We return to San Marcos from the forest every Wednesday around 11am. Wednesdays have become the new Saturday for us – it’s the day we look forward to as we are able to emerge from the mountains and get back to a more typical method of living. Although life in San Marcos is worlds away from Canada, it does provide some comforts that we’ve become accustomed to. It truly is amazing how quickly we are able to adapt: Robyn and I felt at home with our host families and in our new room within the first two weeks. With an effort to seek and focus on the positives of a situation, I think we are a species capable of existing happily within a wide variety of circumstances. We will continue to put that to the test, rest assured.

The hour long drive home from the forest is a ride of freedom and expectation: as we sit in the back of a Toyota pickup careening down the various mountain roads I hear every anthem of triumph and energy in my mind as we race back from the wild into the town. We are all exhausted from the hike out, dirty from our chores in the woods, and stinky from the lapse in available bathing water but Wednesdays carry the biggest smiles and most excitement.

When we pull up to the Soul Projects door and unload all of our packs, separating dirty laundry and reloading our bags with clean, the first chore is to wash off the forest, literally and figuratively. We change into our bathing suits and make our way down to the lake for one of our two weekly ‘showers’. With our biodegradable soap in hand we beeline to the rickety wooden structure that serves as the launching point to our cleanliness and leap into our giant freshwater bath. The temperature of the water is refreshing but not numbing and we have yet to have overcast skies for a Wednesday mid-day. I have never felt the renewing effects of soap and water as much as I feel it on these days – it is hard to describe how much better we all feel after swimming, lathering, and laughing down at the dock.

Once we are clean it’s back to base for the day’s lunch and then we’re free for the rest of the day. We are all anxious to launch out on our own for the rest of the evening and explore the area (or just relax) without four other people in your personal space. I should point out that we all get along very well and the forest is a great time, but after four nights together we’re all happy to gain a little breathing space. Robyn and I usually take this time to get to a computer to reconnect with everyone back home. Although we are fully invested in our time here in Guatemala both Robyn and I value our family and friends a lot and we look forward to reading and answering emails so that we can still feel like a part of everyone’s lives ‘back home’. Like a good Canadian boy I also make a point to check out the latest hockey scores each week. We have typically spent Wednesday evenings in a cafe in San Marcos, each taking turns on our own computer, but this past week we ventured over to San Pedro, which has better connection speeds and prices and allows us both to surf at the same time. Although it adds a bit of time and cost to commute across the lake, I think we may make this a tradition.

Every evening that we’re home (Wednesday to Friday inclusive) we are expected to be at our home stays for dinner and breakfast (cena y desayuno) which are both served at seven. Obviously dinner is served en la noches and breakfast is en la manyana. Wednesday evenings, like all evenings, are subdued and we usually find ourselves hanging out in my room for at least an hour before we split up for our dinners. Spending time in the room is a result of a few things: lack of free public places to relax and read/write, frequent rain in the evenings starting daily around four, and my desire to write merging with a reluctance to have my computer out in public. Do not take this as a compliant, though, because, like I said, we already feel at home in this surrogate room.

I think I have given a fair representation of meals here so I will spare a refry of those beans. After dinner I walk across the village (3 minutes door to door) to pick Robyn up from her family. We have been told not to walk around too late into the night and, although I have never felt any concern for our safety, I still wouldn’t want her walking around on her own. I often find myself chuckling under my breath at the concept of a confrontation because of the size disparity between myself and the Guatemalan men : I tower over everyone here who isn’t a foreigner (but I’m not resting on my safety laurels because of it!). We both return to my room again for the rest of the night. We usually read or watch a movie that we saved to the computer. We’re asleep most nights between 9 and 10 so it’s not like we’re throwing parties over here.

Thursday morning, after breakfast, we gather back at base for nine. Every Thursday morning Robyn, Angeli, and I make our way to neighbouring San Juan to help out at Centro du Mayo, which is a drop in program to help people with disabilities, both physical and mental. Run entirely by volunteers (headed by an older Dutch couple), the centre is a place of refuge for people who, until far too recently, were once killed as a means for their families to atone for whatever sin God had cursed them for through their birth. Luckily, places like Centro du Mayo are helping to change the public’s perspective on physical and mental handicaps; unfortunately there are not many centres like this in the area and it is understaffed and underfunded. The centre pulls from three nearby towns and is a welcome place for people of all ages and abilities. We have been told that, if the centre did not exist, most of the attendees would likely it in their homes alone as their parents are forced out to work. Our job, when we arrive, is to take the group, which varies in size from 3 to 10, through a series of arts and crafts that we design and prepare for. I think I have mentioned that Robyn and I are athletes and not artists, and I speak the truth when I say that some of those that we instruct are able to create pieces that are more attractive than those we make, but we both encourage that while laughing at ourselves. As a side note, Robyn will regale, with a strange sense of pride, the D she got in grade 8 art class to anyone who cares to listen.

