Getting off the boat in San Pedro this morning on our way to the market, we met our new neighbours, an American couple with kids. After saying hi, the woman asked us if we felt the earthquake last night. An earthquake? It woke them up as everything in the flat was shaking. While we lay unconscious in dreamland. I just checked online and saw that there was indeed an earthquake in Guatemala last night, measuring 5.5! And we missed it! I can't believe it. That's ...

We decided at breakfast that since we were up early, we would do a bit of exploring and walk to the village of Santa Cruz. We had been told this takes two hours, so planned to walk there, have a coffee somewhere and get a boat back. At 8 we headed off. We had walked some of this route before and knew that after the village of Tzununa the unpaved road becomes more of a track, wide enough for perhaps a jeep, but very steep. Little did we know what was ahead of us!...

Woooohooo! First draft of my master's thesis finished! Celebrating with a glass of wine!

It's Friday, time for the weekly market in Solala, the town 9 kilometers up the steep and windy road from Panajachel. We decided to go for a look. We were down at the jetty early, waiting for a passing lancha/ boat. We saw one come around the rocks from San Marcos and Dan gave it a wave. As it got closer, we saw it was a small boat, which was sitting quite low in the water although it seemed almost empty. They pulled up, shouting 'Pana?' and we nodded and jumped...

I headed off to Pana on my own yesterday morning to get some supplies from the 'proper' supermarket. The lancha/boat ride costs 20 Quetzales, about 2 euro, for foreigners and the journey takes 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the weather. One of the main streets, Calle Santander, is lined with cafes, tourist agencies and stalls selling all manner of handicrafts. 'It costs nothing to look', I thought! And ended up coming home with 2 colorful wooden masks and a hammo...