Guate with Friends

Immediately after our last post, we flew out of Uruguay, made a quick pit-stop in Miami - where we sat in the airport long enough for some Cuban coffee and some quick calls home - and then headed down to Guatemala for a visit with our amigos, Nikita and Pedro Pan. Look at how cute they are!

Nikki and Peter welcomed us in style with a handcrafted welcome sign, a wedding-present dinner, and a bottle of sangria for the walk

The next morning, Zac and Nikki and I rode the chicken bus to Lago Atitlan, an absolutely beautiful lake to the west of Guatemala City. The lake is surrounded by twelve small communities which are mainly accessible only by boat and tend to be named after saints. We spent one night enjoying the hospitality of a little hostel in Santiago Atitlan (complete with tiger-themed towels) and walking around the small community, then sailed across the lake to San Pedro, a livelier, but no less picturesque, slice of Guatemalan life.

We decided to splurge and take a shuttle back to Guatemala City. It promptly broke down on the side of the highway.

But a mere two and a half hours later, we were on our way again! (We were told that we'd be back on the road in thirty minutes, but after spending a few months in South America, we've learned to take those estimates with a grain of salt.) And we made it back in time for the Lentil Extravaganza potluck with several of Nikki and Peter's friends from school. It was a whirlwind trip, but what a blast.

The next morning, we were back on the plane, armed with new handmade Mayan bracelets from Nikki and Peter, and big plans to take on the western United States!