Lago Atitlan

I´m here at Lago Atitlan for a few days, in San Pedro la Laguna. It is very beautiful here and since it is lower down, the weather is nice and warm but not too hot. Last two nights I met up with some friends from the Spanish School in Xela and we had a really fun time horseback riding yesterday. We rented horses for four hours and rode uphill from the lake to a coffee finca. The views were spectucular and it was interesting hearing about how coffee is made and the different types of coffee trees. Our guide Pedro explained that in some years the pickers and the owners of the land don´t make a lot of money, but this coming year is expected to be good. A lot of owners are abandoning their farms because it is more lucrative to have a business dealing with tourists than growing coffee. The people who make money in coffee are the packers, exporters, and of course the big coffee chains. The horses were pretty lively and we were trotting and sometimes galloping at full speed up the hill. We were laughing our asses off all the way, but after about 4 hours I was pretty happy to get off that horse.

One strange thing happened last week at the school. One of the teachers explained to me that there was this woman that wanted to meet me because she had heard thirdhand that I was from the same town. I thought that she was from Coquitlam or Vancouver, but it turns out she was from Cranbrook. She had gone to Juan Sisay school a few weeks earlier and it turns out that I worked with her dad at Tembec in Cranbrook. Her name is Laura Mercer. I guess it is a pretty small world after all!

Well I´m finished at Juan Sisay for now, but I plan to head back to Xela in 5 days, and then visit the Pacific Coast next week. After that I´ll find a volunteer position somewhere around Xela.

I guess there´s an election going on in Canada now. I was able to vote here from Guatemala without too much trouble. So, if I can vote from here I expect everyone reading this to be able to vote. No excuses!

I could say more, but i have to catch a ferry to the other side of the lake!
Hasta luego!
Matthew