We Accidentally Walked 14km

One morning, we decided to get an early start and walk to get some breakfast in San Pablo, just one town past San Marcos, the town closest to us. So we grabbed some coffee and started out on the hike/walk. It was overcast, but not chilly. The walk through San Marcos was uneventful, except for the tuk tuk driver at the far edge of town telling us the walk to San Pablo was "peligroso."

We choose to think of the warning as more of a marketing message designed to get us to pay him to take us to San Pablo, and continued on our own. Just after San Marcos, the road becomes fairly desolate. There are houses from time to time, but they are high above the road or down below near the lake. We did enjoy seeing some of the rock formations on the hillside to our right, one of the few visually beautiful aspects of the hike.

The road into San Pablo may not have been dangerous, but it sure was intense. The steepness was ridiculous, quite a workout for both of us. As we entered town, we noticed a couple things. One, almost every house had a pet cow tied up in their yard - haven't seen that anywhere else around the lake. Two, we definitely didn't feel very comfortable here. People seemed less friendly and open, and unless we missed it as we walked through the town, there were no restaurants. Our desayuno would have to wait. The highlight of the town was walking past a field where the local school band was practicing with their instructor. They were pretty good, but I didn't really feel comfortable pulling my phone out to get video, you'll have to take my word for it.

So our plan was to walk down to the San Pablo dock and catch a boat to a nearby town where we might find some breakfast. Unfortunately, as we came down the impossibly steep road on the other side of town, we realized we were on our way to San Juan, not the boat dock. Unwilling to climb that hill again (that's how bad it was,) we choose to keep walking on the flat road in front of us.

We walked past a pretty cool soccer field that I thought I got a photo of but can't find now. It was obviously a regional field as there was seating for a couple hundred folks. A group of young men were just beginning to gather to practice.

Soon after the field, we saw a bicyclist in the distance and as he came closer, he slowed to a stop and took off his helmet - it was our neighbor Eric from Vistas de Pasaj-Cap who had invited us to tea just the day before. He confirmed for us that the road was safe as it was not "Robber/Sunday" and gave us a recommendation for a restaurant in San Juan, which at this point was only a kilometer away.

We saw the low-lying farms and houses on the outskirts of town first. The rising lake has been devastating for many people in the area and San Juan looks like it was hit harder than most because it sits lower and closer to the lake.

As we approached the town proper, we saw the signs and the officer posted at the entrance to town - pretty typical for the area. Not sure when someone would be turned away, but perhaps they have a list of the unwanted or something. Fortunately, Ken and I were allowed into the city.

The first thing we noticed about San Juan la Laguna was the cleanliness. The streets were clean, they were free from litter, there were even tiled sidewalks and built in bus benches and planters. It all came together with a very tidy overall appearance. 

We had quite the adventure in San Juan. We went in search of the restaurant Eric recommended, Los Artseanos, and it is an unfortunate name in San Juan because just about every store/restaurant/hotel has some version of that name - good times. We stopped at a gas station and the attendant there told us to go past the main square and we should see it. We wandered that area a bit (keeping in mind we had just walked about 10k) and then asked another person. This person got a confused look on his face, similar to the gas station attendant, but then he looked as if he remembered something and said, yes, it was very close, on this same street in fact and we just needed to keep going.

After following that street to the end and walking all the way back again up the hill to ensure we hadn't missed something, we stopped and asked a third gentleman about the restaurant. After the first initial look of confusion, "Oh yes, you are very close it is just down the street." 

"Este calle?"

"Si, si"

Great, except, we were on a different street from the last and pretty far from the main square. Then it hit us. Just like our travels in Costa Rica, the folks here want to be helpful. They don't want to tell you they don't know or can't help, so instead they will politely make something up.

We chuckled about the realization as we decided to pick up and walk on to the next town, San Pedro, where we knew we could find a restaurant.What's another 3k? The photo below depicts San Juan from the road to San Pedro, yes, another uphill climb.

When we finally got to our favorite place in San pedro, D'Noz, we were starving. We ordered appetizers and a meal for each of us. I don't think food ever tasted so good as 2 p.m. in the afternoon after a 14k walk without breakfast. I threw in a mojito for good measure.

As Ken went up to pay the check, a young Mayan girl approached with a basket of nuts to sell us. This happens quite often at restaurants. Sometimes a young girl, sometimes an older woman or man. It's tough. I told her I was sorry but I didn't want the nuts, and she nodded and slowly placed her basket on the table and touched her back and shoulders as if to soothe them. She sat down at our table and I noticed the amount of food left on our plates. I offered her some french fries and her eyes lit up. I pushed the plate over to her and she gave a sideways glance to the waiter, then dug in.

When Ken came back, I asked him to sit at the table with us for a while until she was finished. I got the impression she would be chased off when we left. She was so happy to get the food, it broke my heart.

On the boat back to Pasaj-Cap, we started talking with an American woman who taught Spanish at a community college in Washington state. Emily was looking for places to bring her students for a class trip abroad next summer. I was impressed she was travelling alone to do this research and despite my exhaustion, I perked up at the opportunity to help her out. While we had only been on the lake a couple weeks, I knew how hard it could be to get around and offered to show her around our place and neighboring San Marcos. 

Emily was grateful for the help and toured Pasaj-Cap with me, met Pierre, and then I walked her to San Marcos to check out the possibilities there. After touring a local place called the Dragon, we were walking  near the town soccer field and saw women playing a short-sided game - how exciting! We went over and watched a few minutes.

The most impressive part- it was a mixed group of women, ex pats and Mayan playing together, and it was really cool. As we were walking off the field, I wished the keeper good luck, and she asked if I wanted to jump into the game. Boy, did I, but I had promised Emily I would get her to the dock to get back to her hostel room in San Pedro. The woman then told me that they played every Monday at 4 p.m. and I was welcome to join them - woo hoo! 

After briefly checking out another couple places, Emily and I were walking down one of the narrow paths when we heard a gang of wild dogs stampeding towards us. Now, to put this in perspective, the paths are about 3-4 feet wide with the walls of establishments on either side. It was kinda serious. We both looked at each other and then pushed ourselves up against the nearest wall, making ourselves as small as possible. 

The pack of dogs ran past at speeds I've never seen, and gratefully we were both still standing. After the excitement, we headed over to Tul Y Sol to grab a drink before the next boat.

It was relatively sunny and a much better day for patio dining than the evening Ken and I were there. The photos below are views from the patio.

After I saw Emily off to her boat, I grabbed a tuk-tuk back to Pasaj-Cap and met up with our neighbor Kathy to enjoy some 12 year old rum mixed with our fruit from the market in Pana. Great way to finish a very full, wonderful day.