Merry Christmas in San Pedro

I arrived in San Pedro on Christmas afternoon, having decided that as lovely as Santa Cruz was, I just wasn´t up for a communal North American Christmas dinner that, of course, I couldn´t really eat.  (Gluten-free down here is EASY if I eat traditional Guatemalan food.  Where the Gringos converge for their usual fare, generally, I´m screwed.)

I was a little nervous about coming to San Pedro as I have heard such mixed reviews about it.  My dear friend Elinor told me how wonderful it was, and connected me with her friend Daniel, owner of the local pool.  On the other hand, most of the travelers I ran into said it was a big drug and party town, and that I wouldn´t get 10 feet without being offered every nature of mind-altering substance . . .and that the town itself was (to paraphrase) icky and uninspiring. 

On the launcha over, I reconnected with some of the friends I´d made on my eventful bus ride to the lake, and we chatted all the way over.  We wandered together in search of a hotel, before they abandoned the search in favour of a hike up the volcano.  I figured I was unlikely to see them again.  I ended up at what turns out to be the loveliest hotel in town:  Sak´Cari.   At 100Q a night, it´s considered Muy Caro - too expensive.  At a conversion of $13 a night, I decided to indulge for a few days. 

My room was a lovely single with a double bed, HOT water with fabulous pressure (a rarity here) and just outside the back gardens.  The birds nested in the tree outside my room have the most amazing calls, and the colours are spectacular.  There is free agua pura and I´m all set.  Once I settled into my room ,I donned by bathing suit and headed for the pool.  I´m excited at the prospect of a swim.  The weather has been really hot during the day, and chilly at night . . . but with the bloom on the lake, it´s not really safe to swim, at least that´s the perspective I´m going with.  That point is of great debate - some say it is, some say it isn´t . . . I put a foot in while in Santa Cruz, and psychosomatic or not, that foot was ITCHY for the next hour.  I think I´ll pass on the full-body experience.

So, off to La Piscina I went.  What a fabulous place.  The pool itself is not large, but the water is clean and inviting.  The bar has good music playing and the people are fun.  Daniel made me feel very welcome and before long I made friends at the bar.  I can see why this has become a regular hang-out/hub for many of the longer term gringos and for short term travelers alike.  Daniel is a modern-day, bar-tending Bodhisatva and makes sure a good time is had by all.  In my case, he made my Christmas day. 

After the sun went down and the pool closed, we went out for dinner at a local place, Ventana Blue, which has officially become my favourite restaurant in San Pedro.  The food was SOOO good!!  It wasn´t a terribly late evening . . . I was in bed by about 10 for much needed rest, but it was a GOOD Christmas. 

PS: Did I mention how much Guatemalans LOVE fireworks and other VERY noisy firecracker type things????

PPS: So far no drug offers or untoward anythings.  Folks have been friendly, and while partying appears to be easily available . . .things seem pretty chill.  Glad I didn´t let other folks bad press dissuade me from coming.