Woke up early about 5:15 AM. I had a good nights sleep because I was using my headphones and had rain sound pumping out. I don’t know how other people do it because the dogs bark all night long and starting real super early the roosters start going. But I didn’t have a problem with either of those. 

StudIed for about an hour and then left my hotel and went to look for something to eat. It was still too early at 8 o’clock for places to be open. I did find a cup of coffee at La Pachamama a little restaurant/hostel thing. Decided to use that time till everything kinda woke up to get on a boat  taxi and come over to San Juan Laguna, which is the neighboring city to San Marcos. 

The town where most of the backpackers stay in is San Pedro. There are lots of different things to see and more bars and noise. 

San Juan where I’m at right 

now is right next to San Pedro. I had a funny conversation with two guys that were in front of me on the boat taxi.  I was talking with about which one was going to be the first stop, San Pedro, or San Juan.  One said it would be San Pedro and the other one San Juan was first. So they bet a breakfast on it.  Fortunately for me it was San Juan because that’s where I wanted to go.

I had a delicious breakfast at a place that had a fantastic view of Lake Atitlan. It was  their version of juevos rancheros. Also had a little slice of cheese, fried plantains, a little tiny bowl of rice, and a type of sour cream and three little corn tortillas. The tortillas here in Guatemala are much thicker and smaller than tortillas from Mexico.

My next stop was to visit a woman’s cooperative that made natural dyes and spun the cotton into different garments. She let me try to spin the thread from the raw cotton. Can’t say I was very good at that! It was still fun to try. She showed me every part of the process. How they made the colors was very interesting. Not only did they use leaves and bark but for one color they actually squished up these tiny little bugs. They made these red colors.

She showed me how they make the fabrics.  A small shawl would take that lady about 60 hours to complete. 

My next stop was to a chocolate making factory. I was shown what the cacao beans look like, how they did the fermentation, how they dried them and then got the seeds out. They crush the seeds up and when they do that, they start to really look and taste like chocolate. I had a taste of what the crushed up beans taste like. It was a pretty strong flavor sort of like dark chocolate. They then showed me all the different things they would add the chocolate to make different flavors.  It was really interesting.

The next part of my Safari was to climb up to the Lookout of San Juan. It was a pretty steep climb that took about 20 minutes. Just absolutely beautiful. The top of it I could see all the way around the lake and the mountains that were above you. Just incredible. I walked around the town trying to find a coffee factory never could find that. But I’ve taken tours in Kenya about coffee so I didn’t really have to see it. 

My next stop was in San Pedro. I took a Tuk Tuk over to San Pedro they cost me about $1.50. Saved me at least a 45 minute walk. I was already pretty tired.

My goal in San Pedro was to find out how much it cost to take a guide up to the top of the San Pedro volcano. It’s a four hour hike up a three hour hike down. Includes the guide, transportation and security for $50. Sounds pretty hard. I’d have to figure out food to take up because they don’t provide food or water. 

I would have to be at the San Marcos boat latch about 6:30 in the morning.  It’s not too early for me. I’d get out back to San Pedro around 7:00 AM or so then push off to the San Pedro Volcano. 

I had a vegetarian burrito at a place right on the lake and I’m here by myself. It’s called Los Colompios, which means “The Swings.” They have swings around their location. 

I just had a super fun chat with the grandgirls . I’ve been looking forward to that. 

In a moment I’ll head back to the dock so I can catch a boat back over to San Marcos. 

Just got back to San Marcos. I had a good late lunch early supper. It started raining again here. I got to my hotel just fine. I reckon I’ll just take a shower and rest the rest of the night. I don’t see megoing back out. It was a lot of walking miles and miles. And some really steep hills too.

Thanks for making the effort to let me talk to the girls, Ashley. I really appreciate that. Miss you all. Glad you’re feeling better K! I’ll be in touch real soon. I’ll send a link to all the pictures I took today.  

Ashley if or Miles have a chance I’d appreciate you letting them get to see some of the pictures so if they feel like they’re part of the trip too.

Woke up a lot last night. Rooster started crowing at about 4 AM. I eventually went ahead and put on my headphones and blasted White Noise to cover up the sounds of trucks, dogs and roosters. Slept pretty well after that. I woke up, feeling really lightheaded and kind of nauseated. 

Took a shower, got cleaned up, packed my bags. I talked with Licho who is the main maintenance guy there at the chalet I’m staying at. I gave him about three dollars just to make sure he watched my bags because I didn’t wanna have to try to take those anywhere. 

I got a omelette with mushrooms and cheese and onions. They had a kind of a tomato salsa that was good. It wasn’t spicy at all. And they had a lovely plate of fruit. they had  banana sliced kind of laterally around the edges of the plate, and then pieces of papaya in the middle part and in the inner part were pieces of cantaloupe. It was really pretty and good coffee, of course Guatemalan coffee, which is just some of the best. 

That made me feel a little better. I went back to my house and got everything situated to leave. I decided I didn’t want to take any backpacks and all my really important documents. I just left those in my bag. I figured it’s gonna be safe enough there better than me hauling them around probably. 

