Lake Atitlan Archives

April 13, 2015January 20, 2019

Pain in the Rache: How to Make a Homemade All Natural Tiger Balm

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How to Make an All Natural Tiger Balm

Rache was feeling some serious pain in her neck this weekend and I wanted to make her a soothing natural Tiger Balm. Could be because my brother Karl is here. No! Big love goes out to little brother for being here in Lake Atitlan for the next couple of weeks, we’re gonna have a blast!

Rache could barely move because of her neck. Iza wants to be carried around by Mama 24/7 but Mama is pregnant and tired. And Iza weighs about 40 pounds. She needs good medicine!

Yesterday I decided to make Rache a massage ointment to hopefully curb some of that pain. Since we don’t have any Tiger Balm, and I am always looking for a DIY project, I made an all natural Tiger Balm like an icy/hot ointment from things we have in the pantry. What’s in it?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1547990405833{padding-right: 30px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”7176″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”https://amzn.to/2T2y12V”][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

Coconut Oil (1T)

Works great as a base and the stuff is magic anyway.

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Ginger Oil (1/4-1/2T)

Ginger is supposedly good for inflammation.
Smells good mixed with the other stuff.

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Aloe Vera (1/4T)

Not sure if this was necessary, but aloe vera adds a cooling effect so I thought I would add a little. Leave it out for a more balmy consistency.

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Cayenne Pepper (1/4T)

The heat! Added less than 1/4 teaspoon and that brought enough heat. Go slow with the cayenne and add more as desired.

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Peppermint Oil (20-30 Drops)

Usually, we use this for digestion by adding 20-30 drops to a glass of water. But here the peppermint is used for the icy cooling effect and it works great. If we had eucalyptus I would have used that. Camphor would be even better.

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Calming Tonic –
Lavender, Catnip, Chamomile (20-Drops)

This is a locally prepared mix of soothing herbs valerian, chamomile, verlain, and catnip and is normally taken orally. But it’s mild so I thought it couldn’t hurt. I’m sure you have a similar blend at your local health food store. Support your local herbalists!

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And Mix it Together

Mix everything together and apply the all natural Tiger Balm (you can also buy a similar version with Tea Tree Oil ready to go here) to the sore areas a little at a time, slowly massaging deep into the skin and muscles. Smells good, feels good, and gives that relieving icy/cool sensation we all love.

After all that work, I needed a little medicine myself:[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”7186″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”https://drizly.com/centinela-tequila-blanco/p6388″][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Good medicine…

Now it’s time to do the rub down for pregnant Rache. Sweet. Another great Ra’Co home remedy![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

February 18, 2015January 28, 2019

The Quiet of an Afternoon Delight

Quiet is about to kick in. Its afternoon… 4:50pm or so and our staff is about to go for the day. Iza is sleeping, the waves are lapping and Claudia and Caty made me gluten-free and lactose dairy-free oatmeal raisin cookies. I am sipping a glass of green tea (which I should not be having so late in the day), and looking out my bedroom window into the voluminous range of mountains and volcanos in front of me. It seems for if only a moment, in this solitude, the world is quiet.

What a pleasure life’s simple moments can give us. I forget that sometimes in the heat of a crazy work day and today is a nice reminder.

February 3, 2015December 28, 2018

Strong Partners, Art and Life, From the Studio

I’ve been floating around all my life. Into one thing and onto another. That includes jobs, relationships, homes, apartments, countries, states. You name it. I’ve been a construction worker, a pizza boy, a tailor, a carpenter, a raw food chef, a designer, a monk, an unemployed searcher, a writer, a musician. I could go on. Never sure of who I was or what I should be doing. But all along one thing I have always been sure of is that I am an artist. Never being success oriented or driven to conquer the world, I have let it blossom over time and enjoyed the beautiful struggle all along.

Making art is a bitch. An angry one at times. But at other times I can disappear into what I am making and everything seems to make sense. And I know I am good at it and that I love it and that is often enough. It has carried me through many a rough time, (though I often think those rough times were caused by the need to make things). And it has brought me to where I am today.

