Day 4- Heart Chakra- Unstruck

Stay a while! One of the many chillax spots at Villa Sumaya.

The Villa Sumaya ecolodge has made for an easy transition with its readily available chocolate, sumptuous vegetarian meals, and bounty of shaded nap spots.  It is already my 5th day here, and I feel sad to think that there are only a few days left!  One things I will not miss is the no-see-ums.... the biting gnats whose bites only begin to itch long after they have made off with a chunk of your sweet flesh. No opportunity for retribution.

LagoAtitlan as seen from Santa Cruz

Another beautiful spot to read, journal, nap, or listen to music.

There are 2 yoga classes offered daily: one more invigorating flow class at 7:30 am and a restorative at 5:00 pm.  The two Taoseño yoga instructors I followed out here switch off each class.

Today in addition to yoga and receiving a henna tattoo on my calf, I kayaked to San Marco- a 2 hr kayak interrupted by a nice swim (which was in all honesty an excuse for a pee break...) culminating in a delicious bag lunch panini and jaunt through the quaint hippy town. This is where Kieth,  the area's renown chocolate shaman has set up a space.  Miriam purchased 2 lbs of pure chocolate for $12, with the warning that each pound contained about 12 servings,  and consuming more than 2 servings in the course of a day would quite likely lead to an overdose.

Sweet henna tattoo done by Krystalyn.   She whipped this puppy up in a matter of minutes! 

For me it is Time to go, but please stay a while and enjoy the photos. :) 

beginning the treat at Villa Sumaya

Propitious Arrival at Lake Atitlan 

We arrived last night, a boatload of scraggly dagglers,  just in time for a miraculously colorful sunset boat ride across Lake Atitlan. Moreover, a sumptuous dinner had been laid across the tables just minutes before our arrival: Chile Rellenos! 

A number of travel snafus had delayed our travel by a few hours. But it was so comforting to be on the shuttle with 5  friends-to-be.  The simple question "where are you from?" rarely has a simple answer.  Thus, my faith in the sheer randomness of life's journey is restored.  The selfish "should-be's" that weigh down a significant portion of my child - like curiosity of the world ("I should have this job,  this partner, know this and that...") do not serve any purpose. As it is revealed that there is no right way to do this life thing, my worries of striving towards those "should be's" is replaced with enquiry into "how to's". 

It comes as no surprise that I resonated with this observation from Anodea Judith in her book, "eastern body, western mind": 

"without grounding we are unstable. We lose our center, fly off the handle, get swept off our feet, or daydream in a fantasy world. We lose our ability to contain, which is the ability to have and to hold. If we cannot contain, we cannot hold our boundaries and build our inner power ; thus, we cannot mature. Boundaries allow the hermitic seal necessary for transformation.      Without boundaries, natural excitement gets dissipated and diluted and becomes ineffectual. When we our ground our attention wanders and we appear vague and insubstantial.

                                                

The healthy establishment of one's ground is the essential work for the first chakra and the foundation for any further Growth. Here lies the basic rights of the first chakra: the right to be here and the right to have what we need in order to survive." (Anodea Judith)

Ashleigh led a beautiful yoga practice this morning. The studio has three fully - windowed walls which overlook Atitlan. Across the lake, it appears that Taos mountain has transplanted itself and gone under the guise of a volcano.  The element of the first chakra, muladhara, is earth, so some of the prompts I found particularly helpful was to imagine my feet and hands sinking into the mud. The muladhara is located mostly in the pelvis, and is the area responsible for grounding. 

Grounding into lake Atitlan

Often times a deficient or excessive movement of energy through this chakra will be compensated with intellect. It is the chakra of feeling the biological reality of existence,  which  is a great way for me to shift my perspective. Some things just have to be felt to be understood. 

Not 4 days ago, I was sitting in front of a computer at a Kaplan testing center in Santa Fe, duking it out in my brain, running full speed ahead in an attempt to garner an impressive score on the GRE.  It is so refreshing to be in a space where it doesn't matter a lick how well my brain can manipulate numbers or choose the most fitting adjectives (that, if used in real life, would be as useful in communication as gurgling and spitting up soda). What is that saying? From Jack Kornfield,s "Little Buddha Companion book":  “In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?” and from the b-man himself: " Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life." (Taken from fakebuddhaquotes.com) <<<funny site by the way.

Guacamole City

Rainbowsssssss

Flying out of New Mexico was a trip. This is what I saw through my sunglasses.  an example of New Mexico love.

I haven't yet eaten any guacamole. My flight landed at 830 last night, and between my obligatory BBQ BEEF BRISKET SANDWICH at Dallas airport and the coffee I chugged on the airplane, I haven't had much of an appetite.

