Homework

Thanks to all who posted on the homework assignment! I promise to post the lists for Will and I tomorrow! Here is a little teaser to get you through the day:









Also, I am keeping track of those of you who have completed your homework... I may need to start calling comeone ¨banana¨ if we dont hear from her soon!

One more note, I cannot find the apostrophe on this keyboard, so Ill have to live without today :)

Michelle

Chichi!

The Saturday before last (the 16th), Michelle and I had the day off together to go explore. With only a handful of such days sprinkled between work and school we have been planning activities for each. Our host Dave has been an invaluable resource for this and was the motivating factor in us visiting what he has heard is one of the largest remaining indigenous markets in the world. He was even kind enough to call his favorite shuttle company to arrange the transport.

The shuttle picked us up at the top of our nearby dock road and ran through some more towns before heading to our destination; filling up the empty spaces as is the routine. The trip was only around 1.5 hours and retraced much of our original path from Antigua. Eventually it cut off and meandered downwards to the market town. We knew we were getting closer as we could see the numbers of fruit huts on the sides of the highway increasing.

Our rig finally reached the town and after meandering through single lane 90 degree turns with traffic directors pulled into an equally tight parking garage. We piled out and in true Will fashion decided to skirt the edges of the town to get a feel for size and orientation. Needless to say the scale I chose was a bit bigger than the size of "one of the worlds largest indigenous markets", so we worked our way 6 or so blocks back inward toward all the comotion. We had been warned that it was easy to get lost so I was taking precautions :)

*An interesting note- no public restrooms, only private pay and not always where you need them...

Immediately after explaining our toe shoes for the umteenth time to a bathroom attendant, we headed directly into the main drag of the market.




It was really quite an experience which this wide open spaces country boy was thankfully not overwhelmed by. Booth after booth, space after space, filled with colorful clothing, baskets, and trinkets. We have learned pretty much the remaining thing the Mayan cultures here are currently known for is their fabric weaving. When walking down the streets you almost have to get angry (or at least uncomfortably firm for a Northwesterner) when saying no to the relentless sales of blankets by local women. After learning 5 no's did not really mean "NO!" I switched to my own creation which works well, probably because it's not what they would say... Veo tu... I see you. I realized that I just kept on walking with out turning my head and once I made the effort to acknowledge them directly they were sort of stunned into stopping. We had purchased a blanket for Michelle at the beginning of the trip and were using it as the locals do which is wrapped around a plastic basket to make a handled basket. Upon seeing this the salespeople switched tactics to... Do you want another blanket?

We walked the entire length of one of the main drags and worked our way to others trying to explore them all. We found a lot of the same and similar goods throughout and noticed most of the goods did not seem to be made by locals of the town, but rather locals of Guatemala city or even imported. The most concentrated portion of local Mayans were on the outskirts of the main market or just the not so flashy touristy lanes. They would mostly be selling foodstuffs and would either be set up on the cobble stone street, or under a tarped section, but never with their own fancy booth. These were the parts that were the most interesting. We were on the lookout for new kinds of fruits to try and were keen on finding a Pitalla, and beautiful cactus fruit. While we did not end up finding it there we did find fresh Lychee's and a new kind of Asian Pear I had never had.

At the end of one of the rows we stumbled across a large church where Mayans were giving their offerings of flowers and incense. There was a smoldering open fire on the stone steps which people would use to light bunches of dried herbs and would wave them while bowing on the steps.



It was a sureal scene that was constantly cut by the river of market goers flowing in front.

We only had about 4 hours before the shuttle left so we started to get somethings done we had hoped to. After exploring the whole market we found a shop that sold some evening/yoga pants I liked and got more practice at haggling. We've learned that an outrageous offering price should be countered with a low offer, equally outrageous, with the intended price somewhere in the middle. Our best tool so far- starting to walk out. Which we did 3 times until we were almost around the corner and the owner gave the nod to the sales person to let it go... I have to give most of the credit to Michelle and the East Coast because I had been talking about settling about 2 offers prior :)

We headed to lunch at a hit or miss place which was all we could find.... We've found that our dining in has been 100% incredible but our dining out has been below 50% :) Unfortunately, as we´ve mentioned, Guatemala isn't known for its food. The best imitation place we found has been texmex. Imitation american is to avoided at all costs :P The "sausages" are sometimes hot dogs, and the "fried potatoes" are sometimes frozen french fries. Meals have a unique ability to satisfy or dissatisfy. Must be the hunger component...

