Little girl at San Juan's visitors center

My friendly guide's name was Juan, which he pronounced with an exaggerated "H". He spoke so slowly it was like listening to a learning tape. However, it wasn't his speed I had difficulty with but just my sheer lack of vocabulary.

His tendency to repeat things and then add "si" or "no" reminded me strongly of Mr. Eidelburg on "Home Movies." Banana? Noooo. Banana? Noooo. As kind as he was, I found myself giggling in my head throughout the day.

Cutting across a field toward the forest

We set out at 8AM. 400Lps ($21) got me a full day hike through the nearby woods and waterfalls, including a lunch that Juan carried in his backpack. As we walked out of town, he told me that 1000 people lived in San Juan—seemed improbable unless he was counting some far outskirts. The hike first climbed up a dirt road, then cut through a farm before reaching a wide-open grassy field. It was very hot, without any shade.

Once we entered the forest the hike became tougher as there wasn't always a clear path. We had to pull ourselves up tree roots and edge across log bridges until we saw the first beautiful waterfall. I fell a few times trying to get across the wet rocks, and as usual compared my hiking boots to Juan's dress shoes in amazement.

We found a lovely spot to sit near the waterfall for lunch, which was far more food than one person needs to eat. The usual big meal of meat, cheese, rice, beans and tortillas, which I didn't even come close to finishing—felt quite guilty about that.

We hiked further to a gorgeous double waterfall site, where I'd been told I might be able to swim. However, with no place to change in privacy and the difficulty in really getting near the pool due to the rocks, I was content to enjoy the spray and zone out to the sound of rushing water.

On the way back we stopped by a coffee farm, an absolutely delightful experience. The family that owned the finca had a whole crew of giggling beautiful children, who eagerly showed me the coffee plants and jumped to work when Juan decided to pick a few beans for a demonstration.

One of my little "guides" peeks through the coffee bean bush


Juan shells the coffee beans, with some help

Juan used a big contraption to shell the beans and showed me where they were laid out to dry. The teenage daughter ran from being photographed, but when I flipped my LCD screen around to face the younger kids, they laughed and laughed at their own images. As I find these distracting moments much more fun than whatever I've usually got planned, I ended up not learning much about coffee farming that day.

Back on the road, my knees cried out again. We had walked 7k to the falls and were pretty far into the walk back, with the memory of the steep downhill walk from Celaque still fresh in my joints. Juan noticed my discomfort and when the opportunity for a jalón came along about 2k from town, we rode the rest of the way.

I headed to Comedor Paty for the usual satisfying set cena for under two bucks. It was odd that a town this size even had restaurants, but the customers were mostly single men. I also ordered a Fanta, opened by a stunningly beautiful small boy who stared shyly at me for a while.

Feeling lonely, I headed to the internet café to chat with someone I deeply missed, thinking I'd only have a little time before closing. To my surprise, the boy running the café opted to stay open longer to give me more time. Hours deep into my chat session, he came over to ask me a definition in English, during which time he snuck a look at my screenname. Seconds later, he sent me an IM. Not just a little creepy, considering how close were seated and that we were the only people there. I shook off my daydreams, shut down and hurried back to my room.

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