Around and Around: Aaculaax and San Marcos de Atitlan

OK, OK, it's been awhile and I have more photos and stories than I know what to do with...

After spending three days in San Marcos with little Internet and phone connections...and going through a trying, but rewarding transition of relaxing, de-stressing, and beginning to feel OK about being with myself, I am in San Pedro with full intentions of going back to San Marcos, but not for the gringo-weird-hippie-mystic vibe, but for the green, untouched smells. The kind locals. The clean lake. It is as close as I've gotten to camping, and I loved it...I even made peace with the mosquito that kept buzzing in my ear last night...it is, after all, the rainy season!

So, the artistic high and gorgeousness in structure was no doubt my stay at Aaculaax. Although all the paths in San Marcos where narrow and surrounded by plants and trees, the path entering Aaculaax was curvier, clear of mud, and full of blossoming flowers.

From afar the building, which snakes into a hillside, has hidden treasures for the eyes around every corner.

The cheery reception area greeted me with bright colors, a library full of books to borrow in multiple languages, and cleanliness like I have never seen before. But this is just the beginning.

Now, the room itself was not spectacular, but what is spectacular is that on the website the least expensive room in $50. This one was small and simple with a white, feather duvet, a comfy bed and enough shelves for any sort of organizing I wanted to do (it used to be a bar for the kitchen). I got it for $12 for the night. It was the most peaceful night I have had in ages.

It is hard to have you stand in my shoes, but the simplicity of the room allowed the vibrancy of the stained glass to be highlighted.

But the bathroom was a real treat for me...

I have a photo of each wall...notice the goddess Maya woman with voluptuous breasts holding up the stone sink, the mirror dangling above surrounded with yellow and blues, the opposite window to the left full of blues, the stone work snaking from the wall to the ground and all with a clear roof. The light was delightful with the colors!

The terrace restaurant was perfect for reading, homework, sitting and staring, writing, or finally finishing the Water issue of National Geographic. Somehow it seemed fitting to add it to their pile of magazines. Later that eve the guy that works nights was reading it because he is trying to learn English and he loved looking at the photos. He took it home with him...perfect! Thank you Dave!

Details!

And when night fell, the richness dove deeper.

Beyond the main building, a path snakes around the back filled with artistic treats, winding up the side of the mountain with stone stairs to the ultimate rooms...the large, expensive rooms with private baths and vistas of the lake and Volcan San Pedro.