Afterwards we picked up some more fruit, hopped in an internet cafe to check emails, and hustled to get back on the shuttle. We felt like we got all we could from the big but not giant market, most of it being all to similar to the streets of San Pedro.

Thankfully the shuttle was much less full on the return trip and we could both lay out on a bench seat to relax. Michelle over heard a conversation between a couple Ausie gents in the back about the political signs seen everywhere. Mostly paintings on every rock surface visible from any road. They were talking about the two parties predomoniently advertised in our neck of the woods (though there are around 20+ parties and they regularly have to have a runoff after the first vote as none get above 50% of the vote the first round). These are Une and Partido. The former is signified by two hands crossed making a white dove to a green background and the later a fist against a back splash of orange. Can you guess which one is military rule? It is common to see bridges and rocks one after the other painted with eachothers image. It almost seems like they must have collaborated when painting because the cement bridge railings are perfectly shared with colors meeting as if by a rulers edge and never overlaping. On valuable advertising space there is no wasted surface.

Anyway, these guys were talking about the not so subtle imagery of the dove and the fist and it lead into them talking about in Australia how voting is compulsory and how no one cares, and then into how in America it's just about who has the most money... Or friends with money... We agreed. One thing that was funny was they mentioned that in Peru they do not allow anyone to drink for 3 days prior to elections... Apparently you have to get a stamp after voting that lets you be served. Does anyone know if this is true? I could see that going either way... Staying on current politics the main candidate for the Uno party is the incumbent's wife. Apparently it is illegal for incumbent spouses to be elected into office so they are getting a divorce. This is expected to be contested in the courts.

Well, that is all for now... except....

I've noticed that the people greet eachother here from the farthest of distances. You can be walking along the lake and look up at a fisherman 1/4 mile out and his head is up looking right at you expecting your arm to go up, or several hundred feet in both directions from our home; either way much further than you'd expect to be acknowledged. Their heads are up, they are looking around, and they want to say hello; even if thats all you can say to eachother.
It's really heartwarming. So to all of you from so far way. *wave*



Will

A slight change of plans

Well this week we have had less access to internet, since we have spent most of our time on Dave's property and little time in the city. Before I get into the details of the week, I have exciting news to share. I have accepted a position at St. Pete's hospital in Olympia, WA. I will be starting on their progressive care unit, as a nurse resident, on September 12. For twelve weeks I will alternate between classes and 12 hour night shifts, with a preceptor. I am so excited for this job! In addition to really enjoying the PCU (which involves caring for heart patients, mostly) there are a number of other benefits. I will be working at the hospital where I did nearly all of my clinical rotations while a student, so I am very familiar with the hospital, many of the policies, and the charting system. We will get to stay in Olympia, and most importantly, near Jenn and Koren and the boys. Also, I am happy to have the job search over, as that is always a daunting task.

Because I will be starting work before our trip was planned to end, we will be leaving early from Guatemala. This is the only disappointing thing about getting this job. Because we have committed to Dave for 8 weeks, we will be here on the farm for our entire stay, and unable to travel or see much more of Guatemala than the lake. While we were excited to explore further, we are only encouraged to make a return trip to see everything we missed. Besides, we are learning a good deal at Dave's place, and we are able to take short side trips on days off, so we aren't missing out entirely.

With the trip ending early, the amount of time I am in Spanish school, and practicing Spanish is so shortened, that I was nervous about my progress. After lots of conversation and figuring out, Will and I decided to rearrange our schooling a bit. I will be taking classes for the next six weeks, while Will works on the farm. Our host was gracious enough to let us change the plans a bit, and I am grateful Will was so willing to let me sink my teeth into studying and school. Anyway, I won't go on too much about these changes, I'm sure you want to get into the details of our last weeks or so....


We finished our final days of the first week of school with much more knowledge than we started the with, and I think an idea of how far we have to go. I enjoyed my week with my instructor, Luis, who was great at providing encouraging corrections. I think it is a great testament to his ability to teach that he would tell stories, all in Spanish, which I could understand. He knew how to speak slowly, clearly, and with the vocabulary I would understand, it was very impressive. I learned a little bit about local history, and we talked about politics,which I am always interested in. On Friday, all of the students have an opportunity to walk with their teachers to a home of a local family in need. Part of the money we pay to the school for our classes is allotted to helping local families. The school purchases food weekly that the student and teacher deliver. Additionally, the school uses some of this money (and additional donations) to build new homes for families who lack adequate housing. This, along with the fact that the school is cooperatively owned by the teachers, is why we chose La Coopertiva La Laguna. There are many spanish language schools in Guatemala, and San Pedro, so it was hard to be certain we chose the right one. After one week there, though we are happy with the choice.

