DAY 24...SAN PEDRO TO SAN CRISTOBAL

DAY 24

5:00 am. The nice little hotel has turned out to be a hot bed (maybe hell hole would describe my mood better?) of loud back packer activity until God only knows how late. So, it’s 5 now and I have just decided what the hell I will get up and just start getting ready without the last minute rush thing.

I am honestly worried about how to end this account of my trip. I guess you just end. That’s simple. But I have never been very good at being simple, so I will need to think about that a little. I hope it hasn’t been a bore to anyone because I have truly, truly enjoyed writing this account over and above loving the experiences that I have had. I guess you don’t have to read it if it’s boring. Anyway, I will have a lot of time to think about this on the 11 or 12 hour trip today back to Mexico and Chiapas. I know they are going to expect me to hoist my bag up to the top of the microbus since that is where everything gets stowed, but there is no way that I am physically capable of lifting this bag above my head.

6:30 pm. Arriving in San Cristóbal. The city seems to be packed. I drag myself over to the inexpensive hotel I stayed at on my trip down. Really tired. They have no room! This hole can’t be booked full! Oh, great, so now I get to hit the streets in the rain and find a hotel. Next one is full. And then I just give up on being economical and walk into a VERY NICE place and they do have a room and they should at these prices and in the door walks the family group that has been following me around trying to find a hotel. Guess they are going to pay lots of money, too. Oh, well, I won’t mind a hot shower, a good bed, internet connections. Will head out to a great Chiapaneco restaurant my brother and sister-in-law and I found last summer. Guess I didn’t end the blog yet. But I will, I promise.

7:40 pm. Sitting at the restaurant, it hits me about one thing I need to do to end this. It’s something like nearing the end of a wonderful evening with friends. The hosts need to be thanked for letting you come. Friends need to be thanked for listening to you and sharing themselves, too. The universe needs to be thanked that all of this and all of us came together at one time our of some random cosmic fuzz.

And so here I am in this beautiful restaurant that is so full of feeling and connection with beautiful things of the soul, hearing guitar music and an old, out of tune marimba. I am so thankful that I get to be here. Only God might know where I could have ended up. But here I am surrounded by a kind of beauty I love. And I am thankful that I got to experience a piece of Guatemala and endlessly thankful that she opened doors to me to see amazing things that I could easily have missed. Thankful to Ramón for organizing a great school in a setting of amazing beauty. Thankful to David for being with me in this adventure. Thankful to Javier for being alive and full of spirit and knowing what I needed without a moment´s hesitation and for loving surrealistic medieval painting and passionate Chilean poets. Thankful to fleeting sun, endless rain, clouds that cascade down, deep blue water, green and blue volcanoes.

Ok.

So, obviously I could just go on and on.

I won’t.