Blogs from San Pedro La Laguna, Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 12

We finished the spanish school a few weeks ago and since then have been cathing up on travelling around the country. Strangely enough this involved more physical activity as we signed up for 3 back to back hikes. The first was a 3 day hike to Lake Atitlan, an extinct volcano crater, which is now, a huge lake surrounded by other volcanoes. It was a great hike but very tiring (35 miles in total); we got to see some beautiful scenery and great sunsets and sunrises. The lake itself was stunning and you will have to go on the net to have a look. Whilst there we stayed at a backpacking town called San Pedro, which is known for its hippies and marijuana. We must have been asked about 10 times a day if we wanted ... read more

Guatemaltecos are super friendly and helpful, and everybody from little kids to old women says buenos or hola (or Utz ´a watch in Maya) as you pass in the streets. It is an an interesting juxtaposition that guatemala has seen some of the worst violence this planet dishes out and yet the people are so welcoming and softspoken. It is hard for me to imagine these people engaging in violence. Which makes sense because these people, local mayans, were the victims not perpetrators, of the violence. I like Guatemalan hand shakes...they are soft and warm, opposite the firm, tight, confident, (aggressive?) greetings of north americans. Does this say something about the respective cultures? Guatemala is more reserved and conservative than mexicans. You don´t see the same fiesta spirit that I saw in mexico. Mayan women don´t ... read more

I know, I am really lazy, but sorry, I´ve been living and not wasting my spare time on the internet. Things are going here, new adventures (which are often always the same) happen daily. I remember one morning, we left here (Xela) at 8 am on a Saturday morning. It was almost still dark out and clouds filled the views, giving everyone awake slight chills. We made our way to the bus terminal, a grudgey, gross place and a long ugly walk from where one urban mini-bus drops you off to the massive bus Terminal called Minerva. Here you can find buses going almost anywhere in Guatemala. That day we were going to Lake Atitlan. As we came out from the heart of the highlands, to just a little bit lower (though not too much, still ... read more

Well the last 2 weeks have been pretty mad. Much drinking and dancing. It's been great but I'm starting to think that the big nights or the hangovers in the morning have been impacting on my ability to learn Spanish. I've made a great little group of friends from all over which I've been having a ball with. The only problem was that we basically ended up in a bar every night. But the salsa clubs were great. Basically you would walk in and guys would ask you to dance. And the best part was that most of them didn't try anything they genuinely just wanted to dance. It was a lot of fun but difficult because Guatemalian men in general are really short & I mean maybe my shoulder height short, so some of the ... read more

yesterday carolina and i met early and took a boat over to san marcos for a yoga class....san marco´s is one of the other villages along the lake. the class was amazing! three hours of yoga...in beautiful san marcos. it felt great to challenge my body and to practice with others. then, last night carolina and i met for a movie (tsotsi). we were standing at the bar waiting for our tea when i noticed a display of cookies...there were chocolate cookies, peanut butter cookies and space cookies. neither of us had ever had a space cookie....so we decided to try one. since it was our first time, the bartender suggested that we share a cookie. about an hour into the movie carolina asked me if i was feeling anything. and neither of us were feeling ... read more