Back on the farm, we got to work gardening and building. It is not quite accurate to call Dave's place a farm. It is a large swath of partially vertical land that produces lots of food. Dave has a vision for a "food forest" on this land, with permaculture practices at it's center. Will and I are learning a ton about this different method of growing. My experience with farming and growing is very focused on production, with organic and sustainable practices. This method yields an abundance of crops with intensive labor, but consistent, efficient produce. The permaculture method is more fluid. It's about rejuvenating the land, interspersing plantings, using every possible space, erosion control, and putting in a little work, in order to let nature do its thing. There is little weeding, since most everything is planted intentionally. Instead of letting unwanted plants crop up, often "weeds" are planted- like the arugula scattered all over the property. The incredibly cool thing about this property (aside from all of the food and plantlife) is the incorporation of buildings and the choices Dave has made for construction. For example, he has a "bano organico" (composting toilet) for the main house, and we are currently in the process of building one for the casita (where we are living). The cement block foundation was built by previous WWOOFers (more on WWOOFing later) and local day laborers. The bano is built high enough to collect waste (that's a euphemism for poop, folks) for a year. That space is then closed off and unused for a year, while the waste composts, and the other side of the foundation is used. After a year of composting the waste can be removed. Some folks believe this waste is composted enough to be used as fertilizer after this one year of composting. Other folks will take the compost, and mix it with soil, and other composting material, and wait another six months or so before using this nutrient rich mixture to fertilize their crops. We'll be working on building for the next few weeks, and we'll try to take pictures of the progress. Will built steps from the casita to the new bano, as shown here.
Another cool element of this region is the number of banana trees! Banana trees sprout up everywhere and are a great for many things! In addition to the delicious food, they grow incredibly fast. This helps to hold the soil in for erosion control. They are also great filters, so Dave pipes his urine to banana circle (literally a circle of banana trees) to be filtered as part of his permaculture design. Just today, WIll and I uprooted some shoots from the banana trees and transplanted them in places in need of erosion control on the property. I wish I had a picture of me hauling a banana tree, two feet taller than me, over my shoulder, up the slope to the terrace that needed stabilization!

So we have had a productive week of building, and planting, and eating great meals. Apparently, Guatemala is not known for its cuisine, so Will and I are grateful for the wonderful food we get to eat, which is very much like what we are used to eating at home. We are especially lucky for the varieties of fruit that grow here, which we consume daily. I'll let Will tell about our day trip to the Chichi market, and all of the fruit varieties. For those of you that would like a little interactive participation (homework for the HAZEN google group?) feel free to compile a list of your top ten favorite fruits and post in the comments section. Will and Dave revelled in a conversation trying to identify which would make it to the top ten, and which of those were in the top three. Will listed about five that would make his top three :)

Back to school

It was funny, on Sunday I said to Will, emphatically, "It is so wonderful to not have to work or go to school" when Will reminded me that, in fact, we are working (in exchange for our living quarters and meals,) and we are going to language school. Of course, that was true, but down here in Guatemala, the work and the school are so much different than what we have been used to.

So Monday, school began! After conferring with Dave, we planned to take la lancha to San Pedro in the morning. And so, waking up at 6, taking care of the chores, and yoga and breakfast, we headed off to the muelle. We ended up following the route we had taken to get here, only in reverse: San Pablo to San Marcos to San Pedro. As Will mentioned, the drivers do not like to stop at San Pablo. Since we didn't want to risk being late for our first day of school, we decided to take the certain, if longer and more expensive, route to San Pedro. We arrived without a hitch, and happily walked the mile to la escuela. Five minutes early is perfect timing in my book, and we were shortly introduced to our teachers, Luis for Michelle and Wilson for Will.

Our classes are spectacular! We have one-on-one instruction, which allows for individualized teaching. My session began with a long conversation where Luis spoke only in Spanish, gauging my knowledge. It was great practice, but very difficult. I find only a few things return to me from Spanish classes in high school 15 years ago. After the long conversation, we got to work with the lessons. We reviewed basic concepts, which I remembered easily (letters of the alphabet, numbers, conjugation in the present tense...) then focused more heavily and some other beginner lessons for the remainder of the the four hour morning session.

