Well well well Guatemala, you were a surprise. Originally this country was not on our list of destinations, mainly due to the advice from various sources within the UK saying ít has one of the highest violent crime rates in the world, and the bbc even going so far as saying that Guatemala is on the verge of being a failed state. However after numerous people told us to visit, we decided to find out for ourselves, and it turned out to be a beautiful, stunning c...

To relax after the week of Spanish, we decided to take a leisurely stroll with other students up to the "Indian nose" (see photo album for why peak is called this). It was not in fact leisurely in any sense. Everyone else started running up a massive hill and Emily was left stumbling along at the back. (Some ozzies turned back after 10 mins, but Dave had no mercy and Emily had to carry on). San Pedro is about 1800m above sea level and the Indian Nose is about 50...

So after we arrive in the lovely San Pedro and slotted into our Guatemalan family, we started the dreaded Spanish Language classes. Emily of course was in her element and loves abit of school on a holiday. Dave was not so keen. The photo is of Dave with his long suffering teacher called Ruben. The course consisted of 4 hours of lessons every day for a week. 4 hours!!!!!!! As we all expect Dave struggled through (however he did bunk off one day) and completed 1...

For the past week we have been staying with the lovely Lorenzo family. Mum (Andrea), Dad (Lorenzo), Francisco (12), Elena (10) and another Lorezo - or "Lenchito" (5). Lenchito has taken a big liking to Dave and they have enjoyed much wrestling and piggy backing. Lenchito is very philosophical and likes to greet any misfortune with the phrase "no importa" ("doesn´t matter") and a shrug. Dave and Emily both had a go at making Tortillas (you roll a ball of dough a...

So we left our nice mountain top home of Lanquin and jumped in a bus to commence yet another 9 hour bus journey, heading further south to the small town of Antigua. Antigua consists of about 50,000 people and 3 volcanos. Namely Volcan Agua (water) Volcan Fuego (Fire) and Volcan Acatenango (?) which surround the town and have caused it many troubles in the past. Volcan Fuego last let rip in 2010 and is considered a constantly erupting volcano, all be it at a sma...