Hotel Regis Panajachel

Sad news about Lake Atitlan: <br>http://especiales.prensalibre.com/a titlan/ <br>I attended the public meeting (Oct 28) regarding the terrible condition of our Lake Atitlan. Due to thousands of gallons of untreated sewage, the lake has reacted with a cyanobacterial bloom, making the surface a nasty brownish-green sludge. We wouldn't be in this state if the government had responded to requests for proper water treatment systems after ...

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... seemed was coming down so hard that the streets became rivers of water, which left Rachel's sneakers feeling like they themselves were ponds surrounding her feet. Nevertheless, we had fun trekking in the rain. We are sure that had this happened in the United States we would both be complaining heartily but being that we were on vacation something about it seemed like just ...

... however, our bags did not. At this point though, it didn't make much difference. We were finally on vacation.<br><br>Antigua is a beautiful Spanish colonial city. Apparently as we learned it used to be the capital of Guatemala, but after a series of earthquakes that destroyed the city numerous times the capital was moved to where it is now in Guatemala City. Many of the ruins still remain and have become visitor sites that are lit up at night. The city itself is in a valley ...

Now in Panajachel!! The view going down was amazing.<br><br>The lake is surrounded by 3 volcanoes.<br><br>We had a nice hotel, with view on the lake.<br><br>I took a public boat to get to Santiago, a village on the other side of the lake. I had a woman almost sitting on me... not in a nice way!<br><br>The moment I got on the other side, I started walking around, to find out there was nothing really nice to see. So I was walking back ...

Eggs for breakfast again with tortillas and a tomato side sauce. Again we thanked our family for having us and wrote in their guest book then Pedro and Daniel walked us to the town square where we were going to meet the rest of the group. We loaded the bags on the roof and set off down the hill, up the hill, down the hill and round all the windy roads, encountering the usual chicken bus traffic and trucks ...

... from an ancient volcano. Walking the streets of Pana, I was amused that some vendors were selling bongs and crack pipes...this was a direct result of the towns history as the premier Central American hippie hangout during the 1960s and 1970s. Although the city now caters to more of the mainstream tourist industry, Pana still maintained its counter-culture heritage. <br> <br>Precisely at 8 am, I was meet at Adrenalina ...

... coincé au niveau des genoux, si si. Le M ira jusqu'à mi-cuisse et le L sera parfait au grand désespoir de Nancy. Hé oui, ici les tailles sont adaptées, donc pas pour nous!! Retour chez Nestlé, le L est parfait en longueur mais on pourrait la caser 3 fois en largeur. Enfin, pas bien grave. L'usine fabrique essentiellement des soupes et bouillons, déshydratés ou liquide. On finit la visite vers midi, c'est déjà l'heure de rouler vers la capitale, notre avion ...

... the middle class, which quite obviously is nothing like the Canadian middle class. Something I've probably mentioned is that Marta and Lester took a trip like a month and a half ago to LA to visit her daughter. As far as I can tell, this was a pretty big thing for them. For most Guatemalans it would be out of reach, so that helps indicate where they're at as a family. They've been great. There are tons of stories, but I'll save those until I get home. Jay

... our friendly taxi driver, Don Domingo, who safely delivered us to our hotel in Antigua. We have stayed there a few times before, so it is familiar and welcoming. Although we occasionally got turned around, the town seemed like visiting an old neighborhood one had known in youth. Knowing Volcan Agua is our landmark to the South, we set our ...