Aligning our Chakras in San Marcos La Laguna

Two weeks in Antigua had almost killed us (but made us a bunch of good friends at the bars)! Our apartment in Oaxaca is ready on Feb 1st, so we decided to cool our jets on Lake Atitlan for a few days. It is about a three-hour winding bus ride from Antigua (but only 30 miles as the crow flies....read 'mountainous!'), Lake Atitlan is the deepest lake in Central America and widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world.  

Surrounded by three volcanoes and peppered with small Mayan villages, writer Aldous Huxley wrote of it, "Lake Como, it seems to me, touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque, but Atitlán is Como with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes. It really is too much of a good thing." 

Tuesday evening was spent in Panajachel, a larger lakeside town, adhering to our "tuesday night pizza" tradition and deciding on which village to head to in the morning. We chose San Marcos La Laguna- a lakeside village of about 2,000 people, most being Kaqchikel-speaking indigenous Mayans. 

where to go?

one of several trips to the 'snug,' an irish pub in antigua

"when all is bad, mezcal. when all is good, mezcal"

Lindsay and her main man, Donald

love these..

more Donald!

That shawl was the Pope's....long story..

Wednesday morning we rode a ponga boat over the lake, stopping in Santa Cruz La Laguna to pick up our buddy Sarah. She is a Honduran transplant from Portland, Oregon working the Scuba diving scene and we had the good luck to meet up with her on a "Visa Run" in Guatemala. 


How to describe San Marcos. Hmm. If you ever happen to be in a position where you need to 'find yourself' or get some energy healing, San Marcos is the place to do it. The minority gringo population in the village was certainly the most 'earthy' batch of hippies we have seen. Tribal chanting, purifying 'deep throat yelling'(seriously), tarot card reading, 'guided self-introspection', 'warrior heart' classes and month long meditation courses  corresponding with the lunar cycles are all offered in the village and taken very seriously. Deodorant and general hygiene?  That perhaps could be taken a little more seriously. But Lindsay did have the best organic, locally sourced tempeh burrito she has ever had in her life. 

the normal cookies are 3Q, the special ones are 5Q.

 The puebla is beautiful- mostly comprised of walking paths, the village hugs the shoreline and steep hillside. Restaurants and hotels are hidden at the end of shaded paths in the jungle, directions posted on brightly colored hand-painted signs. At the top of one hill is an ancient Mayan alter for traditional ceremonies by local Mayans and probably some less traditional ceremonies by the hippie folks. Along the other side, cliffs drop into the lake, where there are rocky ledges for jumping and sunbathing. 

Hey Brian and Sarah!

We spent three days going to bed early and sleeping late, drinking coffee in the morning and rum after sundown, and napping and swimming in between. It was certainly somewhere we could have spent a lot longer (months), but Mexico is calling and we feel the pull. 

 

on the ponga boat to San Marcos

cookie mountain!!

Frida's in Antigua

indian head, on our walk from san juan to san pedro

What the Oaxaca?

Sunrise over Cholula, Mexico. Can you spot little blue Peggy-O?

Cholula, Mexico and a good looking dude

Oaxaca has some crazy amazing food. I eat all the foooood!!!

Shrimp for days!

Tacos anyone?

The ruins at Monte Alban in Oaxaca. So old!

Great news! Beginning February 1st, all of you have an apartment gratis in downtown Oaxaca, Mexico. Not to mention two really excited tour guides who would love to show you some really amazing places. But wait… Apartment? Tour guides? This doesn't sound like the overlanding adventure down the Pan-American highway that you were pretty much guaranteed when you started reading this blog. Alas, when driving a van that just doesn't want to behave like a lady should, one needs to be flexible and roll with the punches. 

These punches just happen to swing from the shoulders of a heavy-weight boxing champion. 

So, we have had to make some tough decisions. As much as we love Peggy-O, fixing transmissions again and again, and want to continue our southbound journey, we are going to have to alter our goals for this current adventure a little. Admit defeat? NEVER! Give up and go home? NOT IN A MILLION YEARS! Well, maybe in May, when our renters move out of our house in Portland. 

Linds getting a little dance lesson in a tiny border town

Brian and I have decided to switch out our lonely planet guide books for all of the Central and South American countries for a guide book to Oaxaca, Mexico. Oaxaca just so happens to be a really cool city. We both thought long and hard about where we could find everything that we loved about the road in “one” place; adventure, culture, art, good food, booze and music, exhilarating outdoor activities, history and chill city ambiance. It is also important that we continue our “do good as we go” philosophy, and have volunteer opportunities. We want to be able to discover new things every day. And in Oaxaca, we will. 

