La Fiesta a La Iguana Perdida

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Well, I spent another hellacious night listening to wild dogs and demon possessed roosters carrying on outside of my room. From this point forward, I'll be wearing my headset or some ear plugs. Oh yeah, if my spelling is off it's because there's no spell check here...it's all in español.

Sleep deprived and now with a cold coming on, I bartered a boat ride to Santa Cruz La Laguna for 20 quetzals. On the ride over I met a man (James) who was an acupuncturist in Pana, and he just so happened to be good friends with the owner of La Iguana Perdida. Upon arrival, James introduced me to Dave, the owner of the hostel, and wouldn't you know it, I got the last available bed. I shared a room with a guy from Quebec named Alex, who turned out to be quite a character. I was then informed that a double decker boat would be picking everyone up for a party on the lake in 30 minutes.

Ben and his crew arrived just in time to catch the barge. The floating party was great. The boat was packed full with over 60 people and there was music, food, and drinks provided. Riding along side of us was a smaller boat that pulled people around skiing. We dropped anchor for a while so people could get in and cool off. Most of us decided to jump from the roof of the boat on the top deck. After the diving exhibition, we headed up top to socialize, dance and listen to music. I met people from all over the world, but there were very few Americans. Upon our return, I took a well needed siesta (nap) to prepare for that nights fiesta (party). Note that these translations are for you mother.

The night started off with socializing and dinner was served around 7pm. The hostel crew prepared an unbelievable dinner for the 163 people on the dinner list and it was all on the house. The dinner consisted of steak, veggies, potatoes, salad, humus and bread (Buenisimo). The line for the food was enormous, but well worth the wait.

After dinner, the party picked up with music and more drinks. A lot of the guys were dressed up like women. This is a Saturday night ritual at the Iguana. They even have a room set aside with women’s and men’s clothing for the cross dressing extravaganza. Soon the party moved over to the new addition of the hostel that is still under construction. There was a live band and a cash bar set up. They also had a huge bowl of extremely spiked punch for everyone to drink for free. This is where the party got a little wild. The dance floor was packed, but we had a breeze coming off of the lake to cool us down. Ben and D.R got on the mike and performed a beat box and rap duo to entertain. An attractive Chapina (Guatemalan girl) who spoke no English, had someone translate to me that she wanted to dance. I ended up spending the rest of the night dancing with my new friend Liss and even got to practice my Spanish. Liss asked me if I played futbol Americano and I tried to explain to her that I used to play, but I'm not very good with my past tense form of the verbs yet, so I think she still thinks that I play (Oh well!). Liss turned out to be a volunteer dentist for Atitlan and Solola, so I got my teeth checked for free (just kidding mom). Oh yeah, Alex got a girls address and wrote it down on his arm with a marker and the next morning it was tattooed across his forehead (funny stuff).

What a way to start off my stay at the lake. I don't think I will top that party the rest of my trip. Tomorrow I head off to San Pedro La Laguna, where I will meet the Guatemalan family that I'll be living with while I study Spanish. Till Then!

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Photos

Alex and Mel
Alex was my breakdancing roommate.