Antigua to San Pedro La Laguna

---

This morning we made delicious breakfast sandwiches & headed out to find the McDonald's in town. We'd been told that it was the most beautiful McDonald's you'll ever see by this British couple in Lanquin. We found it quickly, after I asked for directions to it. It's true. The most fancy McD's we'd ever seen. First of all, it was huge, probably 3 or 4 times the size of your typical Ron's. There was the usual counter & seating arrangement. Plus a McCafe set up like a Starbucks off to one side. A McInternet with a handful of computers for the patrons to use. A huge play area & seating area for kids. Also a gorgeous courtyard with a couple of fountains & more seating (with cast iron tables & chairs). The view from the courtyard looked directly at one of the volcanos surrounding Antigua. It was impressive. We each had a hashbrown & headed out. 😊

Back at the hostel we packed up & headed down to catch our bus to San Pedro on Lake Atitlan. I was told by the woman working there that our shuttle had already come & gone. Great! She said, "I yelled upstairs that the shuttle was here but you didn't come down, so they left". Didn't know we were supposed to be listening for yelling. Plus, it would be difficult to distinguish due to the fact that yelling is a common form of communication in these parts. Anyways, after I made a couple phone calls (from their phone) to the travel agency, that we had already paid our fare to, the shuttle returned. PS: the shuttle had arrived 15 minutes early, that never happens, they're almost always late (Guatemala time). It was a bit of a cluster, but we ended up on the shuttle, even though the driver complained about having to come back for us & on our way. Whew!

Seriously, love the tourist shuttles. It's so nice not to stop every 10 feet & be crammed together like cattle. After a 3 hour winding through the mountains, bumpy, crazy fast drive, we arrived in San Pedro. There are a ridiculous amount of mountains in this country. It seems like everywhere we go we end up on some mountain road that has 7000 hairpin turns, gravel, torn up pavement, & no adherence to the rules of the road by anyone. Our driver today loved his horn & honked at everyone. Whether to say thanks for letting me pass, or get out of the way, or coming through & I'm not stopping so you better move.

We may have permanent neck damage from our road travels but oh well. It's worth it.

Lake Atitlan is HUGE! And gorgeous. It's a caldera (the top opening of a volcano) & surrounded by tall mountains on all sides. It's so pretty. We arrived in town & were greeted by Johnny Hiker (because he hikes all around town he said) who works for the municipality, doesn't want our money, but will help us find a place to stay. Which he did.

We are at a lovely little hotel with a shared balcony overlooking the lake. Of course, our own bathroom & it sparkles. All for the high price of $13 a night. We got settled & had to rest for bit. Those drives always take a little energy out of you. We did some reading & journaling & headed out to find me some coffee to kill my headache. My Central American headaches are becoming a bit annoying. This whole area reminds us of Eastern Washington. It looks like Chelan surrounded by volcanos with more deciduous trees and a very desert like feel. With lots of farming still. Since I'm allergic to anything deciduous that might account for my constant headaches. Who knows. I blame the anti-malarials.

Later we headed out to watch the superbowl at a bar down the road owned by two Scottish guys. They had the game projected on a big screen up on their balcony. It was fun. There were a bunch of Americans (some traveling, some who live here) & the usual mix of other travelers. It was a fun & rowdy group. Until behind us a barfight broke out. This one super duper drunk American guy took his pool stick & tried to take out this Guatemalan guy who he was playing. It missed him but sent all their drinks flying across the room onto all of us watching the game. The guy was nuts, he kept swinging the stick around & grabbed a ball & was about to hit the guy with it. At this point several of the guys in the bar were on top of this drunk guy. Geoff pulled the stick out of his hands while another guy was wrenching the ball out of his hands. He was throwing punches at Everyone & ripped another guys shirt. It was mayhem. It was kinda crazy how tough it was to break up. The Guatemalan guys weren't even fighting him or antagonizing him, but he just kept flailing around throwing the F word out to anyone who came near him. Wild! He left, came back & pushed the guy again & knocked over a tv. It was nuts. Everyone in the bar was yelling at him to leave. Apparently the police were called but it took them quite some time to arrive considering how tiny this town is. At last, he was gone & we could all go back to enjoying the game. Yikes. The game was fun! Go Green Bay!

We headed home after the game & went right to sleep. Geoff has a bit of a cold coming on & he sounds like a snot factory currently. It is so quiet tonight. The sun was hot today but the air temperature is nice & cool. Such a nice way to sleep.

---

Photos

From the roof
of Umma Gumma Hostel.

Kassandra
and Ron.

Our first view
of Lago de Atitlan.

Not sure that guard rail
would stop our mini-bus, but who's looking at the guard rail.

The view from our room
in San Pedro La Laguna.

Super Bowl Sunday
even in Guatemala.