Corazon del Bosque Panajachel

... hanging out for a few minutes, we got a little more used to our surroundings (as used to as you can be, when your surroundings are spewing the same thing that destroyed Pompeii) and began to have some fun. Now we understood why the kids were selling marshamallows - you could roast them on the lava! One of our new friends, a Swiss dude named Balthazar (yup, really), had brought hot dogs to roast and shared some with us. It´s really really hard to ...

... here, spent time cooking, hanging out, dancing, hiking, exploring, swimming, kayaking, pilates-ing, practicing poi (fire spinning), speaking Spanish, and reading. Katherine visited me in mid-August too so we spent a night in a Nature Reserve past San Lucas Toliman, and an evening in Antigua!

Since I have been here, I have visited the three women's cooperatives--Ana with the group Ajbatz'Bal' in San Juan la Laguna; Julia with the group ...

... sprawled out and perched on the edges of rips in the earth that told us of earthquakes in such a volatile land. There were crevices everywhere!

Coming in close there were lots of shanty towns and as we drove out of Guatemala City it was like San Jose in Costa Rica - clean but rundown, dejected and rough. A man walked down a street with a spanner only adding to my feeling violence as in my mind he was off to pound someone with it….must not get lost in imaginating scenes ...

... to get to Panajachel. Each time we got off there was another bus waiting who confirmed ‘Panajachel’ quickly and then tossed our bags up onto the roof and quickly departed! At around 3:30ish we arrived in Panajachel – on Lake Aititlan, We intend to spend the rest of this week on the Lake – which is a beautiful and tranquil volcanic lake set in the highlands in Western Guatamala. ‘Pana’ is known locally as Gringo town – ...

... which from where we (meaning me; Kate - obviously - was a natural) marked a significant improvement. Definitely something to try more of when we get back to London. We then had a lovely meal and headed back to the hotel for the night. The tummy bug that seems to have effected half of the group seems to be wearing off, which is good news. At the moment I feel a bit odd being the only one at dinner on the beers. This morning we drove across the mountains to ...

... everyone. Then the boat driver made stops in every town to pickup so many people that he even filled the boat's roof and the water was actually coming into the boat. In order to make some room a i moved back right next to the engine.. knowing that Atitlan Lake is the deepts lake in the world is not a very conforting feeling right now.... somehow he managed to get to san pedro.

This time we had to walk all over the northen dock to get the boat ...

... Il se compose de puree de pommes de terre avec des morceaux de patates par-ci par-là, d'un piment vert et, caché bien au fond, d'un morceau de viande : poulet dans mon premier tamal et porc dans le deuxieme. Epicé, mais sans exagération. Juste comme il faut. Ce fut un véritable assaut des sens : il faut d'abord défaire la paquet, ouvrir les feuilles de bananier et soudain, le tamal fume tellement il est chaud et diffuse ...

Wow. After un-touristed El Salvador and relatively un-gringofied Nicaragua, arriving in Antigua was a bit of a shock. The city is certainly beautiful and well derving of it's UNESCO heritage site status. It's full of little bohemian cafes and restaurants serving an amazing array of cakes, bagels, middle eastern titbits and oozing crepes. And its also full of the reason for all this western gourmet temptation ...

... La Fuente- best liquados in Antigua
Dona Luisa- delicious baked goods, like banana bread
Bagel Barn- fresh bagels
Cafe Sky- good views at sunset
Ni-Fu Ni-Fa- better than the Keg steak and cheaper too!
Cafe 2000- eat food and watch a movie on a big screen
Santo Domingo- Sunday Brunch... to die for!

... extended stay and put down some shallow roots. This is my favorite part of ‘traveling,’ really, finding a place I like and hanging there a while, just like I did twenty-five years ago, in that house above the hot springs. The springs are still there, of course, but it’s no longer open to casual visitors.

So I look for old friends, locals I used to do business with. Many of them are still there. Small towns are the same the ...