The Days Are So Bloggable!

There is so much to write about. I just realized you´ve been hanging in suspense since LAST Wednesday. Unacceptable. Vacation or not, the world needs to know things like ¨agua caliente¨ at a hotel means only between 7 and 10 in the morning.

You need to know that vendors here sell EVERYTHING, and I mean everything. I am writing you from an internet cafe, where above my head hang lovely woven shirts for sale. You can also buy CDs, purses, jewelry, and placemats (the government mandated in 1992 that every operating vendor needs to carry hand woven placemats called individuales...we've bought plenty). I´m almost certain the kind gentleman that runs the place would be happy to rent us a bicycle, book us a flight to Honduras, loan us his horse or find us one suitable for the day, and cook us a typical Guatemalan breakfast. All this for a reasonable price. All I have to do is go next door and ask, they´ll have very similar services perhaps including a photocopier and pharmaceutical supplies.

Now that you know that, you need to know that the weather is STRANGE here. By strange, I actually mean somewhat ... predictable. Today, the thunderstorm was off by 1 hour but it typically rains at 3pm every day, within 20 minutes. Today was an hour late, catching us in an open boat flying across Lake Atitlan - one minute we´re drinking in sunshine, the next we´re battening down the hatches (luckily they have unusually small hatches in Guatemala) and I found myself in an emergency row - aka holding the tarp that kept the rain out whilst Emily held the window in the rear of the boat. Luckily someone else took over tending the boat and securing it to the dock since it was my first time. We were on our way back from the little town of San Pedro where we were exploring and kayaking all day. Yes, one of the guys who offered us horses, a place to stay and matching luggage mentioned kayaks and we tried to call his bluff. To his credit the kayak appeared in 10 minutes. To his discredit the kayak was more like a bunch of packing peanuts taped together with two folding chairs strapped to it. San Pedro is full of colorful sights, like seeing nine guys fixing the dock by jumping up and down on the pilings to secure them. We had breakfast amidst breathtaking views of the lake and volcanoes surrounding us, and old ladies EVERYWHERE that you simply can´t say no to... two skirts and a huge piece of pineapple cake later... People swim in their underwear on San Pedro, that was pretty neat. And bathe in the lake, not so neat.

Those are the basics. The really interesting stuff has a more personal touch, like an allergic reaction to Guatemalan wool. I won´t get into the details, but the experience hit rock bottom with me in the shower just after being zapped by the poorly insulated built-in water heater (it´s in the shower head and looks scarier than it sounds) with shampoo in my almost swollen shut eyes. Emily exiled the blankets to the darkness outside saving me. Then we slept in everything we brought with us.

Grotesque, but you need to know these things. We switched to a hotel with synthetic blankets and inconveniently but safely externally heated water and things have been much better.

What´s the food like? I can imagine someone asking... we've had everything you can imagine, this afternoon it was banana curry soup from an ?Asian? restaurant/travel agency. We also had a lovely dinner at a Uruguayan steakhouse. The tequila cider was not to be missed, we'll be enjoying it at Yuletide with you all this year. The band was composed of mostly guys from Michigan on vacation and a couple of locals - colorful! Guatemalan fare really is quite delectable, with fried plaintains, crazy good sauces and intense guacamole. The pico de gallo is easily the best on the planet. Emily is obsessed with the chicken soup and corn tortillas and I'm obsessed with the everything else.

We've really taken a liking to the freshly baked cakes and pies that local women sell. Those are not to be missed.

If you're going to stay in Panajachel, you should ask how many roosters are near your hotel, and how close they are. You should also find out when the local high school is having its reunion and whether the band will be practicing in the same building as your hotel. These kinds of specific but helpful questions will help you have an incredible experience in this sweet but well touristed town.

An apology before signing off - more updates needed! We'll be writing more regularly, there´s too much to tell about in just one sitting.

Love you all - even you, weird guy who just stumbled onto this blog.