Ron, an old ranching friend of mine... still up to the same old, same old.....

Most of my fears are melting away, and I am finding that my little saggitarius tail is wagging uncontrollably.

I thought that child had a bite to it. Haw haw haw! By the way... this was front page on a 'real' newspaper in Dallas.  

Although less than 1.5 km away, I opted to take a taxi to Museo Nacional De Architecto y Anthropoligo.  I read on tripadvisor.com of a woman who got mugged at gunpoint in broad daylight right outside of my hotel, so although the scrawny concierge thought I would have no problem walking, I arranged for a ride both ways.  I wish I had brought my camera for the museum!

The museum was filled with instuments, vessels, textiles, and sculpture. Although most of the pieces ranged from thousands to hundreds of years old, I appreciated the contemporary photo exhibit that followed the preparation of cacao caliente from its beginnings as seed pods to its saleable state as hand-packed cakes roughly the size of one's fist. Usually doled out by Doñas. They're like spiritual, Willy Wonka matrons.

Panorama of Guatemala City as seen from my penthouse. 

                                 
I can hardly speak a word of spanish, but was surprised to comprehend a majority of the label plaques and explanations at the museum.
       
The most impressive part of much of the guatemalan art is the force it conveys despite its visual simplicity. Whereas much of the art and craft I witnessed in Indonesia had very fine, detailed line work, depth of field, and all that,  the art and craft of guatemala displayed fewer components and details. One of my favorite pieces was a small clay sculpture of a man and a horse creature. The horse's body was so simple, and it's head was so monstrous that I was immediately enamored.  It looked like the horse in The Science of Sleep, if you've seen that movie. The difference being that this piece was crafted intentionally by the hands of a living, breathing, laughing, loving human--- hundreds of years ago! My heart swoons at the mystical anthro- and zoomorphism so ubiquitous in so many of those    sculptures.  Confirmation to my nature loving heart....        

I'll end on this note, which my taxi driver Juan taught me:       no te preocupo;  don't worry! Sé feliz! (Divertad?!)

Guatemala City nightscape

Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.”

- Peter Hoeg

I don't know who this Hoeng guy is, but he seems to have some insight into my experience.

The process of getting all my ducks in a row has been a two-fold challenge. First, I had to procure said ducks. Second, they tend to waddle off at random. When you have one or two ducks--no prob, Bob;  up but when your flock reaches a dozen or so, it starts to get a little unnerving.

But! Here I am, spending my last night in the comfort of my super cozy bed. I have successfully applied for the study abroad program through UNM, and have been accepted as an international exchange student at the University of Canterbury, in Christchurch, New Zealand.  My preliminary schedule is all set. My passport sits at attention on my shelf, fat with the hologram of my glorious and insanely necessary student visa. Next to it sits a Lonely Planet guidebook mottled with blue post-it notes, delineating the beginnings of adventyres yet to come.  Thick printed itineraries are waiting in my backpack because I don't trust in my ability to procure digital proof of the flights if something comes up.  A 10'x20' storage unit is peacefully resting in Taos, sated with boxes full of ex-room decors, books, collected letters, skis, bikes, and clothes.

 

This is everything I want to bring. Including un-enthused dog.

The hardest part will be saying peace out to my pup. Although she is currently blissfully farming to the point that i'm nearly nauseous, I still can't imagine leaving her home.  I'll miss her right down to the stanky rips.

We took a wonderful hike on our fave go-to in Taos: Devisadero Trail

Paring down my closet to fit into 2 carry on suitcases hasn't been a walk in the park. I bought these awesome vacuum seal bags that are really helping to transform my bags into dense bricks of clothes-and-no-air, but even so... Ito a challenge to not bring every awesome piece of clothing I own!!

Here's the packing list Nathalie sent me:

• 3 pants

• 1 shorts

• 1 skirt

• 5 t shirts

• 3 long sleeve

• 2 button up

• 2 dresses

• Socks

• Undies

• 3 shoes

• 1 winter jacket with boots                  

• 1 rain jacket with rain shoes

Aaaaaand.... here's what I ended up with:

• 6 pants
• 2 shorts
• 0 skirts
• 10 +/- 3 t-shirts
• 2 long sleeves
• 2 button up
• No socks or undies
• Jk
• 5 dresses :-/
• 6 shoes?!?! :-/
• 1 winter jacket with boots (which were included in the shoes count)
• 1 rain jacket

 So, tomorrow I move out completely. I'm feeling some strange mixture of contentment and anticipation.  But i'll rest well knowing that no matter what happens,  I'll have plenty of pants.

Xoxo