San Marcos

San Marcos is the small lakeside town closest to where we are currently living.  This is the view of the dock as you reach it by boat.  It looks a lot different than it did the last time we were here, since the lake has risen quite a bit over the last few years.  Many houses and buildings are now underwater, the shoreline is basically gone, and the trees are even on their way out.

The last time we were here, this guesthouse did not have lakefront property.

One day when I was taking the boat from San Pedro to San Marcos, I overheard a tourist say this:  ”It’s so funny how stupid foreigners are.  They think ‘oh, I think I’ll build my house right in the lake!’  How dumb!”  If he hadn’t gotten off the boat I would have smacked him for being the stupid foreigner.  Obviously these people did not build their houses in the lake, they were flooded.  Some people are idiots.

Once you get into town, there are two main thoroughfares.  There are no cars or motor bikes in San Marcos, because there aren’t really streets.  They are more like paths, which fit about two people wide.  Below on the left is one of the main streets, and on the right is one of the smaller side streets.

The closest thing to a San Marcos version of a street sign…

There are so many places here to learn reiki, massage, and other holistic things that I’ve lost count.  For a town of 2200, its a lot.If you peek out from one of the side streets, you are rewarded with a view of the lake.This is kind of the center of town, where there are a few people selling produce, clothes, artwork, and other random things.  Its where you buy handmade or home grown stuff, and where the farmer that we buy our produce from sets up.  Up the hill from the town there is a road where cars can drive, and a few stores where we buy groceries. The stores are small (think half the size of a gas station convenience store) but packed with stuff.  You really have to look at every inch of every shelf if you are trying to find something.  

Another side street…Las Piramides is a well known meditation retreat here in San Marcos.  It’s very popular with the backpacking crowd, and they have lodging on site where you can stay to do a week or month long course.  We stayed here for a few nights in 2009, but I didn’t care for the vibe.  Most of the people are in their early 20s and this is the first exposure they’ve had to anything New Age-ey, so they are a little tough to be around.  A common attitude is what I call “Hippier-than-thou,” which is how I feel some of them act: because they are staying in a pyramid for a month they are more enlightened and wiser than anyone else.  I tend to disagree, and for the most part I tend to ignore them. The garden at Las Piramides is nice to sit in, though.  I think you are supposed to sit inside the pyramids, but I like to sit among the flowers.You can take the boat from San Marcos to Pasajcap, but I usually prefer the walk.  It’s about 15-20 minutes on a dirt road, mostly uphill.  The view along the way is spectacular.