Ahh... we have discovered the nicest, most relaxing, and most beautiful place in Guatemala. It is a hotel called Casa Del Mundo (House of the World) on Lake Atitlan.
We decided to go up to Lake Atitlan on Sunday and its about a three hour bus ride. We were actually supposed to get a nice tourist bus with individual seating but instead we got to the Travel Agency and our "nice tourist" bus was a chicken bus (recycled school bus). So you can imagine how uncomfortable the ride was. I was especially uncomfortable for Kelsey and I because we sat in the front row and all of the native women will not sit more than two rows back. So we kept getting very squished with almost three or four people to a seat that was meant for two people. We got to Panajachel (the town near the lake) very stiff and went to sit down in a restaurant for breakfast. Mom, Kelsey and I went out shopping in the market there but Ben decided to stay in the restaurant and just chill. We walked up the street and went into a store with all these nice cloth and leather bags. I ended up getting a very cute little backpack and Kelsey wanted to get one but decided that it was too expensive. After that we found t-shirts for ourselves, and a few little knick-knacks for Micaela. We returned to the restaurant for lunch then walked down to the boat dock where we found a boat over to Casa Del Mundo which is pretty much out on the other side of the lake and built on a lake. When we arrived at the hotel we had to climb about 100 steep and uneven steps up to the office. I noticed that on the sides of the stairs the hotel had made little clearings all over where they put sky chairs and hammocks. We got checked in and then had to walk about another 50 steps up to our rooms. The rooms where up on a high ledge and had a beautiful view of the lake. After we had gotten unpacked we went and down to the swimming area and cooled off in the water. The water was about the temperature of the Boulder Res. but the wind was blowing very hard so we didn't stay in long and my ears froze! Later we had some quiet time when I read and rested. Then Mom and Ben went down for a drink at the cafe, and Kelsey and I went out to take some pictures of the area. We found out that they had this old fashioned hot tub that was wood fire heated and was very nice looking. (We found out later that you had to make a reservation for the hot tub before one o'clock in the afternoon, and we never got to actually go in the hot tub.) It started to get very dark (it was only 6:00) so we went and found Mom and Ben at the cafe and they told us about the dinner situation. Since the hotel is not close to any grocery store the hotel makes dinner for us family style (which means that the whole hotel eats together at one huge table). The waiters brought out the soup first which was corn, squash, and something else that was yummy, after the soup came the salad which was avocado and tomato covered in a vinaigrette. Then the main dish came which was shish kabobs, veggies, and mashed potatoes. We finished and then they brought out dessert which was probably the most scrumptious strawberry short cake ever! Kelsey and I went up to the room to get ready for bed after that. And when I was walking back to the room from the bathroom (which is public). I saw my very first scorpion! It was tiny which made me even more freaked out because I had heard that the smallest ones are the most poisonous. But the scorpion was just minding its own business and nothing happened to that.
The next day I woke up early and found out that Kelsey was very sick and had thrown up quite a few times, so we decided not to do much that day other than relax. We went down for breakfast and I had pancakes with a homemade syrup, and fresh fruit. Then I went downstairs to the porch and found myself a nice sky chair which I snuggled up in and read my book for the next two hours. I went back up to the cafe to find Mom and I found her sitting with Kelsey who was feeling better by then. We had lunch then I went back down to my sky chair and read for another three hours. Then I decided that the wind had cooled down enough to go swimming. When I got to the swimming area I found Mom and Kels already there and so we swam for awhile. Then we had another scrumptious dinner of vegetable soup, fish, rice, and veggies for main dish, tomato salad, and fruit crepes. And again we had another early bed time, this time we found a huge spider and a scorpion so we decided to experiment by putting them together in a glass. Unfortunately for us nothing happened so we let them go and go to bed.
Yesterday nothing was a half day of relaxing and a half day of traveling which all went very smoothly. Today I am doing some home schooling and waking up from my three days of relaxation even though I don't want to!

Larissa