A bit of a short cut...

We planned to leave Pana around 9am on Wednesday morning.  It was incredibly difficult to even get the Montero to the front door of the place we were staying, let alone find a place to park, unpack and repack everything.  The little girls who lived next door were pretty interested in what was inside the Montero.  After a while I offered them each a Fruity Mentos and they walked away happy.  

Jabel Tinamit Spanish School

We spent 2 weeks at Jabel Tinamit Spanish school in Panajachel.  The school is in a very comfortable building with an amazing garden.  The third and fourth levels of the building are open with beautiful views of the town and the surrounding mountains.  From where I sat I could see an 80 foot waterfall, a 300 year old catholic church and Lake Atitlan while I pondered irregular subjunctive verb conjugations.

Tuk Tuk Tourin' Two

After our fun tuk tuk trip to Santa Catarina, we wanted more.  Manuel, or Señor Noventa as we liked to call him, was awesome and our time was cut short due to a flat tire.  (Remember tuk tuk drivers, always leave them wanting more.) So when we saw tuk tuk #90 drive by, we flagged him down and made an appointment for him to pick us up Monday morning for an in-depth tour of Panajachel.  As we expected, he didn't even pass by the main tourist spots and took us to some pretty interesting places.

Monkeys, Butterflies, and Waterfalls (Mostly Pictures)

Last week we walked to the Atitlan Natural Reserve.  Our Spanish school provided a very shy guide for us.  Initially I thought it was kinda silly to take a guide, especially one that didn't talk much.  However when he took us off the trail to show us where the monkeys hang out, we were glad he came along.  

Guest Post: A guapo in Guate

This post was written by Brett, Christian's little brother. While we edited for content, we cannot be held responsible for the idiocy that may ensue. If, however, it's actually good, since we edited for content, we get the credit for it.

Christian and Kaytie's original plans were to begin their travels in January of 2013. As my older brother started dreaming about this trip and tentatively planning dates and schedules, I was somewhat disappointed, as I attend college from January to August and have the fall off. Therefore, I would be stuck in a classroom while Christian and Kaytie were gallivanting around Central America in a vehicle not unlike the Mack truck from The Road Warrior. I was bitterly jealous.

Seriously, how could someone not be sad about missing this.

Tuk Tuk Tourin'

One morning, we hopped in a tuk tuk and took a trip to the next two towns down the road, Santa Catarina and San Antonio.  They are much smaller than Panajachel and they have retained more of their indigenous roots.  The road to get there winds along the mountain side with incredible views of the lake, towns and the volcanos.