For lunch, Will and I walked all through town and the market. We bought some tortillas and avocate (avocado) for lunch and sat down in front of the Catholic church, in a beautiful well kept park, complete with benches and a fountain. Will's stomach bug had run its course, and we enjoyed the local meal. On our walk back, we bought some fresh squeezed jugo de naranja (orange juice). I left Will in the market, and headed to my afternoon class. I have elected to study for 6 hours a day, while Will had decided to attend class for four. We'll decide later if either of us want to adjust as the weeks progress. My afternoon class proceeded similarly to the morning. Conversational practice, followed by lessons and repetitions. We left, tired and arms loaded with groceries, headed to la muelle in San Pedro to catch our lancha back to San Pablo.

In addition to appreciating the structure of the classes, the setting is magnificent. Tucked away from the center of "Gringolandia" as my instructor refers to it, there is ample space to host approximately 10, maybe 12 students on the beautifully landscaped property. There are little platforms each with a palm or grass roof, furnished with a table and basic plastic chairs which are comfortable enough. The learning spaces are small but not too small, and spread far enough apart that a different student's lesson is not a distraction,. The entire area is landscaped with local flora and some winding trails leading to the platforms. It is a beautiful scene, and peaceful, incredibly conducive to learning.



Tuesday proceeded similarly to Monday, with both of us advancing in our studies and enjoying our class time. Today, though, we decided to see if we could arrange a deal with a local kayak rental place. Our hope was that we could rent a kayak for a reduced rate overnight, when no one else would want to rent a kayak, and save a few Quetzales on the "tourista" lancha fair- which is about twice as much as the locals. Everyone are firm hagglers. After some difficulty recalling our new vocabulary words, we came to a great deal with the man who owns the kayaks. He was fine with us taking a kayak overnight and returning it in the morning. He even told us if he wasn't there some evening we could take the kayak and pay him the next morning or evening. We were so pleased with this excellent deal. We not only save money and get to enjoy the lake, but we will get some additional exercise too! Unbelievably, it only took us 25 minutes to paddle across the lake, and about 15 to carry the kayak to a safe location on Dave's property. If the lancha went straight to San Pedro it would take 15 minutes, but its route through San Marcos can take 30+ waiting for the connection. Save time, money, get a beautiful view, adventure, reduce fossil fuel consumption, AND get exercise??? Take that lancha drivers... No somos touristas! Evidenced by the fact that we are the ONLY ones who you see crossing the lake in a kayak.... :)

That brings us to Wednesday, when Will woke again with a stomach issue, leading us to vow to avoid any questionable food down here. Will braved the kayak with me, since we didn't want to break our promise to the kayak owner, but chose to get back to San Pablo as soon as we arrived in San Pedro. I made the walk to school without him, and he made his way home. My day at class was great. I am feeling more confident in my interactions and understanding more and more. During my break today I went to the Farmacia to see what medications might be available in case Will was sick for longer than a day this time. I left feeling concerned that so many medications with dangerous side effects we so readily available over the counter. The pharmacist recommended a medication for nausea/vomitting that had me worried. While this medication (Metoclopromide for my medical/nursing readers) is an effective antiemetic, I would not advise anyone to take it for a day of sickness. It is a strong medicine, with potentially life-long side effects. It has it's place in modern medicine, and taking small doses for a short time reduces the risk, but I still would hesitate to take this EVER. My trip to the farmacia reminded me that I should not be buying medications that would normally require prescriptions, and thorough understanding/education, in the United States. Luckily, Will is feeling much better this evening and plans to return to school tomorrow.

Well, I think we are all caught up for now. Until next time, buenos noches!

Michelle

Working for the weekend!

