Travails of the Wide Eyed Wanderer

'Your toes are the antennae to the spirtual world', claimed my yoga teacher. It was news to me!

But then so was a lot of things. For a start I had not anticipated that it would be a 2 hour long yoga session, nor that the yoga would have such spiritual undertones - as illustrated by the 'moon and sun salute'. Try as I might to be open minded about the yoga practices and the beliefs behind them, my lack of flexibility, coupled with the thought of what everyone at home would think of me if they could see me now, left me feeling sceptical. I enjoyed the warm down session far more though - I promptly fell to sleep!

As you will probably have guessed from my yoga experience, San Marcos is a tranquil, spirtual place. Indeed, the only noises breaking through the constant buzzing of crickets is Lake Atitlan lapping the shore and the more alarming screams coming from the 'monkey chant' classes that are claimed to help wellbeing.

Following the yoga I spent my days in San Marcos on a rocky outcrop by the water that I had almost exclusively to myself to swim and sunbathe.

The only problem with San Marcos is the vast number of wild dogs that roam the narrow pathways. The majority ignore you, but some have to be treated like corrupt guards in order to get past them. Consequently I have had to throw some food in the opposite direction, run away and hope the dog doesn't return to give me rabies. Apart from this, the town has a wonderful 'Robinson Crusoe' feel to it!

I have now left San Marcos for the relatively cosmopolitan Panajachel which acts as a transportation hub to the surrounding area. Today I visited the bustling market town of Chichicastenango. It covers a huge area selling a massive variety of goods. The only problem is that I keep banging my head on the poles that hold the market canopy together!

Early on Saturday morning I plan to travel to Honduras. Adios Guatemala!