Swimming and Moving On

• Kyleandfran's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Panajachel

Trip Start Oct 11, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End Apr 25, 2007 Next
Entry

  Panajachel, Guatemala
Monday, October 30, 2006

Hola! Nosotros podemos hablar!(un poco)
Since we last wrote we have been thoroughly enjoying our time in Antigua! Good right?
Tomorrow will be our final day of lessons, and as such, the day we are released into the real Spanish-speaking World. You see, Antigua is a very gringo-filled city, and as there are over 75 Spanish schools, it is very easy to take the easy way out and simply converse in English with other students. So, thats it, now we had better know what we are saying. żDos cervezas por favor?
Other than studying and enjoying the meals from our homestay (which at times can be QUITE difficult) we have made an effort to get out of Antigua every weekend. Last weekend we went to a VERY lovely hostel called EarthLodge (Great recommendation Spencer!). The EarthLodge was absolutely wonderful, owned by an American and a Canadian

01 The Treehouse View

. The owners Drew and Briana were very nice and fun to hang out with all weekend. EarthLodge is a 30 minute drive north of Antigua, sitting very high on a hill with steep slopes down two of the adjacent edges. We stayed in a Treehouse which was over a cliff, affording a wonderful view in the morning. The meals were phenomenal, and served family style around a large table, it sure was nice to get some good ol´ mashed potatoes. Another neat thing about EarthLodge was the way you were billed, which is completely the honor system. When you grab a beer from the fridge you simply mark of a tick in the beer column next to your name. The same goes for water, sodas, snacks, and other things, then they simply add it all up and give you a bill at the end of your stay. We liked how this worked, although it became more difficult to make the tick during and after happy-hour. We met three Germans and one American, all females, and all very fun also. All-in-all we wish we could have stayed longer than one night, but hey, it was fun while it lasted.
This past weekend we took a shuttle to the town of Monterrico, located on the Pacific. The Black sand beach was like nothing we had ever seen before, and you cna imagine how hot it was underfoot! Monterrico is a dirty little tourist town, but fun nonetheless. We attempted to swim, but the waves were very big so they gave you a good beating. We then had to spend 20 minutes in the poolside shower washing away sand from our bodies

02 Mountain Lookout

. Most of the rest of the day was spent in the pool, and hanging out with three Americans and one Brit we met, all males. We went to dinner with our new friends at a nice enough restaurant, complete with 2 HUGE pelicans in the fountain in the middle of the restaurant(pretty cool). We partied at ´El Animal´ and our friends taught us a few new good drinking games. We also found out that 3 of the 4 were lawyers, kind of funny. We later left the bar and wandered down the beach, only to join a large party of locals who were very welcoming, we were surprisingly the only gringos. The bus ride home the next day was quite comical because we were very crammed together in small seats. About 20 minutes into the ride however we learned that we were stopping to pick up MORE people, and everyone looked around and thought it would be impossible. 6 more people needed to pile into this bus, but the driver had only been prepared to fit three more. Eventually all 6 managed to fit, some sharing seats for the 2 hour ride. Alot of complaints were heard all around, and there was one particularly funny brit seated behind us who muttered alot of funny things. ´Lets do how they do in India, 100 inside the bus, and 200 on top´. or ´we can do it, there are 40 seats and like friggin´ 600 people in here, great´. And finally the funniest ´I feel like I should just steal some kids bikes and strap a rope on the bumper!´. The brits sure have a way of putting things.
Wednesday November 1st is a national holiday, All-Saints Day

03 Kyle at Mountain Lookout

. On this day the locals all gather in the cemetery and pay tribute to those members of their family who are no longer present in this world. The entire extended family will gather together around the graves of their loved ones, and eat and drink an incredible feast. We will be lucky enough to partake in this tradition in a small town called San Antonio, known around Guatemala for its famous kites. In San Antonio they make kites in the morning of All-Saints Day, and fly them in the afternoon. We hear that this is quite spectacular, as some of the kites are as big as 6 meters across! After the day trip to San Antonio we will return for our last night with our homestay family.
Early Thursday morning we are set to take a direct shuttle to the town of Panajachel on Lake Atitlan (Lago de Atitlan). Upon unanimous recommendation we are not spending the night in Pana, but will take a small boat (pancha) to one of the other small towns on the Lake. From what we hear, Lago de Atitlan has a very Saltspring-like atmosphere, which will be a welcome feeling. The lake itself lies in the shadow of 3 large volcanoes, and has some underwater volcanic vents. The plan for now is to stay around the lake for about a week before moving on for a brief stint northward, then East it is to Belize and the Caribbean! We both cant wait to dive!
Okay, we are hoping all is well in Canada, we hope the Canucks are winning! So keep the emails coming, we like to read them, and also feel free to post comments on here, we like hearing from everyone!
We love you and miss you lots! Love Kyle and Fran

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

04 Find Fran	05 Kyle Walking Through the Corn	06 A Night at the EarthLodge	07 The Truck Ride Home
08 Kyle on the Black Sand Beach of Monterrico	09 Kyle in the Waves	10 Throwing Some Sand	11 Fran in the Water
12 Fran in the Waves	13 A Storm is Coming

Slideshow Print this entry Share

Previous Entry Next Entry