Meet me in Sacapulas

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="View to the northwest of Robertos house"][/caption]

Saturday meant it was time to hit the road again. This time to visit the family of Roberto, Mike's supervisor and all-around great guy. Around 11:00, Mike and I hopped a microbus to his town of Sacapulas about and hour over some of the most twisty, speedbump-laden road I've yet to travel on. During the drive I became positively ill.

Upon arriving, after I give a couple of heaves toward the sidewalk, we walked to central park where we met a welcoming committee of Roberto and three of his three children, Sherly, Diego, and Julian. After a short stroll we were at Roberto's charming three-story house set in a little courtyard on the side of a hill.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="375" caption="Roberto with his children"][/caption]

We sat a while and chatted with him and his dad while the little one scurried about and generally made merry. His daughter Shelly proclaimed that he had seen Mike before in a movie. When we asked which, she replied "El Rey de los Anillos" (The Lord of the Rings).

After our descansa, we were treated to a rather lavish lunch of chicken, rice and diced vegetables in cream. Next we retired to Roberto's father's room where we got to see some precious family heirlooms, some of them ancient. They told us about a festival in the first week of August where the people of Sacapulas gather in homes and dance traditional dances. I told them if I can handle the microbus ride I could come and partake.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="375" caption="Roberto's father with staff"][/caption]

Before leaving we took one last stop at a hot springs on the riverbank where people come to bathe. Compared to the relative conservatism I've encountered so far, it was refreshing to see that people aren't uptight when it came to bathing. Roberto explained that it was generally more accepted that the men came to bathe in the mornings and evenings leaving to women during the daytime, it's not unheard of for men to come during the day as well. I must admit, after three weeks of lukewarm showers I was tempted to strip down and take a warm bath.