Magical Mayan Experience

This story begins on the shores of Lake Atitlan,Guatemala Here is where I had one of the most profound cultural experiences of my life.
One of the first times I spoke with Santos he told me that in 14 years of being the guardian, most whites would treat hīm līke he was invisible. Saying hello was about all the interaction he had. I was the first white to even offer him a cup of coffee. I could not believe it. I do now.
At first communication was rough. With my broken Spanish and Santos patience we managed. As my vocabulary built up, so did our friendship. Soon Santos was bringing me hot fresh tortillas made by his wife that morning. The corn had been ground that same morning as well!
At some point I asked Santos how much money he made being the guardian. Now keep in mind that Santos has planted every flower, tree and bush on this fabulous 2 acres. He made every stone walkway and terrace. Works 8-10 hours a day. It has taken 14 years to get to this point. I knew that he made little, but $250usd a month is really low. Other guardians make up to $500 a month for places not nearly as beautiful. ()
I'm only the renter so all I could do was give him a hefty tip.
Now $100 really isn't that much. Even for me with my small military pension. What that extra $100 a month does for Santos's family has changed their lives. Santos is now taking english classes. They can afford the buy a few chickens, ones that are laying eggs. They are even saving up for their first refrigerator.
Their family has changed my life as well. It's hard to know where to begin.
Ill begin when Santos and I took the boat launch into Panajachel to pick up tẃo German Shepherd\Akita puppies. Now where I live there no roads , its boat only.

I really only wanted one puppy but this brother and sister pair was just too much to pass up on.

Santos and the puppies formed a bond on the boat that lasts to this day. They adore him.
Soon after bringing the puppies home, Santos's girls fell in love with them.

Ôf course the girls showed up with their dad to visit the pups. I don't even remember how long it was before the girl puppy, Electra, went home with them for the first time. Around 2 months. That would make her about 4 months old.
Ĥow that came about is quite interesting. The girls are at my house one day and the youngest girl Carmen, comes up, holds my hand and asks if they could bring a puppy home. She asks me in the Mayan language Kaqchickel. Carmen is only 5 and hasn't learned spanish yet. So Myra, her 9 year old sister steps in to translate from Kaqchickel to spanish for me. Wow! How could I say no?
Electra was way bigger at the time than my boy Hendrix, so I felt fine with the idea of letting her go. Little did I know, Santos's wife Sasilia would fall in love with her.

This is the first time that the family had anything more than a third world street dog. I suspect it would be true for most all of the local natives. The first night at their house, Electra scratched at the door to go out. When Sasilia opened the door Electra ran down the street to poop in a open field. I think that's what did it. They never had a dog that didn't poop in the street. If you ever been to a place where dogs run wild on the streets and the locals simi adapt them, you know what the streets look like.
I had been here in Guatemala for 4 months at this point so it was time for mē to return to California. I'm gone a month. Of course Santos's family took great care of of both Electra and Hendrix. The pups spent time at both houses.

They grew like crazy while I was gone.

Stay tuned for my next post.
Coming up soon on the Magical Mayan Experience:
A visit to a traditional Mayan sauna