I can find my own way!

Upon leaving Antigua I have decided that I brought too much stuff. I mean, i still feel I did pretty well, but when the guy hauling my stuff up on top of the chicken bus yells out "Dios Mio" when I hand him my bag, it makes me wonder if I could have done without the extra t-shirts and socks. I feel I have gotten pretty good at the bus system though, you find an area with a ton of buses or stand on the side of the street listen for someone to yell out of the open bus door "pana" or "antigua", wave them down, then get your butt on...pretty simple right? the part that I need to work on however is knowing when to get off. Coming into what I thought was Panajachel yesterday afternoon(Pana to the locals), everyone started to get off the bus...seemed like a good cue, so i followed suit. As i walked through a beautiful town with markets, churches, and locals in beautifully ornatmented dress (Each community wears a similar dress but can be differentiated by the use of specific patterns and colors) I came to a sign which said Pana 7 km. In an attempt to save the 30 Quetzal it would have cost to take a taxi the rest of the way (about 4 dollars US) I decided to hoof it. I figured I have walked back to Howland´s Landing from Two Harbors on several occations and that´s 5 miles. I guess what did me in was the 50 or so pounds i was carrying on my back. So after 2 km I stopped at a little panoramic of the lake and decided to find a ride. To my luck a couple of guys let me hop in the back of their truck and ride the rest of the way in.



So finally in what was actually Pana I made my way down to the docks where I would catch a boat to Atitlan. The crossing was only a couple dollars US and I met two guys who were cycling from Belize to the bottom of Guatemala and had a good converstaion with them on the way over about their ride and my recent ride down the coast of California. Upon arriving in Antitlan I decided to treat myself to a ride in a little taxi. Basically a covered motorcycle with a back seat. After stopping at several language schools, none of which were the one I had made a reservation for, we decided to call the number for la cooperativa spanish school and found out I was in the wrong village. I took it in stride though and was glad that there was still another boat leaving soon to where I was supposed to go, San Pedro. I did meet a couple of Americans who had made Atitlan their new home and they invited me to come back anytime. On the boat ride to San Pedro I met a couple from Canada who have traveled this area many times and had a lot of good information about local culture and were just good people in general.



After a long day I arrived in San Pedro my new Candadian friends pointed out the coopertiva and I was introduced to Rosa who is the host of my homestay. She came highly recommened from two of my friends David and Lissa, who stayed with her last year. She has nothing but good things to say about them. The food is incredible, though kind of hot to eat in the kitchen where Rosa and her daughter cook over a wood fire. Jay is another student at la coopertiva also staying at Rosa´s. He came down from Washington State on his motorcycle and is continuing down into South America.

I went out last night for a few drinks and still can´t believe how cheap stuff is here. A litre of beer for 27 Quetzal (3 dollars US) I walked home from the bar with a big smile on my face and happy to call this place home for the next three weeks.



I woke up this morning (21-1-2010) to the sounds of barking dogs and roosters cacadoodledoodling at about 630, which was okay because breakfast was ready at 715 and my classes with my tutor Christina started at 8. I am grateful for all the spanish I took in highschool, but it is still going to take a lot of practice to remember all the vocabulary and verb conjugations, but better off than starting from scratch. So Im off to do some homework and catch a discussion after dinner on some local issues. we´ll see how much I can actually understand, but I feel that every little bit will continue to help improve my spanish.