Nourish Goes to Guatemala

 By Russ Spitler

Today was our second day in Posada Jaibalito, the hostel on the shores of Lake Atitlan. Our little clan took its Sabbath a day late this week, since all we did was eat, read, journal, hike, and swim. We engaged in “team building” exercises, which equated to making fools of ourselves in front of some Jaibalitans fishing on the pier next to us. It was great fun.

Last night I was determined to watch the sun rise over Central America’s deepest lake. I have been waking up pretty early without electrical assistance since I have been here, so I thought getting up at 5:00 wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. I was right; “Buenos dias” replied the man carrying wood through Jaibalito’s sidewalk, shrouded in the darkness still covering the nearby volcanoes. I set up shop with the camcorder on a pier nearby and waited for the engaging pink light to arrive. Presto, I made contact with the staggering surroundings and giggling children around me. What an experience.

I returned to home and met Herb, a San Franciscan who has spent his life in emergency medicine. He has great stories about his time in Afghanistan (pre-Soviet invasion), Bosnia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia after the tsunami, Katrina, etc. He asked me if I minded listening to his stories. They were too fascinating to miss. I enjoyed meeting Herb. He told me I should get involved helping in crisis areas. “It’s easy. You just look around and see what needs to be done and start. I’ve worked with a bunch of people like you.” We’ll see what the future holds.

Herb and I looked at a few of the gorgeous plants in Hans’ garden. This led us to eventually try an orange banana. There are 30 varieties of banana in the world, but only two are exported to the U.S. Yesterday I tried a two inch long banana. Each variation tasted different from the kind back home. Oh the joys traveling brings. The rest of the day held more amazing comida. For $1.50 I ate one of the best breakfasts I have ever experienced. Very nice!!

The other highlight of today, besides not doing much of anything, was hiking for about 15 minutes with Carlos, Cat, and Nick to find a sweet swimming hole. The views proved to be out of this world and there was a lot of cool vegetation on the path. Eventually our little band arrived at a destination we approved worthy. We passed through the yard of a house owned by Carlos’ mother’s former boss. It was a beautiful place. Luckily while swimming I had an epiphany: opening my eyes under water. There wasn’t much to see, but the water was an awesome shade of blue, and sunlight streamed through the waves, bouncing around below the surface to put on a show more dazzling than any human form of entertainment could ever provide.

I should write something deep and philosophical, something along the lines of the conversation most of us had last night as avocados fell onto the kitchen’s roof, making a huge racket. However I am an individual. I have feelings. These feelings matter because, gosh darn it, people just like me. You should realize that I am still wearing my bathing suit, and I am perfectly happy to just ramble on right now and make up Happy Thoughts, à la Jack Handy. One item of note that I cognated today was the idea of continuity. Even though there are a lot of differences between here and home, there are many things that are the same. People want the same things: to provide for their family’s needs, to raise their children well, to feel a sense of accomplishment after achieving a goal, etc. The waves still roll in the same pattern as they do in North America, the same sun still governs our activities, food still can taste good or bad. You get the idea. I have been very slack about my reading, so I will do some now. Buenos noches!!