We Have Completed 1 Week in Guatemala!

Mike Benedict and Scotty Romano on the boat crossing Lake Atitlan

By Mike Benedict

Today marks 1 week of our epic journey traveling in Guatemala.  We finished our first home stay in Santa Teresa and last night we slept at the hotel MiraValle in San Pedro Sacatepéquez.

We began our day with breakfast in the hotel restaurant and we had an insightful and deep reflection of our trip thus far.  Reflections included everything from observations of poverty and disease to the obvious love and happiness the village people of Guatemala possess.  

And today was Barbara Ives’ birthday!  She was greeted with a pancake with a candle and Happy Birthday in Spanish.

Barbara Ives blows out the candle on her birthday pancake!

After breakfast we departed for Lake Atitlán and everyone was in an upbeat mood as we acquired the ability to play our music on the bus.

We arrived at the lake in Panajachel where we were unfortunately greeted by cloudy weather, preventing us from seeing the true beauty of the lake with the surrounding mountains and volcanoes.  We sat down for a nice lunch before departing on a 45 minute boat ride across the lake to Santiago Atitlán.  During the ride we were able to observe the volcanoes much closer and relax as we crossed the lake.

In Santiago Atitlán, we had an hour and a half to shop in the market.  At this point we were able to practice our bargaining skills.  Often if a store owner asks you for 400 Quetzales for a painting, you can get him or her to lower the price to just 100 Quetzales (about $12 US Dollars).   The time flew by as we all tried to get the best deal on the machetes, paintings, bracelets, t-shirts and other souvenirs.

After the market, we drove to San Lucas Tolimán (about 30-45 minutes from Santiago Atitlán) where we stayed at the Pavarotti Center on Saturday night.