Now that we have been through the centre three times we have learned the names and faces of the usual suspects and I think they’ve registered ours in return. Domingo is a young man who is quite intelligent and vocal, speaking perfect Spanish, whose physical disabilities limit him to a wheelchair. As he is quite ahead of the rest of the class mentally, he spends the majority of his time on his own accord on a computer that has been ergonomically setup for his use. Israel is a boisterous guy whose mental disability prevents much speech, but his never-ending smile and infectious gigglelaugh do all the communicating he seems to require. Rosalia suffers from cerebral palsy and is severely affected but she still understands what is going on around her and can perform simple tasks with our help. Completing the crafts with her can be challenging, but you can see in her eyes that she’s mentally alert despite what he body is doing, and so she deserves our efforts to help her through any physical hurdle that she may encounter. The list goes on of people, both young and old, who come to the centre for some entertainment, but likely more so for companionship and love. We have also had the chance to get to know some of the other volunteers who fly from around the globe to help out at the centre. These people typically make 2-3 month commitments to help out and, I believe, fund their whole trip on their own accord. Although we only volunteer for 2 hours a week at the centre we have gained an appreciation for the effect we can have if we simply show care and respect to those who deserve it. It is easy to turn a blind eye to those with differing abilities but we have seen that it is also quite easy to embrace them and make a positive impact on both lives in the equation.

We return back to base for noon on Thursday for lunch. Typically this meal is followed by some sort of short presentation by Brooke, our expedition leader, which varies from week to week. We have had videos on first aid, sea turtle conservation, and this is the period in which we watched Earthlings, as I have discussed previously. After the presentation we are free again until our dinner reservations back at our home stays. Robyn and I typically spent the remainder of the sunlight reading at the beach or sipping tea at a cafe. Robyn has chewed through quite a few books already on this trip. I have been reading right along with her but, since arriving in Guatemala, I have been reading Atlas Shrugged, which has understandably slowed my completion rate. I may have a separate post in store for the effects of reading this book within this environment, because it is a compelling masterpiece that espouses some profound ideas (some of which run counter to those proposed within our yoga teachings). Thursday evening melts into night, which ends like every night in San Marcos – quietly, save the barking dogs and buzzing insects.

Friday morning is free time, which Robyn and I take advantage of by requesting our breakfasts either be delayed an hour or cancelled altogether so we can sleep just a bit longer. After waking and feeding ourselves on mangoes, bananas, and coconut bread from the local women who sell fruit (a large mango is $.20CAD) we set off for the second and final bath of the week. Back to the same wooden dock we go. The mornings are easily the clearest and warmest skies so the best time to jump in the lake is 10 or so. After we’re clean again we jump into an internet cafe here in San Marcos where I can post for the week. After this we still have at least an hour before we need to report for lunch so we settle into a peach or mango smoothie at the cafe at the beach and read our books under the cresting sun.

Lunch is at 12, which we make, and then it’s time to round up local kids for some fun and games in the Soul Projects base. We descend into town and try to recruit local kids to join us at the base, where we have more crafts set up but are also able to play other games that are not possible at Centro du Mayo. We have found 7 kids who seem keen to return regularly and we have a chaotic fun time chasing them around the base. The brief 2 hours that we spend with these children, from 1 to 3, remind Robyn why she would never want to be an elementary school teacher. It is a completely different experience than our Thursday morning group, but a lot of fun nonetheless.
The remainder of Friday is again free for our use, but I’m afraid I’d sound like a broken record if I described it again. Suffice to say that the intention of Soul Projects is to slow down and enjoy a life more simplified, and we have embraced this concept. Although our evenings may sound slow and dull we have never felt bored and, with the natural beauty that surrounds us, we often marvel at the wondrous sights and sounds that we have witnessed because we have not been distracted by a full docket of activities.

Friday night blends into Saturday morning, where we rise, share the last breakfast of the week with our host families, and then load up at base in order to drive and hike into forest camp. The build up before arriving at the tree houses make Saturday mornings a bit of a production but once we get there and get ourselves set up we are able to relax and get back into the swing of things in the jungle.