There just seems to be something magical about the water in this place… well apart from the tap water, I wouldn’t call that magic. In fact, there’s something truly magical about everywhere I’ve visited so far in this part of the world. But one place in particular that I’d been directed toward over and over again was Lago de Atítlan, or Lake Atitlan, a huge, beautiful lake neighboring two volcanos and a range of lush green mountains. There’s so much mystery to the history of this place, and the energy here feels notably different. I’m writing this from my new lake side hostel ‘Hotel Del Lago’ - a no advance bookings hostel, marketed only by word of mouth, in the little hippy town of San Marcos. They’ve got it absolutely dialed here - There’s a kitchen to cook in to help keep things cheap, plus they serve a big range of incredibly tasty food. They have a sauna, a yoga platform with daily morning classes, an amazing decking area for dancing and performance (drums, fire toys… poets??). But the real magic of this place lies in the people that are attracted here.

After putting my intention out to meet some film makers on my travels, my desire manifested again yesterday when I met a familiar face that I’m sure I must have met in Tulum named Michael. We get talking again properly, and he is with a Guatemalan dude he met the day before called Martin. I find out they’ve been out filming, as Martin has just been given funding for a project whereby he melts down waste plastic and makes furniture and other things out of it, and Michael is going to make a documentary about it. It’s a fascinating and inspiring story, and I am so glad that they have met so that Michael’s documentary can give this vital project of one man the exposure it deserves.

I soon realise that Michael is a really intelligent guy, and between us we have a lot of knowledge to exchange. He’s also has some great equipment for recording with him, and was on the same wavelength as me in many areas. So I told him I had a proposition, explained the deal, that I’m a poet looking to shoot videos, and of course he was very enthusiastic. We agreed that a bit later I’d show him my first video, and then the poem that I would like to film next.

As the hours went by it became more and more obvious that we were very much on the same frequency in all of our perceptions and outlooks. I’m just here for another 3 nights so we have enough time to get it filmed, and this place is so damn picturesque (which doesn’t even come close to articulating the sublime beauty of this place), so it’s the perfect time.

We were waiting for a good moment to go find a quiet spot somewhere so I could perform the poem, but kept getting distracted by new people and conversation. So, although I felt resistance, in the end I suggested I just perform where we were, and asked if the people we were sat with minded and would like to hear a poem. It's becoming easier and easier to push past the barriers of my egos resistance and, I felt grateful afterwards that not only was I given the opportunity to share with more than one person, but that I actually took that opportunity.

There’s only 1 small hiccup at the moment - we need new batteries for the mic if we want to be able to pick up the sound on location. Apparently there’s an electronic store in San Pedro, the party town a 10 minute boat ride across the lake, which is our best bet of finding them.

The synchronicity of us meeting again always proves to me there’s no such thing as coincidence… not that I need any more proof. But every time I witness it happening again, I smile in gratitude for the incredible way in which we craft our paths through this life as the infinitely powerful creators of our own destinies that we are.

We’re about to head out now for the first shoot, and although we won’t pick up audio, we both just felt it was important to take action, get out there and film, giving Michael much more choice when it comes to him editing it.

So magic happened within moments of being in this mystical place… and I have no doubt that will continue tonight and beyond.

To sum up Hotel Del Lago - Every person I’ve met and had a conversation with in this place have been beautiful, creative, wise souls, and the conversations have often gone right into the deep end within minutes of meeting. All very open, warm, welcoming, friendly, interesting people, that are all aware of that same fact:

That we shape our very futures with every thought we have, every word we say and every thing that we do.

^^ In other news, there’s also so many cute dogs roaming around here… like this guy… apparently his name's Lobo but… I think I prefer to call him Our Chez…. He’s sooooo fluffy… I love him .. When I got the camera out he knew what was going on and tried to hide his face… he went all camera shy!! and I’m no good at selfies so it was a recipe for failure. ‘Coincidentally’ ( 😉 ) Michael just happened to walk past at the moment I was struggling.. and caught this awesome shot for me.

Now I’ll never forget Our Chez <3