Will has been busy writing about our first impressions and experiences, so I thought I would give him a break and reflect a bit myself. We'll go ahead and post as much as we can, especially with these new experiences, then we hope to get into a weekly rhythm, once the details of our routine get too repetitive:)

We arrived on Friday and Dave was kind enough to let us get settled in for the day, feeding us delicious meals and sharing great chats. On Saturday, we woke up early, with the sun and los gallos (roosters) crowing. Well rested, we rolled out of bed to do our morning chores. We rolled out our yoga mats and took our time stretching and enjoying the wonderful place where we would be living. After yoga, we drank some tea and admired the scenery, then finally headed up the stone staircase to the main house for breakfast. It was Saturday, and Evan had off for the weekend, so he went to Pana(jachel), a big town on the lake. Will and I continued to get to know Dave and enjoyed a filling breakfast. Following our meal, we walked with Dave around the property as he decided what needed to be done. He mentioned things here and there, which were hard for me to keep track of! I was tempted to make a list, then review each task and how it should be done.... but it's WAY more relaxed than that here. We ended up with an idea of what to do, and Dave headed out to run errands while we set to our gardening. We weeded and planted and identified new plants. When Dave got back we reported our completed tasks eagerly and asked for more. Though once the afternoon rains began we relented and hung out in the casita, studying Spanish and resting.

A little humorous side note: It turns out we left the only season that isn't overwhelmingly rainy in the PNW to come to the rainy season around Lake Atitlan. But it is different when it's warm and pours like its trying to get it out of its system... The evening regularity is especially nice. Also the altitude is higher- around five thousand feet, so it does not get blisteringly hot; though when the sun comes out you can definitely feel its power.

A not so humorous side note: It turns out scorpions are the bees that crawl into your clothing and bedding. Michelle has unfortunately experienced the fury of one of the little buggers who crawled into a tapestry we bought. This variety is thankfully not deadly, unless you are allergic... Michelle is no longer as scared of future stings. Will slightly less so.



Sunday was similar to Saturday, except that Will caught a little bug (possibly from the market food we ate so enthusiastically on Friday). He pushed through and helped Dave with some reorganizing of the wood shed in preparation for tree house bamboo while I did garden chores. Will rested for the afternoon, and I continued to finish tasks, among them milling corn for the chicken feed. There was no rain as we expected on Sunday, but work was done mid-afternoon, and again we got to enjoy our afternoon and relax until dinner.



Outside of the casita is a passive solar shower. The shower has a tub with a capacity for 4 gallons of water which theoretically soaks up warmth from the sun. We ended up showering later in the day over the weekend, and quickly learned how the temperature of the water drops with the change in temperature. It was cold! Without jumping ahead too much, I will say I enjoyed a luke warm shower which I could stand under comfortably for more than 30 seconds at a time today. We'll be working on timing the showers perfectly.

Well, that was the weekend. We made dinner Sunday night, and Evan returned to eat with us. Apparently, he and Dave have decided we are all part of the Buena Vista supper club, where we center our lives around delicious meals. I have to say in my expereince on farms and with gardeners, great meals are always a common thread.

More Later!

Michelle

Across the Lake

The boat taxi (la lancha) is the local's preferred travel around the lake because of both price and time. Small motorized tricycle cars called Tuc Tucs that service the towns can be taken in between towns as well, but the roads as mentioned before, don't make for the most comfortable ride.



Our lesson with la lanchas went something like this: We asked to be taken to San Pablo's dock (muelle) however the drivers don't like to take the extra time stopping at such a small destination and often pretend as if San Pablo does not have a dock by telling you just that.. Failing to realize what was happening we were brought to San Marcos a town about 5 miles east of San Pablo. Fortunately we had already set up our cell phone with a local chip and called our farm host for advice. The route to his addressless property was supposedly much easier to reach from the dock so we waited until one of the boat drivers agreed to stop where we wanted. I talked with a local who pointed out all the towns within view- San Lucas, San Tiago, San Pedro, San Juan, San Pablo, San Marcos, Panajachel, and a few more I could not remember the names of.

We were dropped off at the correct dock this time and just as Dave had advised walked not 5 minutes on a path along the water to his property. A local worker of his Jorge' greeted us in front of a banana stand and showed us our quarters and encouraged us to look around the property. The casita we would soon call home for the next two months is a cynder-block building about 20x30 feet divided into a bedroom and kitchen. We found a make shift solar shower and bamboo out house with clothes washing station immediately outside of the kitchens large half moon window. These were enclosed within a small yard with a a little grass and a hammock.

After putting our bags down inside we walked around the property taking it all in. What we found was not what we were regularly accustomed to as farming; not rows upon rows of similar species in fields, but rather more of a permaculture design. Intersperced plantings galore! This is due to Dave's love for sustainable agricultural integration and the sudden steepness of the property from the lake to the top; I'd guess around 100 feet in elevation. The uphill half of the property near his beautiful bamboo home is a staircase of terraces with stone and dirt paths a narrow body width wide running between all.