Turns out the little mountain town where Peggy-O last rolled into fits the bill perfectly. After consulting our friendly neighborhood Craigslist, we have rented an apartment starting February 1st, and we invite you, our friends and family, to come see why we would trade in life on the road for this place. We don't think it will take much convincing. Seriously, come visit us, the second bedroom has your name over the door.

Brian and Annie being cool as usual. 

While we are waiting for our sweet apartment to be ready, we decided for a little jaunt over to Antigua, Guatemala to visit our badass friend Annie V. Seriously, she is like the girl version of the Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World”. But boy, it sure was strange locking up Peggy-O and leaving her with a trusted caretaker in Mexico, hopping onto a night bus and hitting the road.

Feeling the crazy eyes after a bus ride all night on tiny winding Mexican mountain  highways

After thirty hours of one day bus, and two night buses, we arrived a little van-home-sick in Antigua, Guatemala. But our sadness soon dissipated with good times brought to us by Annie V and her lovely city.  

Pretty Antigua!

"Running", aka huffing and puffing up the many flights of stairs to a cross overlooking Antigua

So yeah, that is a volcano erupting. No big deal.

Mmmm! Dinner! This meat is more fresh than any grocery store in the states. SO GOOD!!

Our new buddy Dalton having his favorite treat of fresh off the tree avacado 

This is a coffee plant? Mind blown.

Coffee beans drying in the sun. One of these little guys could end up in your cup a few weeks from now.

Antigua has a great music/food/booze/awesome people vibe. 

Nice to get a little R&R in. And next a shower. 

Peggy-O will ride again. But not today. Probably not for a long time. Don't worry, as this wasn't our first, nor will it be our last attempt on the Pan-American highway. We are just crazy enough to do this wild ride again and again. We won't deny there is some sadness with our changing plans, but we are excited and curious to see what each day brings. Long live Peggy-O. 

A new year and a new(ish) transmission!

So this happened-

The good news is that it needed to. From what I gather speaking with the good folks at Gorge's Tansmissions Automaticos, the problem was with the tranny cooler, not the transmission itself. Im guessing we had a partially clogged line, resulting in varying efficiency of the the cooling system. I(and Jorge) believe all the leaks and shifting problems resulted from overheating and not the other way around. We managed to cook the transmission pretty well from Mazatlan to Tepic; so much so that the van just died all together right in front of the toll booth on the Cuota about 10km outside of Tepic, the capital of Nayarit. Instead of clogging the main highway from Mazaltan, we got a push(literally, a pickup with a spare tire on the front pushed us for about 3km) to the tranny shop.

This was the 4th time in a month that we've had problems with the transmission, so Lindsay and I have gotten some practice of 'going with the flow.' We obviously can't continue to 'fix' the car for ever, but a full rebuild gives us the best chance at finally getting it right.

big beers!

Michoacan sunset

blackberries the size of a golf ball!!

Success! Jorge had to drive to Guadalajara for parts, and when we grabbed a taxi from Tepic to the shop the next evening, she was all put back together. We got some beers to celebrate and camped out behind Jorges shop knowing that the big test was coming in the morning. The area around Tepic, specifically between Tepic and Guadalajara is super hilly and was either going to serve as a victory lap or break the new transmission. With hearts pounding, we nailed it towards Guadalajara(a city of about 4 million in which we got lost for hours back in 2011). The van drove great. It seems the gear ratio(?) is a little different- first gear seems lower than it was and I've got much slower acceleration, but my top end cruises like a dream. We breezed through the city and added another 250km beyond, putting about 450km(280miles) before setting up camp at some hot springs in the Michoacan Highlands(weirdly getting 17mpg in the hills as opposed to our usual 13.5. Weird).

new years eve at the hot springs

This place sure reminded us of home! Parque Nacional Las Azufres is up in the mountains west of Mexico City and was chilly, with huge lodgepole? pine trees and fresh streams. We relaxed in the mineral water and rang in the new year with some Baja Californian wine at about 7pm. Perfecto!

Ever wonder where the Monarch Butterflies head for the winter?? Same place Lindsay and I go!! The mountaintops of Michoacan! We visited the refuge and hiked all over the place looking at huge swarms of Monarchs. The migration takes eight months, but each butterfly lives for only about 5 weeks so they pop out of the cocoon knowing they are on the move, and which way to flutter. Amazing.

camped out at the monarch reserve

this will make your heart beat faster...first time to a city of 20 million 

We will return to Mexico City someday soon, but for now, I was perfectly OK with driving through it on a questionable tranny without getting completely lost. We killed it. Lindsay gets the award for copilota of the year with her quick maps and guides always at the ready. We pushed it down the hill to Cuernavaca for a little pool time, some city wandering and some R&R.