Samuel, my 7-year-old guide
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Yesterday, I started my day taking the boat to San Juan, one of the villages close by. San Juan is known for its weaving associations. I didn´t realize that many of them would be closed on Sunday but I met some amazing artists who showed me their work.
In one of the little stores, Francisca took me through a photo album someone had helped her compile with the explanation written in French and English. She explained to me in Spanish how it takes 3 days of 6 hours work each day to create the natural dyes. It is something from the trunk of the banana tree that “sets” the dyes so they don´t run. From there, they weave the most beautiful scarves and shawls.
As I was listening to her explain the process, I couldn´t help but marvel at the amount of work and effort it takes to create the one scarf she was selling for about $6. I found myself with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes quite unexpectedly at the pride with which they do their work and how gracious she was to explain it to me without ever asking for anything back. She also explained how they take the sweaters and clothes that are donated to the country and unravel all of the threads and remake them into scarves and shawls. She had a whole section of the store for recycled products that were also beautiful. I bought a lavender and yellow scarf that is simply stunning.
After spending about an hour in San Juan, I hired a TukTuk to take me to San Pedro, about 5 minutes drive away. The driver looked awfully young so when we got to San Pedro, I asked him his age. “13″ he told me. “What is the legal driving age in Guatemala?” I asked. “18″ he answered without even blinking an eye. “Is there a different legal driving age for TukTuks?” I next asked. “No” he repied without an ounce of guilt. “Well you are a very good driver.” I said, almost laughing out loud and got about exploring a whole new section of San Pedro.
After buying some amazing mangos at the market, I asked about a restaurant I had been told about by one of my readers, Shel Horowitz. Shel had emailed me to rave about his trip to Guatemala and give me some suggestions. Going to Zoolas in San Pedro was right at the top of Shel´s list of things to do. Considering that Shel is the founder of the websites on Frugal Marketing and Frugal Fun, I pay attention to Shel as he seems to know quality at a bargain.
Interestingly, unlike many countries I have traveled in, Guatemalans seem to give better directions than most. They will even say, “I don´t know”, instead of making up directions so as not to lose face. It is very much appreciated.
I asked a woman for directions to Zoolas and she immediately sent her little boy with me to “show the lady what she wants”. In a country where at just under 5´tall, I am TALL, a little boy of 7 is really small. But Samuel seemed to be quite adept at showing someone around town. When I told him about the “foreigner´s restaurant” called Zoolas, he knew immediately where to take me. He engaged me in conversation and we had quite the discussion about life, his family, and his town.
In the middle of our journey when I told him what a good guide he was, he said, “well you´re going to give me a tip for this”. I just about burst out laughing. There was no doubt in Samuel´s mind that he was going to get paid for his work. How could I resist such an entrepreneurial spirit! I asked him what he wanted and without a second´s hesitation he told me 5 quetzals. 8 quetzals is $1 US. That´s actually quite alot of money saying I can have an entire lunch for 42 quetzals but I thought he was worth it and paid him 6 quetzals much to his delight.
Zoolas was an incredible Israeli restaurant where I drank Chai tea, ate falafels and had the most amazing chocolate volcano desert. Chocolate in this country is wonderful and as I have temporarily gone off of alcohol, I am thoroughly enjoying the chocolate. The total bill including tip was 66 quetzals – about $8.50. There are pictures of this place on facebook so check it out.
One of the women I had met on a previous trip to San Pedro came into the restaurant. Maria sells beautiful scarves and shawls, adornments for the hair and other small woven goods. When I asked her to wait until I finished eating, she immediately picked up her things from my table and went to the front of the restaurant to wait. I appreciated her graciousness as that doesn´t always happen in every country. Vendors can be most annoying when they don´t understand the full significance of the word “no”. But Maria won my heart by how she conducted her business. I ended up buying 3 beautiful shawls from her. They cost me $8 each which was a bargain.
I came home yesterday mentally, emotionally, spiritually overflowing with the beauty of the country and the people. Physically I was more than satisfied as I had a fabulous lunch and got my exercise going up and down the hills. Financially, I felt like I had made a wonderful contribution to this country that is currently home while receiving beautiful things that I will be poignant memories of Guatemala. What more could I ask for?
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Jan, I’m so glad you followed my advice and had a great meal at Zoola (and great experiences with local crafters).
If your readers want to learn more about my trip to Guatemala, the top three stories at http://www.frugalfun.com/travel.html#latinamerica are about that wonderful trip. (I’ve actually written two more that I want to publish in a paying market, on the Pacaya volcano and the area in and around Xela). The middle one,”Haight-Ashbury in the Guatemalan Mountains: San Pedro and Lake Atitlán,” covers the area you’re visiting.