We couldn't help but notice the gigantic tree jutting out from the top of the property above the house with a partially built platform. On our way to check it out we found Evan the other WWOOFer, from New York, who had been there for 1 month and would only stay for 1 week longer. He volunteered to show us the tree house so we made our way up the switchback paths lined with coffee bushes and lemongrass. We had been wondering what the project would look like for which we had brought with us two 1"x10" lag bolts, and upon seeing the deck from above it began to come together. The view back to San Pedro was made even more spectacular by the sheer thrill of feeling so precariously perched.



Working our way back down Evan gave us a brief tour of the main house and his sleeping quarters. The foundation for the tiny home is on two stages; the first floor being the kitchen and dining area and the second only big enough for a pathway between stairases and two chairs. These sat in front of a fireplace inlaid in a giant river rock back wall that raps around each side of the house. The center was multipile bamboos poles roughly 7" in diameter that spanned to the center of the roof and slightly smaller support poles for floor and roof joists- all exposed. Evan's room was essentially the third floor though just an 8x8 ft room set on the back of the home overlooking the rest.

After we had made our way down Evan introduced us to the family perros, Choco y Canela, two cute, Mayan Terrier mixes; brown haired smaller dogs that had been local strays like most until they were taken in. We were informed that our morning and nightly chores would be to feed and water the pups as well as three chickens kept lower on the property.

By this time Dave had returned from his trip to town and we proceed to get to know each other over lunch. Soon after we went with Evan for a trip up to town for some eggs, garlic (ajo), y onions (cebolla). We soon learned that while San Pedro most definitely had toursity gringo parts, San Pablo did not. We appreciated the stark contrast in that it would allow us the opportunity hablar frecuemente en espanol.

On a side note the vast majority of the population here speak different dialects of Mayan as their first language- Tzuitzui'l being the most prominent. This has proven a confusing distraction :)

More later!
Will

The Beginning

We'll just start with Guatemala! We all know how airline flights go! Surprisingly the three flights were not as long or tiring as our adventure to St. Croix months earlier. We were pleased! So! We completed customs paperwork on the plane so when we landed it was a breeze. We exchanged some money at the "Compro" with an exchange rate of roughly 6 Quetzals for each US Dollar. The money is colorful like the bird it is named for. The denominations are similar to US dollars with "Centavos" being their small coins. The have single quetzal coins instead of bills.

We walked up to immigration and handed the man our passports and paperwork. He did not say one word to us, simply stamped them and we walked on to collect our checked bag. We then went to customs where they waved us through to the street where we met our shuttle operator Juan who was holding a sign saying Will & Mishelly. We hoped in his van and waited for another couple who turned out to be two Australian girls doing a three country trip.

The trip out of the city was a brief introduction. Though sadly what you see from a moving vehicle is most often not the best of what a country has to offer. It also says a lot about what I spend my time noticing. Dilapidated buildings, littered streets, tiny cars. What left the biggest first impression on me was that practically every other vehicle was billowing black smoke. Its hard to say if there were even emission standards if they would be followed- due to affordability or care I do not know. It was odd to see shiny new cars along with old spewing the menacing clouds I attempted in vain to hold my breath between. I get incredible headaches and nausea around exhaust; but we made it! Two hours later.

Our initial plan was to stay the night in Antigua, a touristy town with cobblestone streets and much history. However, when we arrived Juan informed us that it might be possible to catch another shuttle to San Pedro (where our school is) that night. I asked if we'd have time to get a bite to eat as it was roughly 2pm and we had not eaten since deplaning. He said no so I jumped out and walked into Thai restaurant and ordered some spring rolls... Never under estimate an Americano's hunger!

The food was ready just in time as Juan asked us to unload our luggage and wait in the travel agency office for enough time to sit down, take a bite, and pack it back up because the other shuttle had arrived. We crammed in the back of a 13 passenger toyota van and finished our meals as we proceeded to bounce along the cobble stone roads looking for more people to pickup. Everything is used to capacity here. Once we reached the limit we began the 4.5 hour trip with folks from Indiana, Ohio, Israel, Holland, and Portland.

Not five minutes after transitioning onto the smoother pavement did we hear a slap and then a hissing sound. The driver pulled over and we all piled out to wait as he changed a bald flat tire for another which held air :P Instead of standing near the dead puppy where we waited I elected to find some ice cream across the street and by the time I returned we were ready to go!



