As I was talking with one of our neighbors Kathy, she mentioned that she would have liked to take a hike down the road behind us towards the neighboring town of Santa Cruz, but that the owner Pierre had mentioned that she ought to bring a big stick for the wild dogs so she decided against it.
I offered for Ken and I to go along with her, and that perhaps the three of us would be a little more intimidating to the dogs. We started out on the dirt road behind us on Sunday a little before noon and before long came upon a neighboring property. The owner there, Eric, came out to chat with us and brought his dogs. He warned us that Sunday was a dangerous day to walk the roads around the lake because there are no workers in the fields to keep an eye on you. In fact, he said they joke that Sunday is "Robber Day." Not to worry though, there was a fantastic hotel/bar about an hour and a half away and the road was safe to that point.
As we continued our journey (a little less confident perhaps), we noticed that Eric's German Shepard puppy was walking along with us.
The road soon became much easier, the dirt turned to smooth cement pavers - typical of the area's roads. We were rounding the hillside before Tzuzuna (pronounced Zuzuna) and got an amazing view of the lake to our right. We also saw that pack of dogs everyone was talking about. Not to worry, our borrowed puppy was on it, running ahead to chase them away. She was thorough, not resting until there was not another dog in sight. Then she came back to us and grabbed my hand gently with her mouth as if to say, "it's okay now."
One of our goals of the hike was to see some of the area wildlife, and I guess the dogs can be counted in that category. We continued on and were lucky to see a few more species - a pig who had wondered onto the local soccer field, a rooster taking a walk around town, and a really cool beetle.
At this point, a Mayan woman came up and told us that her employer Eric was looking for his dog and she was there to bring it back. We spent the next 15-20 minutes trying to coax the dog into obeying the woman and leaving us. It was pretty funny and the local kids stopped the soccer game to watch us four adults trying to convince the puppy, who we learned was named Bolu, do what we wanted.
Once Bola was safely on her way, we continued past Tzuzuna toward the restaurant and came upon a river where the local Mayan women were washing clothing.
We were also taken in by several of the local properties and their range of construction methods - from the stone and bamboo wall and road to the most basic steps carved out of the mud and rock.
While we no longer had an expansive view of the lake, the foliage in the area more than made up for it. The dramatic hillside to our left with the deep green of a tropical rain forest and the beautiful groves to our right on the gentle slope leading down to the right.
The steep road definitely gave us some challenges as we traveled beyond Tzuzuna. While we were all in decent shape, climbing up the roads reminded us that we were 5k above sea level, about the same as Denver. Now I understand that whole high altitude advantage thing!
A good thing about climbing steep hills, it usually results in a great view.
One thing that has astounded us the entire trip and has been difficult to photograph are the number of farms that are practically vertical. I still wasn't able to get that across with the photo below, but basically, anyone working that field of corn would have big problems if they lost their balance - a straight tumble down the hillside.
Finally, we arrived at our destination, Lamos de Tzuzna, and I have to say it was worth it. Quite honestly, the widest view of the lake I can imagine. Even my panoramic setting on my camera couldn't get it all. :) If you look closely at the photo below, you can see Ken and Kathy sitting at our table.
We enjoyed a couple margaritas while we waiting for our meals. Generally, you can count on the waiting time for meals being about twice what it is in the US, but I really don't mind. In fact, I heard a story that someone was waiting at a restaurant and asked the server what was taking so long. The waitress responded that the cook had left to go shopping for the ingredients for their meal.
When our food arrived, it was all pretty wonderful. I got the Nicoise Salad, Ken got the steak and fries, and Kathy got the Caprese Salad. As we enjoyed our food, we watched the weather start to change around the lake, as it typically does in the early afternoon. In the distance, the clouds rolled in over the mountain almost like a wave.
On the way home, we saw Eric washing his car and he invited us in for tea - can't remember the last time that happened to me in Sacramento - oh, that would be never. ;-) Here's a look at his place:
A lot more traditional in style than where we are staying, but beautiful all the same. He also has two cabins on his property if you're interested - Vistas de Pasaj-Cap. He is french and very charming company, and lives there with his Guatemalan wife and their two children (2nd and 6th grade?) They take a boat ever morning to a neighboring town for school - what an interesting way to grow up!
By the way, the tea was amazing. He walked out to his garden, snipped some lemon grass, and used the fresh clippings for our tea, lovely end to the hike.
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