Blogs from San Pedro La Laguna, Western Highlands, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 8

Hola Amigos, So my first day of class in San Pedro proved to be interesting. I met my teacher (Elmer) and we headed to our shack. After talking for awhile he asked me, “quires caminar?” I said “Si” and we went for a walk. We headed through the gardens. The school is outside and is in the center of a giant garden divided into many parts. Each section of the garden is owned and maintained by a different person or family. We climbed a small hill and Elmer explained that the hill we were standing on used to be an island before the water in Lago de Atitlan receded. I could see the walls built up around what used to be the island. From this vantage point, I could see around much of the lake, and ... read more

Greetings from sunny San Pedro La Laguna. Oh wait no - its pissing it down...AGAIN! Apart from the glorious sunshine the day we arrived (last wednesday) it has rained or atleast been very overcast, grey and miserable, every day we´ve been here. Add to the that the gorgeous (and bloody massive) roast chiken dinner we had last night (sunday) at the British Pub here (so far I am yet to find a post office, a museum/art gallery or anything else vaguely cultural - but they know whats important!!!!!!!) we could in fact be at home with you guys! So, what have we been up to? Where did Gem get up to last? Erm....I think we had just arrived in Antigua. Well...what can I say about Antigua? Not much really. We think it was a bit of ... read more

Hi all...hope your gald to see we have finally got some photos up!! Thought we´d give you an update on what we have been doing since our last entry..FINALLY! After our spectacular sunrise tour of Tikal in Guatamala, we headed soth west to Antigua, which is a town just outside Guatamala city. Its old and colonial and a beautiful place in Guatamala...cobbled streets, old churches and surrounded by volcanoes...we stayed in a very "atmospheric hostel" and managed to taste the local nightlife after a week of bussing it and trecking (in the smallest sense of the word!). Now, walking into a bar as a few gringos, the attention we received was scary..!everyone has their own interesting little story, but put it this way...wondering the streets of Antigua at 4am is definitely not a good idea especially ... read more

The Guatemalan antics have kept rolling on since my last blog. My next stop was to Antigua for Semana Santa (or Holy Week) celeberations. Semana Santa is the week that runs from the Sunday before Easter until Easter Sunday, and all throughout Latin America its a time for big celebrations, street fiestas, carnivals and so on - i had to make a reservation to be in Antigua over Semana Sanata quite a while back, as everyone knows that the festivities are on a grander scale in Antigua than anywhere else in Central America. There were heaps of processions through the city, especially over the thursday, friday, saturday and sunday - with each procession having its own theme and timed to coincide with what was supposedly happening on the very first Easter when Jesus was being crucified ... read more

When you plan and trip like this, one that involves driving through crime filled third world countries, you tell yourself a few things. We will only travel by day, we will only travel on the main roads, and we will stay away from places that are notorious for crime. Once your on the trip however, you forget these things... but we will get to that. After a few wild days in Antigua, involving open mic heriocs, live, active lava flows, and a night that can best be described as Desperate Housewives Antigua, we set off for Lago de Atitlan and the fabled drug hippie mecca od San Pedro. On our last night in Antigua we met two nice swedish girls who were going the same way as us so we offered them a ride and taste ... read more