san pedro, lago de atitlan

yesterday i kind of tweaked my back, nothing serious but i think it's just my body's way of saying "slow down and enjoy the lake" so i did. i went and got a massage from this french lady. she did these deep breathing things and was very into the massage. it was my first professional one and an interesting experience. it felt really nice and i only got ticklish a few times on the feet. after that we were walking back to the hotel when we passed a sign that said japanese food! of course i'm totally interested and we walk down this path through some coffee trees and around a corner and to this soccer field. there is a game going on and a ton of people watching, all locals of course. we're not really sure where the restaurant is and people keep staring so we pretend to watch the game. of course, it's "futbol" here. finally we see a little sign for the place and go there. it's this cute little japanese lady who lives here and speaks flawless spanish. we sit and i order miso soup and curry with chicken. arna gets ice cream. let me just say that it was amazing! the soup had lots of green onions, carrots and tofu. it hit the spot after that massage. my curry was also muy bueno! it was definitely better than lots of curries i've had and had a ton of veggies. who would've thought, good japanese food in guatemala!

after that we went back and took a siesta. my back was feeling sad and so i had to rest. the bed luckily was nice and firm. you never really know what you're getting when you get cheap accomodations but this one was really nice. i woke up for dinner at 7 and we headed to an italian place (one of two in this small town) for wood fired pizza. it was delicioso! i got a pizza with artichokes hearts, olives, garlic, ham and mushrooms and had a nice bottle of gallo, of course. perfecto! they were playing "juno" downstairs with a captive audience. a lot of eateries around here play movies nightly. "p.s. i love you" is playing somewhere tonight. after that nice meal we pretty much went to sleep. it rained throughout the night and when we woke up it was nice and sunny.

we packed up our things and headed out to san pedro, the next town on the lake. san p is the second most popular town on the lake after pana. it's more laid back with less people and is only really busy right by the dock. i did a lot of walking around by myself today because arna isn't feeling well. so i've seen most of the town and people are really friendly. i've seen the same "pan" lady about 6 times today and she asks if i want bread everytime! in fact, she's right outside the internet cafe right now! haha i've learned to say "no, gracias" really well. there are always people trying to get you to buy something or help you find a place to stay. once you get off the boat it's "hotel ___?" or "kayaks?" or "taxi?". even though most of these towns are so small you don't need a taxi.

i sat outside on the deck of our hotel overlooking the water for awhile this morning. i started reading david sedaris "naked" and it's hilarious! a lady was standing in the lake washing a bunch of clothes by hand. she rubbed soap on them then scrubbed then rinsed about 3 loads worth of laundry and it took maybe 2+ hours. all the while her kids were playing in the water. all along the lake shore people were doing the same, even bathing in the lake. i can't imagine having to do laundry like that. i would probably never wash my clothes! :) for lunch i walked around a lot and didn't find much that interested me. i ended up at a place near the dock which was fusion food and settled on thai green curry with chicken. i guess i'm in a curry mood. it was really amazing actually and hit the spot. i'll probably go for tacos tonight at this place down the street, 3 tacos for Q10 (about $1.50). i'll probably end up eating 6 or so. we're staying here in san pedro for two nights so a lot more relaxing, reading and eating to do. what a life! i'm loving guatemala.