Blogs from San Pedro La Laguna, Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 7

I MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT OUT OF MEXICO!!!!!! Im goin back in a couple weeks though... ;) However i made it through the border w no problems!!! i didnt even pay a fine!!!! i gave them the innocent me look and told the customs officers i had realized in mexico city the day before that my visa had expired (''im so sorry officer, i completely forgot about it...'') and called the french embassy and they said to get down to the border and just pay a fine. to my amazement in 15 minutes i had my exit stamps and i didnt even have to pay a cent!!!!! th setting was everything i expected and more... there's a river that divides mexico and guatemala (i crossed at a town called Talisman) and you have tyo cross a ... read more

iHola! I´ve been in San Pedro, Guatemala for a week now, learning Spanish for 5 hours a day, then going home for meals and chit chat with my Guatemala family (and Swedish-Iranian ´brother´), so it seems the right time to send a few notes on learning espanol. 1. In Mexico, of course, the currency is the peso. The Q on Guatemalan price tags does not stand for queso. Queso means cheese. 2. Be prepared for your first day of class - brush up on enough vocab to fill five hours with conversation about politics, economics, immigration, emigration, discrimination, and others ics and isms. 3. If you are eavesdropping and don´t understand a world that your new Guatemalan family is saying, don´t be too disheartened about your progress with the spanish language - they are probably speaking ... read more

27th - 29th August- Nebaj Arrived in Nebaj late lastnight after a series of tightly packed buses. Nebaj is a small town with a large population of indigenous Mayan people. As we had a walk around the market we noticed all the women were wearing traditional dress which consisted of a colourful poncho tucked into a deep red skirt with a brightly patterned belt and blanket flung across the shoulder. Most intruigingly they all had their hair wrapped up and decorated with pom poms. We were ushered into an indoor market and swiftly dressed up by some nice ladys who then tried to sell us their entire stalls claiming ´my ill sister made it!' about everything. We did end up buying quite alot. After a failed walk because of torrential rain we went back to the ... read more

Well Lizzie and I had our laziest week in San Pedro where we palnned to stay a few days and left after nearly a week. It is a picturesque little village filled with tourists by Lake Atitlan. The lake is stunning, and our hotel had a little dock on the lake and we enjoyed many an afternoon lounging in the sun and swimming. As it is rainy season we spent our afternoons in restuarants when it was raining, one in particular, Zoo La, we would go in for lunch at noon and leave at 10 pm. The restuarant was beautiful decorated and was made up of long coffee tables surrounded by cushions, hammocks and tree chairs. It was perfect for lounging and lazying. Especially as the food has been amazing! Even though it took about two ... read more

So we arrived in Guatemala city at 6am yesterday, absolutely shattered. We tried to get a shuttle bus from the airport to Antigua but due to lack of numbers we either had to pay more or find an alternative so refusing to pay the extra (the QS and the accountant in us!!!) we decided to make our own way to the dodgy bus station (read; dirt road lined with food stalls and chicken buses!) Anyway we found the chicken bus to Antigua (ancient American school buses crammed with as many people (and sometimes animals) as wish to get on, there is no maximum, they just keep piling them on!) The aisle between the seats was no longer visible and there were at least 4 people to each seat! Our rucksacks were on the roof but I ... read more