I got a tuk tuk which is a three wheel motorcycle thing with a cabin on it from my Airbnb towards the reserve. People told me that the roads were blocked  because of protests against the government. 

The people are so poor here gasoline like $5.50 a gallon and they are lots of problems, but everything seemed very peaceful. They wouldn’t let the cars go through but if you were walking, they didn’t care. It was funny to me because here I am the tourist and we were walking up the steep roads towards this preserve and they were huffing and puffing. I was like you guys are used to this walking are you? It really made me laugh. They never walk like that. 

I got onto the little road that led to the nature preserve and I was astonished to see these three Tree guys working on trying to take down this branch. The guy that was the cutter they had throwing a rope way over a top branch and they had tied this rope to the guy’s waist and the two guys the at bottom we’re trying to pull him up the tree.  It looked like it was at least  50 foot maybe 100 foot tall.  They were really struggling so I took a picture and video and then went over there to help them pull.  I said these guys never going to get guy up that tree.  I started pulling on that thing and then he just just started going up.  Shoop Shoop Shoop Shoop Shoop. They keeps saying, “Gracias Papa, Gracias.” So anyway they were very thankful and I told him they needed to put another rope on this big branch they were getting ready to cut because that was just gonna demolish the roof. They said they didn’t have another rope. I saw one rope that was busted I’m like oh my God this guy like cutting it with a machete at the top this tree and then they had a big chainsaw tube but it looked super sketch. 

I got to the nature preserve about 15 minutes later than that. Absolutely gorgeous out here. It’s just lush and green. Reminds me of the Abaderes in Kenya. Lots of butterflies and just absolutely lovely. 

There is a group of school kids here too. I would say they’re probably first or second graders. Super loud kids. It’s exactly like being back in Azalea, squealing and yelling, and, anyway it was OK. It didn’t bother me. 

I’m at the very top of the trail now. There’s this extreme cable trail and another thing that looks crazy.  dangerous. There is no way I would go down on these things and this kind of place. It just looks like catastrophe waiting to happen. Nothing like what I went down on in Costa Rica. But it’s an absolutely beautiful view from up here. You can see several volcanoes I can also see the clouds moving in. I’m gonna go do the rest of the trails here and then go back and get my bags and then head for the lake to go onto San Marcos Le Laguna, which is going to be my base camp while I’m on Lake Atitlan.

I really enjoyed the nature preserve. The Coatimundis were my favorite. They went crazy over this one’s kids bananas. It was pretty funny. I went also went down to the beach area and that was beautiful. The butterfly gardens are enclosed in this big geodesic dome. I saw my favorite the Blue Morphos. I used to see them in the Amazon and they’re fantastic with a metallic blue color. I am headed back to Pacajashel now. I just passed over 100 orthodox Jews. All ages that seem like mainly young families pushing strollers on not the greatest road. They looked like they were having some issues with the road but they kept on going. I did a lot of shalom to them. They said they’re from New York City in particular Brooklyn and Manhattan. It’s interesting because the chalet Paraiso, which is where I’m staying just up the street from it is Shofar house so there must be some Jewish presence here for sure.

I also said hi to the guys that were cutting the tree. Look like they got it all down on the ground and it didn’t look like it hit the house below it so good job lads.

One thing is for sure all that walking up my hill out in front of my house sure has paid off. I’m walking up these hills with no problem and it’s still at altitude. It may have been the altitude that was giving me problems this morning and having a hard time sleeping I don’t know. It was very noisy that’s for sure but I am not nauseated anymore so that’s good news and I’m looking forward to getting something else to eat.

It was a pretty rough boat ride over to San Marcos Laguna. I got my bag off the boat and started going up the hill. I researched where this hotel is supposed to be on the map. But where the maps said it was and where actually was was very different. I had a young man who said he knew where the place was came to show me where it was and help me with the bag and it was pretty much impossible to find without help. And he just put that big old 50 pound bag on his bag and just walked up big part of the hill. Most of it we could push using the wheels. So I was glad to get moved in and everything worked out. I gave him a nice tip.

I ate at Buho this evening. I had pad Thai. It was so good! Came back home and torrential rain. I’m glad I had that poncho. Having that kept my backpack dry too because it’s so big.

Spent over an hour studying Spanish.

Uploaded all the pictures to my server. It takes a while because I have to do 20 at a time rather than just upload the whole batch so I kinda have to babysit the process.

I’m ready to put my earphones on. I’ve been listening to dog bark the whole time I’ve been uploading stuff. I had the window open to cool off the room. But I’m gonna leave it open while I’m sleeping

Really fun day.

Had a fun evening at Maia Papaya with Coon from Holland. He told me the story of how on December 5 they would have Santa Claus but with him are Santa’s elves. They all dressed in black face with red lipstick and gold earrings. And they would bring presents to the kids in the neighborhood. it was hilarious to hear him talk about this. They did techno dances down the street together. But there was some pushback against it obviously because of the black face. In fact, the Santa Claus with with the “black”kids would take a boat and there would be actual Africans waiting for them, and would like beat them up after they got out of the boat. 

