Saturday

Saturday was my first full day off. Since Sasha and I have school four hours a day (I know, poor us) our activities are a bit limited. On Saturday, we decided to borrow a boat and take it out on Lake Petên Itza for the afternoon. The locals were all convinced that the gringo girls were loco, but we were not deterred. We loaded up on snacks and water and went hunting for a boat. Thanks to our friend Selvin, we found the perfect ¨launchita.¨


We rowed on the lake for about forty-five minutes until we reached a small island on the center. Once there, we parked our boat in the reeds, layed out, studied, and sugared it up. A local, who was fishing nearby, decided to come over to see what in the hell we were doing. He spoke to us too fast in Spanish, and I think between the two of us, we caught about half of what he was saying. Before leaving, he kindly posed for a picture with me, insisting that I hold one of his catches of the day. He told me that it was dead, but it most certainly was moving in my hands...eww.


We rowed around the island to another island in the lake, where we were told there was a musuem with Mayan artifacts. The musuem was only a small room, but the director of took us on a tour, explaining the artifacts to us (in Spanish), demonstrating what some of them were used for (fortunately, not the arrowheads), and allowing us to touch and hold several of the artifacts. It was amazing! According to the sign in book, we were the first visitors in several days. With so many ruins nearby, I think the musuem must often be overlooked.



On the way back we stopped in the middle of the lake and went for a swim. The water was so clear, we could see the sand at the bottom. We attempted to pull the boat back to San Andres, but didn¨t make it very far.

The return trip was a bit more difficult than the way out. After the sun started to set, the current became stronger and we had a difficult time getting back to shore. As we got closer, we noticed a small crowd gathering around watching us struggle. San Andres has few gringos (four to be exact), and we must have been quite the sight.

We were exhausted when climbed back onto shore. Although Sasha was up for dancing, all I could think about was sleep.

It was an amazing day.