Dear Marley the Tattoo Artist,

You came in at just the right time. If I am being honest, I think Kailynn and I were becoming a bit bored of just talking to each other, so when you and your friend waltzed into the bar, we couldn’t have been more excited about the possibility of conversing with someone else.  You had a big smile on your face and the cutest dog by your side, so to me, there was no question, we were going to be friends.

After talking with you for just a little bit, you asked if we would like to hang out for the day so you could show us some of the local places. Since Kailynn and I were going to be staying in town for three weeks while taking Spanish lessons, we readily agreed.

The first stop was your tattoo and piercing shop, which was adorned with all things Bob Marley. The minute you opened up your shop, people started to come in and buy earrings and other paraphernalia. While we were waiting for one of your customers to come in to get a piercing, we sat on your big comfy couch and listened to your story.

You had lived in the United States for a while and enjoyed it, but while there, you had also become quite accustomed to hearing constant racist remarks at work or by your friends’ parents. Some of the stories you told us were absolutely terrible, but what was so amazing was that you dealt with this racism through humor. Every story you told us had us laughing hysterically. Through your stories it was obvious that you didn’t let the ignorance of others bring you down.                            

Unfortunately while in the United States, ignorance got the best of you too, my friend, and you ended up in prison for four years; however, it was while you were there that you were able to master your skill of tattooing. You even showed us your first ink needle which you made from a phone charger and a small piece of a Walkman player. I have never seen anything like it and it was absolutely incredible. I might have to make one myself…

After seeing your shop and your house, the next stop was the secret local hangout spot to swim. It was absolutely beautiful and it is probably one of my favorite places to go now. While we just sat on the rocks, we could take in the entire view of the lake and the volcanos around it. Sadly it began to rain so we had to end our Sunday Funday a bit early, but Marley, I am sure we will hang out again, as we had such a great time with you.

I just want to say thank you for being so welcoming and sharing some local secrets with us. You, like many other locals in this town, continue to confirm how friendly and hospitable the people of Guatemala are. Instead of holding any resentment or anger towards us or anyone else from the United States because of how you were wrongfully treated there, you welcomed us into your country, your town, and your house without a second thought.

Inspired por you,

Kristen

Dear Alberto the Hiker,

Although we didn’t speak too much to each other, as my Spanish skills are still comparable to my singing abilities (a.k.a- almost non-existent), you made such a huge impact not only on me, but on our entire hiking group, as we might not be alive today without you. Okay so maybe that is a bit of an overstatement, but really… With your resilient nature, we were able to make our trek up the tallest volcano in Central America, Tajumulco.

I don’t know how you do it day in and day out, but my friend, you must have legs of steel and a back of titanium. Are you superman by chance? While the rest of us were gasping for air and tripping over our own feet, you were the one carrying all of our camping supplies. You said it was about 75 kilos, but it must have weighed much more than that, considering it took two grown men to just put your backpack on top of the chicken bus.

I know hiking through Guatemala’s vast wilderness every day is your job and I’m guessing it must get easier as time goes on (or I can only hope that’s the case for you), but I also think that there are very few people out there like you who can endure what you do every single day with no complaints.

Not only is this hike quite a physical one, but it also is such a mental game. Through the beads of sweat which froze on top of our foreheads to the hail storm we got caught in during the middle of the afternoon, you just took it as it came with the most positive of attitudes and the most generous of actions. While I was being quite pathetic (yep, that is me sleeping on rocks...), you boiled hot water for us, cooked a delicious spaghetti dinner, and even created a mote around our tent so that when the rain continued throughout the night, it wouldn’t go under our tent and get our camping gear wet.

At four in the morning you were the one who had to be the dreaded alarm clock for the rest of us and push us to make it to the top of the mountain to see the sunrise. It was quite a memorable sight, but to have the motivation to do this hike with a bunch of strangers under the most extreme weather circumstances every other day is beyond me.

Your display of complete selflessness throughout the entire hike along with your motivating guidance, is something which I can only strive to achieve one day. Not to mention those legs of steel…

Inspired por you,

Kristen

Dear Hanna Lucia the Musician,

Your music touches many; however, what is most touching is your story. It is like a song that will never be forgotten and has a trembling, sweet melody. I think the only way to do your story justice is to share it, as you have done for so many others.

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, your mother came from Guatemala and your father was from the States. At the young age of eight, your parents divorced and your mother went back to Guatemala and you stayed with your dad, who quickly remarried.

At age 11, you were hospitalized for two weeks and given the diagnosis that you were a hermaphrodite. You were terrified and bewildered, as you had grown up a girl, but now you were developing more masculine features such as facial hair. With no mother to comfort you, suicide was never far from your mind. Fortunately, you were unsuccessful in these attempts.

While you were still trying to come to terms with your changing body, your dad sadly died and at eighteen you were kicked out of your house and given just enough money to make it to Guatemala so you could find your mother. When you finally got to Guatemala, you found out that your mother had also died, and with just the clothes on your back and the little money you had left, you began to play your guitar on the streets.

For the past 20 years, you have been on and off the streets making music and touching other people with your story. Besides the clothes you have been given from travelers that you have met along the way and your precious guitar, you only keep with you a book of simple notes from people you have met and who have been blessed by you. It is through these notes and your music that you say you are able to stay positive and continue to keep living.

Hanna Lucia, your story is one of pure determination and strength. Being a woman myself, I can’t even imagine experiencing what you have gone through. You are so positive and an encouragement to more people than I think you will ever be able to imagine. Thank you for opening your heart to me and showing me how much I have to appreciate in my own life. I think I can only leave you with the advice you left with me. “If you change your thinking, you can change your life.”

