In the shadow of the volcano...

San Pedro a Laguna, Guatemala - Steve
It´s been a little while since the last post and in that time we travelled by night bus (Mercedes coach, very nice) to Guatemala city and from there immediately travelled by chicken bus (old school buses with flashy paint jobs packed to the gills with Guatemalans) to Antigua. Antigua is the former capital of Guatemala and colonial city with charming cobblestone streets and central square. It is also the first time we´ve been able to get real coffee. A previous attempt to purchase a latte in another town ended in disappointment when it tasted awful and I discovered it had come from a Nescafe instant coffee machine. While in Antigua we hiked up a nearby volcano (thanks Jen for the recommendation) and got to feel the heat of flowing magma on our faces (the heat not the magma).

From Antigua we travelled by bus and by boat to reach San Pedro a Laguna. It´s a little town situated on the shores of Lago Atitlan (the largest lake in Guatemala) and in the shadow of the volcano from which the town gets its name. There are many things we are enjoying about this town. The organic coffee we are both enjoying and watching grow on the route that takes us from the family we are staying with to the school where we are studying Spanish. Also locally grown are chocolate, pineapple, bananas, and oranges. On our way to school this morning we stopped for a glass of orange juice that was squeezed before our eyes. Spanish class consists of one on one instruction for 4 hours each morning. It´s a great way to learn. There are no other classes to worry about and there is ample opportunity to practice and use what you are learning. One of the things that makes this town great is that it is sooo cheap. The classes plus accomodation with a local family plus 3 meals a day costs only $100 per person per week. This leaves us the room to get the aforementioned coffees, chocolates and freshly squeezed orange juices.

We´ll work on getting some more pictures up in the next couple days. Until then, adios amigos.