the crystal clear, impossibly glassy water (an easy jump from the lower terraces); and our afternoons were filled with naps in hammocks as we watched the clouds roll in to envelop the three volcanoes rimming the lake.

As breathtaking as our surroundings have been since we arrived here, I feel like our time at Lago Atitlán has provided me with a particularly powerful experience of feeling energized by a place. I've always struggled to fully understand what people really mean when they say a particular place has special energy. In general I feel like I'm pretty open to those sorts of things, and I feel like I've experienced to some pretty spectacular connections with nature in the past-- but for some reason this felt different. In a way, I think I've always experienced such places with a sense of "separateness." Like this place is here, and I'm here, and we just happen to be spending some time together.

It may have been the mindset I was in when we arrived here, that I was somehow primed for this kind of thing, but the lake has left me with an overwhelming sense of peace and empowerment-- almost as if my soul has been amplified by being here. These past several days I have been feeling a sense of clarity and purpose that feels totally foreign to me.

To be honest, the timing couldn't be better. I think I entered this trip assuming that it would be full of massive revelations about myself, my relationship with Megan, my life-- you know, the tough stuff. I embarked on this journey fully prepared for a barrage of confrontational realizations and difficult growth... After spending over two months removed from the familiarity of my life back home and feeling relatively unchanged, I was starting to think that maybe the trip wasn't working. Maybe we weren't finding the right kinds of experiences to initiate the kind of intense growth I was expecting.

This weird sense of clarity has helped me realize that maybe the trip is working fine. Maybe the massive revelation I've been seeking is to realize that I don't need a massive revelation to be okay-- Funny, right? Well, the instant this occurred to me I was astonished by the weight I felt lifted from my shoulders, like I had suddenly given myself permission to be okay-- not try so hard. Those of you who know me well are probably thinking it's about time this occurred to me, but inside it feels like a pretty big deal. I've been enjoying such an overwhelming sense of contentment these past few days, I sincerely hope this feeling sticks around a while.

We will be here in Antigua for the next two weeks-- We've decided its about time for another boost in the old Spanish skills, and this town seems filled to the brim with great schools. We moved in with our host family yesterday, and we are looking forward to the coming days of intense grammar lessons and fantastic home cooked meals.

¡Adiós México!

Jonathan:
We've spent the past several days wandering the streets of lovely San Cristóbal de las Casas in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. Aside from enjoying some down time--long lazy days without itineraries or agendas--we've managed to chart a rough course through Guatemala, and we are getting ready to bid farewell to Mexico in the morning.

The departure feels bittersweet. We've enjoyed rambling though this country for over two months now, and there's a fondness that has grown with our sense of familiarity here. This country has provided us with a nurturing backdrop for the first leg of our journey together--it feels like we've defined our style of traveling here. Mexico has helped us discover a multitude of new things we've loved, and a significantly lesser number of new things we haven't loved. It has helped us define what we are looking for on our journey, and it's provided us with an impressively diverse landscape to test every last piece of our precious gear. At the same time, ditching a bulky tour book and heading into the land of wild jungles, undiscovered beaches, and ridiculously low prices has its appeal.

Our next destination is Lago Amatlàn, a pristine highland lake in southern Guatemala set in a valley between three smoking volcanoes. We're expecting to spend roughly a week making our way through the various towns around the lake before heading into richly cosmopolitan Antigua where we're entertaining the idea of some more Spanish classes.

Observations about Mexico

Megan:

• Screens in windows must be an US invention.
• Most commercial doors open by pushing in, instead of pulling out.
• Building codes are nonexistent, but no one seems to get hurt or file a lawsuit.
• Speed bumps are extremely overused, and traffic lanes are only a suggestion.
• Public transportation seats recline much further than in the States.
• There seems to be one standard type of paper napkin that is used in every restaurant throughout the country.
• These people love to make-out in plazas.
• The reason we don't have many old-school beetle cars left in the States is because they're all here.
• Mannequins are often set up backwards to show off the back of a pair of (tight) jeans instead of the front.
• It's frequently hard to tell who actually works in a store and who is just a friend hanging out.
• 'Cafe con leche' can be anything from drip coffee with milk to a latte to a shot of espresso with powdered creamer. It's always a gamble.