This is where I am today, check out the view from my studio:

From this you can see that I haven’t done too bad for myself. But what is a huge reason I am here? Support from others, my family, friends, but mostly from Rache. She gave me this studio as a gift of faith and love. This place where I am working now used to be a wet, rat infested, dark, useless storage space. Now it is a glorious studio filled with light and fresh air and art. And I am eternally grateful.

My woman is a real strong woman. And she was adamant that the first thing we were going to do when we moved into this isolated and empty home was to rehab the casita on top of the hill and turn it into my studio. We found the contractor, Rache made some material choices and lighting plans and set a budget, and off we went. Less than a week later I had the studio of my dreams.

And believe me when I say that when we moved into our house below, there was pretty much nothing. Nothing in the kitchen, no decent furniture or bedding or towels. No boat (we have no road in or out of here). No tools. Nada. The garden was practically dead (but over time Rache resurrected that also, and now we have all kinds of flowers and vegetables growing everywhere). So you can see where Rache’s priorities were; with her family and making others happy before she made any decisions for own happiness. This is what a strong and dedicated partner can do for someone; help them become what they are supposed to become and grow into what they were always meant to be. I hope I am or can become that strong and dedicated partner as well.

So everyday I wake up with gratitude and awe for the support and confidence that Rache has given me to keep moving forward and do what I am supposed to do; make art and be there for my family. It’s all I need and it’s all I want.

Now it is time to get my ass in gear and create some magnificently great work that will help to support us in all of our current and future plans (we have a lot of them, big dreams and big desires), put food on the table, give Rache the time to be a Mom and pursue the things that she wants to do and provide Iza with the means to survive in a future that looks very bleak for humanity. I have a lot to give back for what has been given to me. Thanks Rache for being that strong partner that I so needed. I am a complete pain in the ass and it takes a hell of a person to deal with me.

Please keep reading our blog and watch how my art unfolds and how The Brand Fams’ business develops. We have a lot of exciting projects to bring into fruition over the next couple of years and a million ideas to share and we hope you can be with us along the way.

More studio shots:

Let us know what you think and what your partner has done for you. We all need stories of inspiration, I hope my story inspires you to give daily gratitude and appreciation for the people in your life that appreciate you, love you and give you strength to keep on keeping on.

January 30, 2015December 28, 2018

Iza’s Wonderful Abuela

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vcex_image_grid grid_style=”default” columns=”3″ title_type=”title” thumbnail_link=”none” lightbox_caption=”true” custom_links_target=”_self” img_width=”9999″ img_height=”9999″ image_ids=”3595,3594,3578,3582,3581,3583,3580,3586,3585″][vcex_spacing size=”30px” class=”” visibility=””][vc_column_text]We have had the best week. My mom arrived last Thursday and it has been a week of fun, games and a gazillion and one presents.

This woman is amazing! It is her 3rd time here in 9-months and the last two times she has come with a broken foot. With all our stairs it has not kept her down or frightened her away from coming. Two nights ago she even hobbled up the hill to Kurt’s studio all by herself (and this is not an easy feat… it is a vertical mountain climb). She never complains and she is thrilled to spend any second she can with Iza. At home she has another two beautiful granddaughters the same age as Iza and I know it is hard to be away from them when she is here… so it is pretty special we get to have the time with her.