At about 2 o’clock in the morning, I heard a tremendous bang on the roof. It sounded like somebody had crashed into it. I was convinced some kind of catastrophe just happened. Had seen that the room next to mine, which is where the sound came from had been empty all day long. So after about 10 minutes of thinking about it I decided I should get up just in case it was leaking something or somebody was hurt. So I went next door  and tried the door and it was unlocked. And I opened it up about 4 inches and then heard some girl Kinda go Oh! something like that. So I decided that maybe Everything was OK. The next day I found out that it was an avocado that had hit the roof that had made such a racket. And all during the night you would hear these big booms from these avocados clobbering the roof. I also found out that it was a special Weekend for the local Catholic church. That was just about a block for Maya Papaya. And they would shoot off lots of fireworks during the day.  It  sounded like a dead gum, gun battle.

I worked on Spanish in the morning and then waited for my minibus to pick me up at Maya Papaya around 1230. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive through the mountains to make it to Ponajachel. Our driver was named Barcelo. I talked with him in Spanish for the whole time. Excellent practice. He is tribe of Maya Indians that are from this area and he lived in Ponanjachel. 

I got to my Airbnb which was this room on the second floor of this little house. My bag weighs nearly 50 pounds and trying to get it up this rickety stairway that was about a foot and half wide was quite a challenge. I’m not sure exactly how I’m gonna get back down with that thing. I got my key and talked with the lady who was in charge of the house. Everything was in Spanish. 

I was walking around a little bit. Got some extra local money so I could pay for things. And saw a place that made like quesadillas, which has been my favorite food items since I’ve been here. Made friends with the staff and got a Hawaiian quesadilla which had lots of different kinds of vegetables, as well as pineapple. It was delicious. I was walking around also saw there was a band playing at a soccer game so I watched them for a while and then when I got over here to this place, which is called El parzo. Watched the band play. As well as the soccer match. I’ll probably go home pretty soon take a shower and rest. I’m looking forward to going to the nature reserve Atitlan tomorrow morning. The lady who runs the place, said it was no problem for me to leave my bag there.

Woke up early at 5:15 AM. Left by 6 AM. Was over at Doraville by around 6:30. Was on the next train in just a few minutes. Got to the airport around 7:15.

Got through checking my bag and to the E gates in around 45 minutes.

Easy flight to Guatemala. A little over three hours. Tried to sleep, but couldn’t. Too much noise and turbulence.

Met some cool people from Winder, Georgia. Byron was the man’s name. He helped me get around the airport when we got inbound. Got through customs and Immigration. No problem.

Found my bag. Harder than I thought. Lots of blue bags. One of my jobs when I get home will be to paint a gold stripe on my blue bag to make it easier to see.

Got a Coke and some delicious poundcake at Barretto at the airport, while I was waiting for my transport to Antigua. I was about an hour early for that.

Finally, a guy showed up to come and get me and Ann two girls from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Turn out when there’s just a few people rather than the whole bus, they just take a taxi basically. That was great because it was easier to get out of town.

Traffic was bad but not horrible. But the fumes from all the cars were really bad. By the time we got out of Guatemala city, my head was hurting.

My taxi driver was named Orlando. He made three trips a day from the airport to Antigua. Super nice guy. Had had throat cancer. He seem to be OK now.  I spoke to him for over two hours in Spanish.

By the time we got Antigua, he was telling me how good my Spanish was, I appreciate that.

Got into Maya Papaya which is my hostel in Antigua. Tiny little room. At least it had a little fan. Unfortunately, the electrical outlet did not work. I had to modify my grounded zip strip. I had to break off the grounded plug. I hate to do stuff like that but you gotta do what you gotta do. I had two of those and so I was able to plug-in all the rest of my stuff.

The manager of Maia Papaya tonight was a guy named Dennis super super nice guy. He helped me find a wrench so I could break off the grounded plug on the zip strip. Managed to get all my stuff charging.

Dennis said I should try Copa de la Sopa. I got a veggie quesadilla there. Super good.

I’m looking forward to taking a shower and resting soon.

Guatemala is two hours behind the ATL. That should make me easier to get up in the morning and harder to stay up at night which is fine by me.

I tried to get WordPress to work but could not. No big deal. I’ll just write everything on the notes app. 

I can still upload different pictures every day which will be easy to insert.

A great start to the trip!

Winter weather!

Español!

Fun chat with my buddy Anthony.

Did my laundry.

Fall!

Walked .78 miles this morning while studying. Short because I needed to take Jessi to her doctor’s appointment.

J’s doctor.

I liked this sign.

Walked 1.49 miles in this neighborhood.

Beauty along the way.

Kathy got a big screw in her tire. Called New Peachtree Tire in Chamblee to get it fixed. Worth the drive since it’s always so fast there.

Went by my office to check the mail.

Got K’s truck parked back at Young World. I talked to Mr. Wilson. He’s helping me set up an account for her so I can check her pay stubs.

Not working yet.

Beautiful day.

BIG JOB! I got onto Blue Host and they helped me log back into my blog! So that’s why I’m able to write this here! Amen!

I will now try to update the Guatemala material. Amen and Amen again.