Inspired por you,

Kristen

Dear Harry and Charlie the English Lads,

Oh wow, there is so much I could say about you two considering we spent quite a lot of time together. Let’s be honest, you probably know way more about us than you actually want to…

Anyways, with that being said, we met both of you while kayaking on the beautiful Lake Atitlan. You guys were playing Frisbee in your kayaks and asked if we would like to join. With no specific plans ahead of us, we paddled on over and thus began our adventure through out Lake Atitlan for the next week or so.

There was never really a dull moment with the two of you--from being our first interviewees for our documentary to being our translators and bus buddies (and when I say bus buddies, I really mean bus cushions, considering we practically sat on top of each other on our Chicken Bus adventures).

You both were quite a lot of fun to hang out with and you reminded us of our two cousins back in the States. Who knows… maybe you are their dopplegangers, or they are yours? Regardless, you two became our travel family through your crazy antics and brutal honesty. We could make fun of each other (which happened quite a lot- see facebook message for evidence…). We could call each other out on our crap (both literally and figuratively) and we could just sit in silence comfortably (even though we know that didn’t happen very often).

You also really encouraged us to work on our documentary. Thank you so much for your participation and support. Also, thank you for finding us a sweet crib in Xela (a pizzaria...our dream home) and giving us advice for the rest of our trip.

Charlie, we will always remember you considering we have more pictures of you than all of us combined... this may be creepy, but you were destined to be in front of the camera my friend!

And Harry, what would we do without your Spanish skills? We probably would of ridden a Chicken Bus all the way to El Salvador... next time.

I am sure we will meet again, but for now, I will say adios amigos!

Inspired por you,

Kristen, Kelli, and Kailynn

P.S.- Your air biscuits are manky.

Dear Jam the Hippie,

I knew I wanted to talk to you the moment I saw you sitting at the bar. Not for the reasons most guys and gals want to talk when at a bar late at night, but rather, you had this peaceful presence about you. We made eye contact and both gave each other a passing smile right away, but it wasn’t until the end of the night that we actually started chatting and I am glad we did.

You had long dreadlocks held back by a purple bandana and your beard, which was braided, had green and blue beads strung throughout it. You wore a purple and blue lined shirt that hung around your thin body like a decorated draped sheet and your pants were of the same material, loosely hanging, to the point where it looked as if you might be were wearing a skirt. I am not sure if you were wearing shoes or not, as the bar was quite dark, but I would assume not, since in this town not many people do. Your eyes, which were as clear as the lake that I had been swimming in that morning, scanned the people around the bar, as you quietly sipped your drink.

As the night passed on, I finally came up to you and we introduced ourselves. You were originally from Canada and had traveled down here seven years ago. Although many people come to visit San Pedro and get “stuck” for a few months, it seemed as if you had no desire to ever leave. You did some online freelance work on the side to have enough for the necessities, but besides that, you were just enjoying your time here and fully embracing who you were without a second thought, even though you said that your family back home thought of you as a bit crazy.

I asked you how you were able to just pick up and leave everything else behind and be so confident in what you were doing, disregarding what society deemed as normal. With a voice that sounded as if you were putting a baby to bed, you spoke about the love of oneself and explained that “you must get rid of one’s ego in order to really be at peace within.” I asked how you were able to do so, as the concept was one I had heard of before, but never had been able to put into action. Your answer said it all. “You must take some LSD. But it must be a very large dose, so that you are able to go over the edge and defeat your ego. With just a small dose of LSD, your ego will win and you will not be able to fight back. DMT works too.” 

No response was needed as I just stood there with a smile. By that point, Kelli had heard it all and told Kailynn and I it was time to leave.  Although I am not sure I will take your advice on LSD my friend, I do have to say thank you for inspiring me to embrace exactly who I am, as you so easily do yourself. You do such an incredible job being you and because of that people just gravitate towards you.

Inspired por you,

Kristen

Dear Carlos the Businessman,

First of all, let me just say mucho gracias for finding us a bit lost on the streets of Antigua and taking the time to literally stop in your path and ask us if we needed help. I don’t know if you just telepathically knew we were looking for your hostel (Posada de San Carlos) but the thing is, if this were the case, it wouldn't surprise me at all. You have this incredible talent of finding someone that needs help or something that needs attention to fixing and literally the next minute you are there, working on it until it is okay again.

The minute that the terrace got a bit too sunny, you were putting up the umbrellas and the minute it got a bit too dark in the garden, you were lighting the candles. I have never seen anyone so fast on their feet with making sure everyone felt at peace and comfortable in a place which was not their own.

The very first evening, while we were sitting on the terrace probably in a bit of a trance and feeling a bit overwhelmed from the obvious lack of Spanish we knew, you walked right up and sat down next to us with a beer in your hand.

With no hesitation at all, you introduced yourself and proceeded to tell us all about your elaborate plan for the hostel and what exactly that would entail. You even gave us the tour of the terrace, explaining with great animation what your dreams were for the “next phase,” which included a few more bedrooms, a bar, and a hot tub to boot. I am not sure if you do that with all your guest or not, but the thing is, by sharing a bit of yourself, you made us feel so at home and we felt as if we were getting a bit of the “inside info.”

From that point forward, if we needed anything whether it was directions about how to get somewhere, who to take Spanish lessons from, or what to do in the city, you were our man and you never disappointed. You introduced us to your two friends, who became our body guards when we went out at night. You hooked us up with a sweet Spanish teacher, who was so patient with us, even with our lack of sleep, which led to our most graceful state of delusional laughter. More importantly, you shared with us what to do in your city of Antigua.

Carlos, you are a man of many coats, and you wear them all very well. You not only inspire hard work ethic, but you also inspire hospitality. The way in which you have such excitement and liveliness when telling stories makes everyone feel at ease. Thank you again for all you did for us. You will always be our first friend in Guatemala J

Inspired por you,

Kristen