Posada Monte Rosa Panajachel

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... a painting class with Gaspar (a Kakchiqel Mayan man).<br><br>Guatemalan Independence Day Sept.15 --- parade<br><br>Leaping off a two-story high cliff in San Marcos into Lake Atitlan's blue waters<br><br>October 4 Panajachel Feria, San Francisco de Asis. Munching on thin, salted plantain chips, riding the ferris wheel of death, feeling sorry for the incredibly drunk men in the square, marveling at fireworks from the church square and also from the balcony in the Barrio Norte.

Another week, more places, adventures, different friends and less Spanish<br><br>After our epic walk of nine coming over a mountain, we camped out in San Pedro, relaxing by the lake, swimming, kayaking, wandering around and generally chilling. I moved out of the family home into my own room in a nearby hostel called Jarachik which did excellent albeit slow food and had a room with bathroom and terrace from which to enjoy great views of the lake. I wasn't the only ...

... the gunfire filled films that were once again being played!! When we were awake, however, I couldn&#8217;t help but stare at the spectacular scenery. Guatemala seems filled with mountains covered in green vegetation and everywhere I looked were views worth photographing (although my attempts were very unsuccessful &#8211; moving busses do not lend themselves to good landscape photos!) <br><br>When we finally pulled into Guatemala City the contrast ...

... and Julia for the second part - a manicure and pedicure - both fantastic. We sat all 4 in a row under the porch watching the lightening strike the towers on the mountain in front of us. A few massive bangs and thunder rumbles set the anxiety crew almost into overdrive (Lucy, Julia and Teryn). <br><br>Pampered and preened we had to get back to the hotel and put on our best backpacker clothes for our final ...

... and I noticed the cemetery on the hillside outside of town. A lot of the graves had brightly colored receptacles, which attracted us. We asked Pablo to take us there. I was saddened to see that the cemetery contain a lot of small markers for the children of the village who have died. This showed that living on the lake is still a hard existence. Liz has a great photographer's eye and she pointed out several great ...

... on va sur le coté, on pourra voir de la lave. On est d'accord, on va pas discuter ce genre d'argument. Sur le trajet, il nous donne des explications sur la flore.On prend bien sur des photos près de la lave, puis on mangera beaucoup de poussière pendant la descente, beurk. On fait ensuite un passage à Guatemala City pour échanger la voiture avec le frère d'Ana en prévision du voyage du lendemain. On dine au Pollo Campero, la chaine fast-food qui a mis KFC dehors.

... river tubing, pretending to be vegetarian in order to get fed...so we jumped on the bandwagon and stayed there too. It's a magnificent setting. Little wooden cabins (with obligatory hammock) next to the river, surrounded by mountains and forest. We stayed 3 days just because it was so lovely. However, by night it has a different face. The music plays loud till 1/2am and all the kids get drunk. I think this would have been great it I was, sigh, 10 ...

... We will do our best to keep everyone up to date to events as they unfold, so be patient until we get settled. Heather and I are aware of the many people that are offering their good wishes, heartfelt prayers and kind thoughts in our direction. They are gratefully received and definitely make a positive impact for our journey. With Thanks, Greg 

... central Mexico. Such is evolution- selective, enduring, and imperfect. Only Quezaltenango maintains its substrata name of Xelaju&#8217;. Finally Lake Atitlan comes into view big and blue over to the west, volcanoes rimming its edges lovingly. The turn-off to Chichicastenango and the rest of El Quiche&#8217; comes at Los Encuentros, a former stage-stop now pretty much become a full-fledged town high along the continental divide with no apparent ...