Iza is happy as can be with her grammy by her side. She is learning more English and spending time with activities. And with my mom’s direction, Efrain has been a building frenzy creating a gorgeous easel and 2′ square puzzles. I think next up is a toy chest and more blocks. One amazing gift – a freakin’ Melissa & Doug Dollhouse. Can you believe she brought it in her suitcase? Iza and her friend Amy have been loving it and playing with all the dolls and the house regularly. It is wonderful.[/vc_column_text][vcex_spacing size=”30px” class=”” visibility=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row id=”” visibility=”” css_animation=”” style=”” center_row=”” tablet_fullwidth_cols=”” min_height=”” bg_color=”” bg_image=”” bg_style=”” parallax_style=”” parallax_direction=”” parallax_speed=”” parallax_mobile=”” video_bg=”” video_bg_overlay=”” video_bg_mp4=”” video_bg_webm=”” video_bg_ogv=”” border_style=”” border_color=”” border_width=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” margin_right=”” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”3579″ border_color=”grey” img_link_target=”_self” alignment=”none” link=”http://www.racolife.com/product/schleich-world-of-nature-farm-animals-series-3/”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Last time she came my mom had made Iza the most beautiful farm. She sewed a ‘farm purse’ out of fabric and filled it with premium farm animals from Schleich. Amy loves it as much as Iza does and yesterday she came up to me and asked if she could borrow some of them to play with and bring them back another day. When her mom and I looked into her bag to see what she had taken, it was the whole set![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row id=”” visibility=”” css_animation=”” style=”” center_row=”” tablet_fullwidth_cols=”” min_height=”” bg_color=”” bg_image=”” bg_style=”” parallax_style=”” parallax_direction=”” parallax_speed=”” parallax_mobile=”” video_bg=”” video_bg_overlay=”” video_bg_mp4=”” video_bg_webm=”” video_bg_ogv=”” border_style=”” border_color=”” border_width=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” margin_right=”” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vcex_spacing size=”30px” class=”” visibility=””][vc_column_text]My mom and I are very similar in appearance these days and all the locals love to point it out. It is rare to see white hair on the lake, it is not really that common in the Mayan Community, and she is striking. It is fun to watch people watch her.

We have been to the market and the fabric market and this weekend we head to Antigua and her husband Drew will come to meet us for the next week. It is going to be fun! We have a huge agenda for the next week and I am looking forward to playing ‘tourist’ in a place I love to be.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

January 6, 2015December 28, 2018

Whats for Lunch? A Taste of Summer

Right now I just can’t get over the holidays being over. So I’m eating cookies, and I think they have mold on them, and I don’t care. I’m eating peanut butter and drinking wine. All this after eating the Tomato, Avocado and Sprouts on Gluten Free Bread Sandwich that I am about to present you with. I don’t know where the 50/50 part of our m.o. plays out here, lets say it’s PHSD (post holiday stress disorder) and forget about it.

Anyway, we know it’s pretty cold back in our homeland about now. Especially for you NY’ers. Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pennsylvania. Sucka’s! Small violins playing loudly. We did our time in the snow and will surely do it again and love it.

Enough. Whats for Lunch today? I don’t want to bore you with a long story about how we came to this amazing lunch experience, so let’s cut straight to the chase. Here is our offering, a taste of summer in the dead of winter. This is a variation on our last “What’s for Lunch” post. We eat a lot of sprouts and avocados, and we push them hard for health, so lets present a sandwich this week. Even though it is not the season for tomato sandwiches, you can still make a good one now. You’ll just have to drop $11.50 at Whole Foods/sandwich for the fixin’s. Just playin’, we miss Whole Foods big time. The sandwich; homegrown, gluten free, fresh cut, whole food, super sprouted goodness. Vegan, lots of raw, gluten free, soy free, organic, local, incredible.

Racolife-Blog-010515-Whats-for-Lunch-sandwich-3 — outrageous sproutlyness.

Built with: Avocados from the tree by the lakefront, tomatoes from the market, fresh baked gluten free bread, cashew mayo blended in the Vitamix, homegrown basil and lettuces, Real Salt sea salt, organic olive oil. If you don’t have a Vitamix, just get one. If you don’t have an avocado tree, too bad.

Future posts will include our gluten free baking experiences and recipes, so for now I’ll just say, we made the bread, and it’s good. Really good. Even on a broke-ass oven we made it good. Thanks Bob’s Red Mill for your gluten free flours, and thanks Salud Para Vida in San Pedro de Atitlan for hooking us up with lots of the necessary ingredients for the bread.

As far as the lettuces go, everything grows like crazy here for some reason. Rache planted some seeds and a couple of months later we ended up with a seriously nice lettuce mix and some homeland basil that is hard to find here. Our friend Lea calls it Real Basil.

On the subject of growing, you may know we grow our own sprouts. If you have an extra 10 minutes a day then you can too. Try this one , we live by it.

