Bienvenudos a Guatemala

28th May 2012

Well, finally, we have arrived in San Pedro, by Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

Our flights all went well, LAX airport was a nightmare, as always. From LA we flew into Guatemala City this morning, to arrive at about 7.30 am. From there our long journey out to San Pedro began.

Firstly, Guatemala City is the greatest city in the world to get the hell out of. An absolute dump of smog and traffic and heavily armed (like 12 gauge pump action) guards outside the convenience stores. Still better than Gosford in NSW though.

Travelling via Antigua, which is a stunning historical town outside the capital, the trip took in all about 4 hours. There were about 12 of us all crammed into a mini bus with all our backpacks tied to the roof however, this did not stop the driver stopping the get the van washed while we were all inside. Apart from the impromptu car wash, and a man needing 4 men armed with steel rods and Swiss army knives to jimmy him out of a toilet, the trip was uneventful. The road was very winding, steep and absolutely riddled with potholes but the drive though the amazing Guatemalan jungle and the view of the massive lake made it worthwhile.  First impressions are breathtaking and you can just never take your eyes of the views and impeccable beauty this place has.

San Pedro is one of quite a few towns on the lake, all of which, we are told are very different, with San Pedro being the best, according to our host family!

The town is full of quaint little houses, cobblestone streets ,tuk tuks, and stray dogs. We are planning to find our own perro (dog) to bring us the paper each morning.

We checked in at our school and within 10 mins there was a 14 year old girl by the name of Juanita to collect us and take us her family, and for the next month, our home.  We are staying with a family of 4; at the moment I am not 100% on their names so we will get back to you! We have a lovely little room with our own bano (bathroom), which Mark has to duck his head to use. We have three meals a day provided, desaynuo, almuerzo and cena , and meal times are the perfect opportunity to converse with the family members that pop by.

The school runs lessons one on one with a local in a setting unmatched by any classroom in the world, overlooking the lake in a private setting.

We start school tomorrow morning so we should be fluent by tomorrow night! Ha!

Eventually we will get out and about and explore the town and local bars. Beers are very cheap and Cuba Libres go for ten Quetzales for two, or about two bucks.

Lazing about in our room

San Pedro