Our plan is to spend one week on Lake Atitlan studying Spanish for several reasons. One being how cheap it is here in Guatemala, two is that Lake Atitlan is known for its beauty, and three that we would be immersed in Mayan culture. We chose Corazon Mayan school in San Pedro on the coast of the lake. We walked in and were greeted by Chema, the son of the family who runs the school. He showed us the grounds which included: a hangout room with wifi and a pingpong table, small casitas to stay in during the week, closer to the lake there are maybe eight small rooms dispersed individually in a field full of trees and plants where you study one on one with your tutor, then their farming closer to the lake with coffee, corn, mandarins, and avocado, then finally the beach. AJ and I rented a casita and for the first time left our truck in a secure lot and stayed put for an entire week! We each took four hour lessons five days a week with our sweet Mayan women who are very patient and knowledgeable. The family that owned the school lived on the grounds with us including the mom and dad, Marta and Andreas with Chema and his wife Jozepha with their daughter Ish Yax. We met two overlanders who pulled up right behind us and got to hang out with them all week which was an added bonus! Heather and Dan are from Canada, although Dans originally from England and he introduced us to our first Sunday Roast and pub quiz- that we won! The family taught the four of us how to cook a traditional dish one night called chachetes which was a lot of fun. I think that we learned a bit of Spanish too. Our last day in San Pedro we hiked Volcan San Pedro with Dan and Heather. They are ultra marathon runners so they had no problem. AJ and I have been riding in the car too much and it was quite the hike, especially because volcanoes tend to go straight up! But it was worth it in the end to have a view of the entire lake and all of the towns spread out below us.
Our new friends recommended a hot spring resort up in the highlands to the west of a town called Quetzaltenango, or Xela for short. After this brutal reintroduction to hiking we were quick to agree and the four of us headed over the mountains, sad to say goodbye to the beautiful lake and wonderful people but excited for new adventures. The hot springs were set into the rocky mountain walls with the springs dripping straight from the rocks into huge beautiful pools. We were able to camp in the parking lot and wake up the next day with the pools all to ourselves. Not a bad way to start the day!
We split from our friends that day, they are heading north to Tikal and we are heading south making our way to El Salvador. We are hiked our second volcano called Volcan Chicabal with a lake in the crater where their were several different groups of Mayans worshipping their gods. We were told they celebrate at this lake all December long, it was a very powerful expierence listening to their chanting while we took in the view. On our way back to the truck, we were surprised to find our quiet campsite now had 30 tents around it. We came to find out they were Mormons and 90% teenage girls, it was an eventful evening full of Hallelujah.
We are staying in a town just south of the City called Antigua. It’s a little colonial town with none of the buildings over one level so you are able to see all of the hills and volcanoes surrounding us. It’s the most westernized place we’ve stayed at recently, and by that I mean there are a lot of tourists. Last night and tonight we are staying in what looks like the remains of a city wall surrounding a block in the middle of the city. It is owned by the tourist police and they let people stay for one week free as long as you are respectful and inside the gate by 10pm. Thank you CA-4! We plan one last stop before heading over to El Salvador, we are going hike Volcan Pacaya which is active with lava flows at the top that you can roast marshmallows on!!
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