Tomatoes are hard to find in the winter but can definitely be had. Thats why it’s a special treat, right?

Cashew Mayo is crazy easy and a great light, raw, vegan option. Blend a cup of raw cashews, 1/2 cup of water, 1T olive oil, 2 t coconut vinegar. (We love this stuff.), 1 t lemon juice, a couple drops of coconut sweetener (hold up- you haven’t heard?) then some sea salt to taste in the Vitamix until creamy.

Avocados are always available. Dig in.

The rest is easy. You know how to make a sandwich, so have at it, and enjoy a little summer in your winter.

Let us know what you think.

November 8, 2014December 28, 2018

Waterskiing Guatemalan Teletubby

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]I don’t know what this guy is but he looks a bit like a Teletubby, and he can really waterski. Enjoy!

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October 21, 2014January 4, 2016

Finally a Place to Call Home

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/Z-UHvaYA2fk”][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]There is much to be said for the end of Airbnb.com living. We have loved the adventure, but missed our ‘stuff’ and the familiarity that comes along with it. Not to mention, the $1,000’s spent on replacing broken kitchen tools and chotchkies along the way (this comes with the territory of having a toddler, and two very clumsy parents).

I suppose we have purposefully neglected to share our official plans, or updated on Ra’Co for the last month, so we could be sure that we didn’t have to back track if something didn’t work out. So, here you go: Drum roll please… We have moved to Patziac as of last Tuesday / Wednesday. We began renting the house on October 1st and since have been in a whirlwind state of construction projects, shopping trips and reorganizing. The house is coming along nicely and we are locked into a year lease. A super special thank you to Armand Boissy and his team at Atitlan Solutions for all his help in securing.

Of course with the Brand’s, there is always a caveat: If the house sells (its on the market), we have to move. This has already happened to us in Beacon, so we have a feeling it will again. And… the internet is half the cost of the rent. We had a 12 meter tower installed in San Pedro, just for us!

[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Patziac lives in between Jaibalito and Tznuna on the public boat side of the lake. It is nested into the rocks and has it’s own little lagoon. We love it because it is quiet and very private; a far cry from our apartment in Central Harlem, with the crazy lady banging on the wall next door every time we moved or Iza cried (her exact words were, “I didn’t sign up for this.”), or even from the dogs barking and restaurants buzzing in San Marcos. We are blessed at Patziac with space, time, isolation and a house with everything we wanted… including a 6-burner gas stove![/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]We have been taking photos and would love to share the beginning stages of our life here. We are deep into constructing Kurt’s new studio and Iza’s bedroom, as well as installing a Pizza Oven, a Sauna and a fire pit, along with a variety of other little projects. I am all about the gardening and have taken it upon myself to stand over the gardener for an hour every day and tell him what I like and what I don’t like. I think I am making him crazy, but all with a smile on his face.

Here we are on a Tuesday morning, 7 days in from our move to Patziac, construction underway to our new home, surrounded by our ‘stuff’, with warm hearts by our sides, in a place we can call finally home.

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August 21, 2014December 28, 2018

Where to Go? What to Do?

This beautiful morning I sit here listening to the lake water lap up against the shore, the fisherman in the wooden kayak is whistling a little song and Iza is quietly breathing as she sleeps. Usually I am up before the sun working or meditating, but today ZZ (our nickname for Iza) is a little bit sick with a cold and she woke up at 5am crying. So we spent some time with her to calm her down and get her back to sleep. Then Rache went back to work and I did some meditation. I will refer to meditation from here on out as Zazen, which is a Zen form of meditation.

So hopefully you are reading our blog posts regularly and will know what I am talking about in the future! Right now, as we go into the last month and a half of our stay here at Casa Paloma in San Marcos, Guatemala, Rache and I are doing our usual race to the finish to try to secure our next place to stay. It’s a drag and we always get stressed out around this time.

