Virtual Tour (for mom)

I`ve had a special request for a virtual tour of where Im living and what Im seeing...so here goes my best.

Lake Atitlan-There are many small towns around the lake. As I said before, I`ve spent most of my time in San Marcos which is where I continue to reside. Its very small. With that said, there is no bank, no post office, only a few very small tiendas which are even smaller than SevenElevens. There are a few woman who sit in the streets and sell fresh fruits and vegetables, for dirt cheap. Although, they are more expensive for the gringos. When you take money out of the bank (in San Pedro), you get 100 Quetzal bills (8 Quetzales= $1) and people in San Marcos NEVER have change. So, its always an adventure to buy things. When people dont have change, they let you take the product and tell you to come back later when you have the change. The good ol` honor system. The woman here dress very traditionally. They wear long skirts that are beautiful colors and patterns, with a solid colored sleeved blouse. Its funny though, because most of them wear western shoes, flip flops and high heels. The men just wear blue jeans, flannel shirts and sombreros. I don`t know how they wear these clothes as its so warm here. I try to dress appropriately, with shorts at least knee length. There are times when I dont because we are always swimming and I do feel uncomfortable walking through town in little clothing. Sundays are washing day. You see the locals line up at the lake to bathe and wash their clothes. Its quite a sight and families are all together doing it. Its very bad for the lake though as they dont use biodegradable soaps and there is some bad algae growing in the lake that will eventually kill it. There is a volunteer group here trying to educate the community about it all.

Most the fruits and veggies come from Guatemala. There is coffee grwoing EVERYWHERE. You can see banana trees and avocado trees wherever you go...so much fruit!

San Pedro, just a 10 minute boat ride across the lake is a bigger village. There are many more tourists, a large veggie and fruit market at the top of this killer hill. There are resturants and shops everywhere, tuk tuks (small taxis), and people trying to get you to rent their kayaks or horses or stay in their hotel. Its quite overwhelming. We come here when we have to use the bank and internet as it`s much cheaper here. You can also walk down the street and get a fresh squeezed orange juice for 3 Quetzales (less than $.50) or a smoother for 5 Quetzales. Its so awesome. I have spent all of my day in San Pedro. I came over here with a friend bright and early to get a huge delicious breakfast (chocolate/banana pancakes, eggs, potatoes, toast, coffee and BACON...yes Bacon). After our amazing meal, we rented kayaks and went around the lake and for a swim. After our kayak adventure, we met some other travelers and went to a local spot to have a delicious lunch. Since then, we wandered up the trechorous hill to the market to buy food and to use the internet.

I plan to stay at the lake the rest of the week as their is a festival on Saturday to raise money and awareness for Lake Atitlan. Im looking forward to it as I am going with the wonderful women I`ve met while traveling. I keep making plans to leave the lake, and things come up. So for now, Im just going with the flow of how things happen. I have been better about getting out of San Marcos to explore other parts of the lake. Yesterda, I went on a hike with 4 other girls from San Marcos to San Pablo where we found a nice little beach. On our way out, there was a man standing there with heaps of marijauana...his kids right behind him. It was quite comical....

Well, I will leave you all with that. I hope everyone is doing well on the other side.....

Signing off!!!