San Pedro La Laguna, Lake Atitlan

I arrived in San Pedro yesterday evening. I woke up yesterday morning at 6am to catch my 7am shuttle that was thrity minutes late. We drove through winding mountain roads that occasionally reached into the clouds, and after a final precipitous valley descent through numerous switchbacks, we reached Chichicastenango. The main attraction at Chichi is the huge market they have on sundays and Thursdays. It was interesting for a little while, there were a lot of touristy stuff for sale among the more authentic indigenous sustenance goods. It was a good refresher course for me in bargaining. I made one stupid purchase but afterwards I was satisfied with my purchases. I bought a poncho for Q80, that I EASILY could have got for 60, probably even way less than that. I regretted the poncho at first, but then it got cold and I remembered why I bought one in the first place, I needed something warm for the highland climate (but i still regret how bulky it is, way too big to fit easily into my bag).

I ordered a lemonade that I think was made from tap water. The ice cubes were cube shaped. I drank it anyway. I'm not sick today so I guess I got lucky there. I didn't eat much yesterday, luckily I was able to survive off half a loaf of delicous banana bread I brought with me from a famous bakery in Antigua.

After Chichi, we reached Panajachel. From Pana, I caught a boat across the lake to San Pedro. It was a choppy ride, but the lake region is beautiful. The lake towns are nothing like Antigua. They lack the lovely old colonial design. In fact it is kind of ghetto. The main gringo strip is a weird dirth path road that winds through a residential area but is full of bars and restaurants and such.

When I arrived, i decided to stay at a hotel for the night and register for spanish school en la mañana. I was happy cuz I got to relax in my room and watch TV. I saw As Good As It Gets (with Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson), The Watchmen, and parts of a movie called The Reader (with Kate Winslet). I passed out asleep, but I think there were two minor earthquakes overnight. I woke up twice to the building rumbling and shaking, it was very brief though. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, Atitlan is surrounded by volcanoes after all.

today, i got to meet my host family, i had a delicous lunch of spaghetti with tomato and basil and guacamole with tortillas (I'm glad I get to eat all this guacamoe while i am here). The food and accomodations here was way better than what I got in Antigua. I met a few of the other students at the house, all of them well-traveled chicas.