Day 19: Just One of those Days (in a good way)!

Saturday, February 9^h, 2013

I had one of my best days today! Nothing that spectacular happened-- it was just one of those days when every little small thing seemed to go right and added all up together, made for one great day!

I started off my day with a morning run to the next down over, Tzununá.  The road there is a combo of dirt and rocks so you have to watch your steps, which is hard to do because the hilly road runs high and parallel to the lake and affords breath-taking views along the way.  There are also some ridiculously nice houses to gawk at en route.  I had called my “rent-a-dog” service that morning and borrowed Josh’ dog, Lassa for my run.  She’s almost 8 months old and has a beautiful dark, shiny coat.    I was stopped multiple times along the way by people wanting to meet her.

Lassa, the Wilson's dog, my running buddy.

Anyway, it took us only about 15 minutes to reach Tzununá.  I had heard about a waterfall in town so we decided to go check it out.  One of the teachers at my school and her husband own an organic farm in town and we thought we might stop by there too.  But, then we learned that they were heading out of town for the day so we set our sights on the waterfall.  Walking through town, we ran into 2 packs of 4 or 5 angry dogs charging towards sweet Lassa (and me).  Luckily, a few “FUERA” shouts and rock throwing from my behalf scared them away enough for us to pass without a fight. 

Tzununa is basically one giant mountain hill so we climbed up, up and up until we reached the bridge.  We had no idea where we were going except to turn right at the bridge so it was a good sign we at least made it there.  At the bridge, I stopped to take some photos of the views of the lake and also had the pleasure of watching some local women washing clothes in the river.  I wanted to take photos but always feel bad about doing so.  Like I’m some voyer or somehow degrading them by doing so. I don’t know why, but I always feel weird about photos of things like that. (Update: just read about the people being beaten and attacked for taken photos of locals....glad that wasn't me! : )

Washing clothe in the river.

View from Tzununa.

Anyway, at the bridge, I spotted another gringo and asked him if he knew how to get to the waterfall.  It turns out he also knew Colleen and Shad and he offered both Lassa and I some water which we were very grateful for since we hadn’t any with us.  He was an older man from Nebraska who had been living there for 4 years.  I love meeting people and hearing their stories.  Re-energized from the water, we set off for the falls.  Every time I saw another person (which was not often), I’d ask if we were headed the right way to the falls.  Each time, we were sent in a different direction so it was only by pure luck that as we wandered up yet another dirt path, I heard a “HEY!” and looked over to see Colleen and Shad! They hadn’t left town yet and we happened to walk right past their farm! They invited us in to see their house (gorgeous!), drink some more water, and I set up a deal to order goat’s milk from Shad to make my own goat cheese---I’m pretty excited about it!

After a brief visit, we continued up the mountain in search of the waterfall.  Since the footpaths were numerous and hard to navigate, we decided to just follow the river up to ensure not getting lost.  It was a good idea in that sense, but also a good workout climbing rocks!  We almost missed the falls when I nearly turned us around to give up after not reaching it for 20 minutes.  Luckily, we pushed on and it was just around the corner.  It wasn’t the biggest or prettiest falls I had ever seen, but it was still a nice hike and place to rest for a bit.  I was really glad I had Lassa with me as we didn’t see another soul until the top when there was 1 Latvian girl there and on the way down we saw 2 sets of 2 people.  

Falls at Tzununa

Since it was already noon and we were both hot and hungry, I thought we’d take a tuk tuk back to San Marcos.  But, as the universes works, they only appear when you don’t need them and none showed yesterday.  So, we walked back the 45 minutes home and drank some much-needed water.  Turns out, it was lucky we were walking since I met an Indian guy, Raj, on the way back who used to make coconut oil and said he would teach me how to do so and help me get the machinery!  Josh and family had gone to another town to go swimming so I kept Lassa with me for the remainder of the day. We spent the day crocheting, reading, napping, and digging for bones and coconut husks (I’ll let you decide who did what).  Lassa also had a great time playing with Don Lucas’ dogs, Sky and Rufo.  It was nice to have her company and reaffirmed that I definitely want to get a dog here. 

I also got the great news that construction on the house right next to mine was on hold for awhile.  This was great news to me since the workers used my outdoor sink and were constantly in and out of my yard.  I felt like I was living in a fishbowl so I’m looking forward to having a bit more privacy and to getting the fence up around my yard a few other projects completed now that Aniceto will have more time to work on my house.

As the day was ending, I spent a few hours talking myself up for a shower since I was really dirty from the hike, but really not looking forward to a cold battle.  Luck was on my side today and for the first time, the hot water worked…and stayed working throughout my shower!  My house owner, Aniceto, had added an extra few inches of tubing to my sink faucet for me that morning (so I wouldn’t have to reach so far when washing dishes, hurting my back), and it turns out he had also adjusted my shower…thank goodness! I hope it lasts!!!

My lengthened faucet to help my back.

I ended the day with pizza and wine (I splurged and got the bottle, not the box) at Josh and Courtney’s house, along with Mirabai and Althea, their 2 daughters.  Their house and patio are beyond beautiful.  It used to be a yoga retreat center and the grounds are massive and gorgeous.  The pizza was brought in from the next town over in the other direction, San Pablo.  It’s from a Canadian guy who works as a carpenter during the week and only makes the pizzas on Saturdays.  You have to call in the morning to pre-order and then he delivers it via Tuk Tuk to your door----I got his number from Josh so I could order sometime too.  I love how the world works here with all it’s insider information you have to learn from locals.  There’s not phone book or internet search for pizza in town, you just have to ask around and find out from others who know!  We also had fresh greens from their garden and chocolates from our German visitors this week.  It was a great night of food and friends and a fabulous way to spend a Saturday evening! I ended it with a terrible movie, Frozen.  Don’t waster your time; it’s not a great way to spend a Saturday evening!

Their patio....just a tiny piece of it. Huge and beautiful.