I am in my 4th and final week of Spanish school and I´m looking forward to traveling around aimlessly armed with my new language skills... which actually suck but I like to think I learned something in 4 weeks. The weather has changed significantly here in the western highlands. I am told they only have two seasons here: summer and winter and winter just started a few days ago. Winter means it´s the rainy season and they aren´t kidding. It rains ev...

This weekend, several of us took off for Lake Atitlan, specifically the town of Panajachel - sometimes called "Gringo-tenango" due to the number of American tourists here. The town became a hippy hangout in the 60´s and 70´s and is still famous for drugs and partying but also the most touristed town in all of Guatemala. The lake itself is surrounded by dormant volcanoes and mountains and is said to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. It was...

At 3700 meters (about 12,000 feet) Volcan Santa Maria looks down on Xela and offers a tough hike for those willing to take it on. The volcano is inactive but has incredible views from the top. I think the pics from the hike say more than I can write ... especially since I don´t have time today because I have to pick up my laundry and do my homework. Sounds kinda pathetic actually. My second week of spanish school went pretty well and I am now able to unders...

Today I took a side trip with some friends from my spanish school to an abandoned town that used to have 10,000 residents until a devastating lava flow and then an earthquake forced the residents to say "it sucks here", and they all moved. The town is called Pelmar Viejo and it´s a quick 18 mile chicken bus ride outside of town. You need to pay attention to find this place. The directions are to get off the bus at the 3rd bridge where the sign reads Puente S...

My first week of Spanish school is behind me now and I learned one thing. I need a second week of Spanish school. So I´ll be in Xela for another week, minimum, to keep studying and practicing. Tomorrow, I´m going to move in with a different family so I can meet more people. From a reader´s perspective, the past week wasn´t all that exciting. The classes each day are from 8am to 1pm and I even get homework assignments. So at the end of the day,...