Hotel Jinava San Marcos La Laguna

Here i was thinking i wouldn´t have a lot to report once i settled in Quetzeltenango (!) or Xela for short....

I´ll begin with a quick (as if) account of this weekend as its fresh in my mind, brief and just a quick insight.

We set off after school on friday afternoon in a torrential downpour which began on arrival to the bus terminal, i dont recall their annual rainfall but having been to indonesia where it is amongst the highest on earth - i ...

... came.

Finally, John and the guide made it to the end of the obstacle course (I mean riverbed) and proceeded to the base of the active volcano. Up until this point, John was actually doing ok -- getting tired, and
feeling very challenged and sore, but still proceeding to the desired
goal. After a brief stop for a late lunch, they began to ascend the volcano. Again, this did not involve switchbacks, but a direct ascent up the mountain. If ...

... for Monday (nah we’ll be fine really!) – but we were very out of breath by the end! Luckily we kept stopping to look at monkeys and waterfalls and such like J Unlike Go Ape the guides with you (you always have two) hook you on and unhook you at the other end (quite reassuing!). The one that goes down first also waves a little red flag at you when it’s time to start breaking… which is achieved by holding on the the cable behind your head ...

... 600 kids to provide them with an education throughout Guatemala, and if you want to you can volunteer to teach some of the kids English for an hour on a Wednesday afternoon, which I did and learnt more Spanish from 7 9 year olds than they did English... it was fun but tiring. The school also contributes to other projects like re-forestation as the forest are being desimated for firewood and cultivation.

The lessons are all one on one and last from 8 am – 1 ...

... I have pictures!!

After that crazy sunset, as it grew dark, more and more people crawled into their tents to get warm and cozy for sleepy time. We had two large tents for our group of 10 people. I crawled into a tent with two very chill girls, and three very silly Israeli boys, and I couldn't really fall asleep right away. But just then, Chris came by the tent and called for us to come out and check out a lightening storm that was happening out on the horizon. I ...

... 5 massage parlors, reiki/yoga/meditation places but none seemed open so we ended up going for dinner instead.

We ended up at a restaurant on the lake and had a mediocre meal (steak for me and vegetarian pasta with tofu for Leigh, and beer of course) - total was about Q180. The owner was a nut - he didnt talk much just walked up to the table and put his arms up as if asking us ¨whats up - what yuo want to eat¨. On our way out, we hung out with the dogs and ...

... ve stayed at that other place, Don Juan Hostel or something.), I began taking a walk around, and just as I began, it started raining. And it didn't really stop raining for two days. Yeah, my time in Xela was basically rained out. I still had a pretty good time though, sitting, reading, drinking tea and eating soup, trying to get over the stomach thing. Met some good people too, saw some old faces again. Kind of went out one night. Good times all round.

Then came Lago de Atitlan.

... Mayan people and quite a few Americans who came down to visit and never left. We checked into a little hotel off the beaten path amidst maize gardens, greenhouses and shanty houses. Then we went out and planned to explore the village. However, we wound up parking at a bar at 6 and not leaving until 12. Actually, we left for an hour to go drink more beer and eat pupusas across the street. The pupuseria in Pana has amazing ...

... kregen heerlijke linzensoep en een vegetarische schotel van gewokte groenten, rijst en rauwkost. Na een kleine competitie UNO zijn we vroeg onder de wol gekropen, in de hoop dat het onder ons bladerendak droog zou blijven. Wel kneuterig zo!
We hebben een prijsje gemaakt voor de huur van onze cabana voor een hele week en wisselen de dagen af met zonnen aan het meer en culturele uitstapjes. We zijn een dagje naar Santiago ...

Later in the evening, the bee sting is ancient history, and actually I´m feeling a bit preoccupied for the stomach cramps and fever coming on. It feels familiar and I´ve had it before and dont want it again. Around 8:30 pm find myself ...