First of all, we are trying to find a place to stay here at Lake Atitlan for a year which is not easy. We love it here but want to get to know it better while we decide if we want to make this our home forever. We are pretty sure we do, but moving to another country is a huge step and a lot has to be evaluated. A big problem is that we are going into the major tourist season here, the dry season, and most of the places are already rented. We are finding some things though and are confident we will secure something soon. Hopefully the owner of this house we are in now will agree to work with us on either buying it or renting it long term. We truly love it here.

Second of all, we are trying to find a relatively affordable apartment in NYC to rent as we have to be back there for a month in October. We have all of our stuff in storage there that we have to go through and Rache and I need to network in the city. We are looking forward to going back but it is really more stress to make it happen than we need right now. Should we bring our nanny? Should we exceed our budget to find a decent place? Should we stay outside of the city and commute in? Too many questions to work out!

Actually we really want to just stay here, stay put. I think we both truly feel like we are done moving around!

But the question always creeps back in; Are we in the right place for us? Should we do some more traveling, to India and China? We both love to travel so much and I could do business in those countries and Rache could go to her annual yoga retreat in India. Somebody smack us!

My Zen teacher in New York always talks about not worrying about where to go and what to do, especially when doing zazen. These two things always seem to pop up in our minds and cause mental strife. The idea is to just make a decision and be happy with it. Why do we have such a hard time doing this?! As I said in a previous post, decisions can drive you crazy! Our situation is kind of unique in that we both can work anywhere as long as we have an internet connection. Of course many people have places of work to go to and dont have the option of moving around. So they just learn to love where they live. Many are happy where they live, no matter where they are, that is the best way to be. But others are not happy being where they are and always wish to be somewhere else or to travel and experience new things. The grass is always greener type thing.

So now, The Brand Fam is right smack in the middle and we are deciding what to do next. Fortunately we know what we want and that we want to settle down soon. Hopefully things will work out for us here and we will finally find a place to call home, or maybe, at least, home base!

Keep reading to find out… I think things will happen for us soon!

August 21, 2014August 26, 2014

Holding on for Dear Life

I have been so busy with work for the last 3 months that I have hardly had a chance to look up and see the surroundings. Sad considering we are located on the titled and celebrated “most beautiful lake in the world.” For all I knew, I could have been in a black box located in Siberia. Now, when I look in front of me I don’t see something I have invested myself into, I see a postcard of a potential future experience. But it feels unattainable to relish in the moment.

I believe many people are like me, they are just literally trying to hold on as the sea of work piles up. No matter what is going on – my daughters birthday, my mom’s wedding, my friend’s crises, I am preoccupied with something else and just going through the expected motions. I give a 1000 percent at work and the bare minimum at home. I am always tired, and always behind. I just feel like I am running on the wheel of life and my stop hasn’t come up yet.

At 33, I am in the middle of my career – a vital point which cannot be ignored; if I stop now, will I drop off the radar? Will I lose all opportunities? I hold onto fear which is a tremendous driver in this unhealthy cycle. But beyond opportunities, another primary fear is money. When will the money dry up and another recession hit? When will we need money for a rainy day? As the current bread-winner, I feel a pressure to succeed on a lot of levels.

But at what cost? Such a crappy way of non-living.

I hit a breaking point two Friday’s ago and I have just had enough of my own excuses.I want to come out from this cloud I have placed above my head and I am determined to be present in my own life again; to finally be able to enjoy time with family, friends and experience this first leg of our Brand Fam journey together. I am ready to stop, reposition and gear up to go in a new, healthier direction. (This, however, sounds good on paper, but I don’t know how to transition and to push beyond my current state.)

All comments and advice are welcome.

August 7, 2014December 28, 2018

Tuc Tuc of the Week

The taxi drivers around the lake take their taxis seriously. In a previous post I talked about the little three wheeled taxis, called Tuc Tucs and how their owners love to pimp them out. So I think I will start posting some of my favorite Tuc Tucs and see where it goes from there. Maybe organize a Tuc Tuc race?!?!?

Anyway, here is a cool one I often see in Santa Cruz. We call it the “batmobile”. Santa Cruz is a chilled out village where we used to live and they have some great taxis. Keep a lookout for more Tuc Tuc posts!

