Friday, August 12th

Whew! I finally got a good night’s sleep and woke up feeling like myself again! After a shower, a tiny bit of laundry, and breakfast & showing some photos from Chajul to Alejandra and Chia, I ventured out into San Pedro for the first time since I’ve been here. It’s fairly small town with two sort of distinct sections, one with mostly locals (at the top of the town and near my house here – these lake towns are mostly built on a vertical plane!) and one with mostly locals (down by the boat dock). The market area right at the top of my street, is fairly typical, but instead of being a big flat square area with stands (tables and tarps), the main street is lined with these stands and people selling fruits, veggies, meats, undies, used shoes…you name it!

El Parque Central is located a block behind this bustling area and is where you catch a ride on a pick-up to one of the neighboring towns.

The tourist area has a bunch of restaurants, souvenir stores, and people from all over the world, with many hippie-type people. Besides the main steep street that connects the boat area to the upper section of town, there are these quaint little alleys that wind all around and also connect it all together. They are just wide enough for a tuk-tuk to drive on. They are lined with jungley wifi cafes & restaurants, posadas, Spanish schools, houses, and of course, corn “fields”.

After my class and dinner, Jia and I went out in search of Salsa, but couldn’t find any. We ended up dangling our feet in the water off the docks. A girl from our school bumped into us there and we went with her to a bar we had passed. This ended up being as much or more of a “cultural” experience as Salsa dancing! I discovered that what someone mentioned in conversation about a certain plant that is grown and used a lot in that area is true! There is quite a little hippie culture in San Pedro...kind of felt like a bunch of lost souls who were just kind of floating there because it’s an easy place to have a no-responsibility-hippie-style life. It was a cool little place, with hammocks, a few tables, stools and a bar. In the backyard down behind the bar, which had a beautiful night view of the lake and towns surrounding it, they were just starting up a big bon fire. Then a guy that worked there, lit some chain things on fire and started swinging and twirling them around! It was really cool. A girl from our school tried it and almost caught herself on fire! I passed on this activity and just watched. A few beers later, Jia and I called it a night and headed back home.