first day went from L.A. to tucson AZ where i stayed at my the house of my friends greg and his familyhttp://img80.imageshack.us/img80/4433/yo011pb6.jpg next day went south across border at nogales, eventually encountering the immigration-aduana http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/5030/yo014yl3.jpg where a six month visa can be obtained for 30 dollars and a six month vehice permit will set you back 39 dollars heading south on mexico´s toll roads, there were frequent toll booths http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/5158/yo018fx1.jpg where tolls so far have [View Full Entry]

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We took another shuttle to Lago Atitlan. It should have been quicker, going direct, but it took 50 minutes just to get around Antigua and pick up all the passengers. It was a long but lovely drive, with a well timed pee stop at the turnoff for the lake. We also had a photo stop as we followed the road down to Panajachel. Panajachel was a bit of a shock. All touristy. Full of shops and restaurants. I think the driver took us to the wrong dock. Wrong because kids started dragging us down to the boats, quoting some other people [View Full Entry]

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In October of 2005, Hurricane Stan ripped by the Guatemalan coast leaving torrential rainfall in its wake. Guatemala received as much rainfall in three days as they would normally get in a two-year span. As a result, mudslides and flooding wreaked havoc across the countryside. The region most affected by the rainfall was the area around Lago de Atitlan. The village once known as Panabáj was buried under 40 feet of mud and rock when the side of the volcano shadowing it collapsed. Many lives (over 600) were lost and the site is now a cemetery standing in their remembrance. Other [View Full Entry]

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Nos trajets autour du lac Atitlan se font maintenant a bord de boites de pick up avec nos bagages entasses parfosi a plus de 25 personnes. Arrivee a San Juan, nous avons constate que le deuxieme etage de l'ecole promis par notre stage de l'hiver passe avait bien ete construit. Dans la famille, nous avons eu la chance d'etre presentes le soir de la grande fete, en l'honneur de la graduation de Juan, le grand frere de Pascale. Plus de 250 personnes etaient attendues a ce festin. Plusieurs membres de la famille sont venues pour s'assurer du bon fonctionnement de la [View Full Entry]

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I'm still here in San Juan La Laguna and I'm getting to see more and more each day how good we really have it back home. So many of us take things for granted, but being here has opened my eyes and made me thankful for what I have and also motivated to help out where I can. I can't put into words the hardships that I am witnessing. The town of San Juan is a lot better off than some of it's neighboring communities. Each day during driver training, I pass through all of the towns surrounding San Juan. The [View Full Entry]

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