June 19, 2014December 28, 2018

Salud Para Vida

The Salud Para Vida is the Health Store in San Pedro. This is not a hidden gem and there are a ton of great write ups on Salud Para Vida staring with Trip Advisor, but we wanted to do our own. As promised in my post from our 1st journey to San Pedro, it deserved its own post, so here you go. Walking into the space is extremely unassuming. As mentioned in my previous post we had gotten there with little time to spare and is a super small space – nearly 10’ x 8’ wide. There is one metro rack through the center and a rack on the left and a wooden spice rack on the right. There are a few tables and a pastry case out front. Iza was headed towards a meltdown, but there were two “Arf, afs” out front (dogs) so she was occupied for a moment.

The owners name is Kurt (fancy that) and he is from the States. He imports his products through Miami and only can get them important on an irregular basis, so what the store has it has until they get another miraculous shipment. The store attendant Michael was very helpful. But it feels very community / from the neighborhood.

It was as if Kurt (the store owner) knew us better than we knew ourselves. Take every product we buy at Whole Foods each week and even things that we don’t buy there we have to buy at that other specialty shop on 14th and 6th and it was here. Kurt (the store owner) hit the mark with us. BIG TIME.

We got hair products, Seventh Generation baby wipes, sea salt, chia seeds, rice noodles, gluten free quinoa granola, Bob’s Red Mill amaranth flour, almond butter, etc. It was unbelievable the personality packed into this tiny tienda and with a supplement section for the stars to boot.

As I occupied Iza on the front steps while waiting for Kurt to finish up, I whipped out the Xylophone we had bought earlier. Along came a nice family from Israel who had just arrived the night before from Mexico. They had left their life behind in Israel 10-months ago. They both had remote jobs and they were seemingly doing what we were doing. Their beautiful boys came and played with Iza and we made new friends. We shared some of the other places on the lake with them and invited them over for dinner. We see that many people our age are taking the plunge away from normalcy in their countries and seeking a more adventurous life. We were really hoping to make like-minded friends and it appears that here we have. I look at this little Salud Para Vida has brought us luck already.

What made us so emotional about this store was that it represented the possibility to live here and still have a piece of home. We could maintain our typical food base (and then expand with local specialties) and still be able to have some of the amenities we are used to like non-metal deodorant, alcohol-free baby wipes, and gluten free flours. Basically this store represents the solidification of our possibility to remain abroad here (Mom, don’t cry – we will come and visit). The world has gotten small and the opportunities greater for living outside of America and still maintaining some of the silly amenities we are not interested in giving up. It is pretty awesome.

Thank you Kurt (the store owner). Your little mini Whole Foods placed perfectly in paradise is spectacular. We hope to meet you some day. My Kurt, daughter and I are very grateful.

June 17, 2014December 28, 2018

Problems in Antigua, our first couple of days in Guatemala.

Just before we left for Guatemala I had a really bad flare up of my inner ear condition, which could be Meniere’s syndrome, but I’m still not sure what it is exactly. It is often caused by stress or pressure changes in the weather but I don’t really know what caused it this time. I haven’t had any problems with it in a long while and it seems to have come back at a really bad time.

What happens is I lose most of the bass frequencies in my left ear and get extremely nauseous with migraine headaches and extreme body pain. It basically is like having the most devastating hangover you could imagine and it usually incapacitates me for the first two or three days. Poor Rache really had to rally (like always) because I was bedridden for a day and a half. It was just the beginning of her vacation and she only has a week so I really felt bad that she had to watch Iza the whole time while being really exhausted from our travels.

Fortunately she kept a great attitude, stayed positive, explored the city with Iza, met some great people and found some really nice healthy places to eat.

One thing that sucks about Meniere’s is that is is caused by a fluid imbalance in the inner ear and I have to do everything I can to control it. That means no caffeine and very little salt. And here we are in Guatemala which has some of the absolute best coffee in the world! Well, we have lots of time here so I will give it a couple of months then sample some of their great java.

Now that we are in Lake Atitlan I am starting to feel much better and ready to explore this really beautiful place we now call home.