The last two hours of the drive were the most difficult physically. The roads began to narrow and become ridiculously windy. As it started to rain and the windows began to fog. The roads were so tiny and windy that our driver would honk multiple times at every switch back. Only once did we run into someone bigger than us and had to reverse to let them pass. Sections of the road were dirt, separated pavement, or washed out all together with less than a foot of running water.

Finally when my buttocks thought they could not take any more we pulled past a sign of our destination. It was a fantastic entrance. But this time is was dark as night and pouring rain. The driver pulled into what we later found out to be the downtown intersection right near the dock. Roughly 10 people surrounded the van and started helping people out. Everyone dashed to put on rain gear and protect their bags in the little market store entrances, though to get into them you had to walk through the waterfall that was the roof's edge. We stood mesmerized as we watched what I call salesmen offer accommodation suggestions.

We were a bit leery of the first offer but once the words hot shower, wireless internet and 100 Quetzals a night sank in we realized that was better than our current situation. So taking a chance we went off with our stranger down a tiny street and then up a stone staircase that was then and there a small creek flowing against us. Later we would admit wondering if this was not the best of ideas, but we like to trust in the goodness of people first and believe we can either tell or be told internally if we will be encountering imminent danger; none on which we felt.

Our accommodation was named Hotel Helen and our room with two double beds and wifi and bathroom was roughly $15 per night. Freddy the manager provided us with the internet password and a complimentary roll of TP and we were left to our cement walled and tiled floored cube with a window. Another selling point was that the room was on the second floor and had a great view of Lake Atitlan. We briefly unpacked and went to relax in our hot shower which turned out to be more electric than hot. Yes, the device used to heat the water was in the shower head and had two wires running out of the wall to the shower head. Don't worry, the connections were taped really well and when you went to adjust the shower head you only got a mild sting. The disappointing part came when the water wasn't heated past luke warm. Oh well, the price was right!



We cleaned up and then headed out to get some dinner because like our lunch, we were past due. Luckily we found a place that was just our style- A small pole room with a metal roof that served up chicken and cheese tacos on home made corn tortillas. We were able to get 12 tacos and two Brahva (sadly like budwiser) beers for roughly $15 with tip. We ate to the sound of the rain falling on the roof and looked out over where the lake was hidden in the dark. Returning, we fell happily asleep.

The next morning we woke up around 8 and walked down the still wet staircase and two buildings over to have our first traditional breakfast at Ferreneros. This consisted of two eggs, beans, tortillas, a chunk of homemade cheese, mango, salsa, and plantains. The fancier restaurants have beautiful garden sections indoors and our and colorfully quaint surroundings.



Afterwards we started to explore the city and get set up with some essentials. We had seen plenty of Mercado's, little connivence stores which mostly sold packaged food and drinks. Looking for better food we found no grocery store but a bustling market. Rows upon rows of booths set up with all types of food. The locals harvest small fishes and shrimp from the lake as well as all the different crops that are grown. We bought two pineapples for less than 1 dollar. Two huge carrots for 1 Quetzal, and one avacado for two Quetzals. We picked up an umbrella for flash floods and flip flops for showering. Our favorite find was homemade tamales 4 for 1 dollar. We found four young girls around a large cook top mashing and patting hand sized tortillas- took quite a while, but they were so wonderful! Fresh and authentic!

We came home afterwards to crash for a rest. We had been carrying all our valuables on our backs until we could safely store them at Dave's (our farm stay).
After eating our tamale lunch with pineapple, carrots, broccoli rabe and radishes we went walking in a new direction of town.

The town is just so foreign! Little cobble stone roads veer off in all directions among shanties and incomplete concrete buildings. Gardens abound. Corn is planted and thriving in every open space possible among the papayas, bananas, and coffee plants. We wondered the streets taking it all in along with pictures; trying to not get run over by the insane tricycle taxis.

Though most of the people are extremely poor we have not encountered any beggars. Only two people approached us offering two things we actually like and wanted- Michelle a handwoven tapestry to make a skirt out of and Will a wooden flute. Michelle got her skirt. Will still needs to hunt down the flute guy.

We check out of Hotel Helen tomorrow. We're planning on eating breakfast out and briefly visiting our spanish school before catching la lancha (boat taxi) over to Dave's in San Pablo. We can see it out our window across the lake.

More to come when we get settled in our new home!