Our apologies for not posting sooner, but our lives have been a whirlwind for the past week! Now that the dust has settled, we finally have enough breathing room to update everyone on what has been going on in our new home (for one month), San Pedro La Laguna in Guatemala.
Short answer: it’s been great!
But we’re sure you’d like some details.
Getting to San Pedro La Laguna
When we last posted, we had been preparing for our departure from Guatemala City to San Pedro La Laguna the following day.
We were traveling using a chartered 12-passenger shuttle (van) which picked us up at 6 am sharp and, despite the language barrier, we boarded and departed without issue.
The driver then proceeded to slalom deftly through the Guatemala City rush hour traffic using a combination of skill and indifference to human life that reminded me of scenes in the modern post-apocalyptic film Mad Max.
Despite the exhilarating, buttock-clenching experience, we made it out of Guatemala City. We then made our way along less congested roads that led to the city of Guatemala Antigua, our next stop.
Our driver explained to us that after we were dropped off in the main central square, we would have to wait for about 90 minutes for our next shuttle to arrive. That shuttle would then take us the rest of the way to San Pedro la Laguna.
We had a lovely wait in the central square! It was beautiful, with many small tiendas to shop at, public restrooms, and many shaded benches for us to sit on and wait comfortably. And to my surprise, there was solid free public Wi-fi which helped us pass the time.
We had a fun encounter with a tiny, sweet, elderly Mayan woman who approached us hawking her hand-woven textiles. Her skill in English was quite excellent, which was no doubt refined from interacting with her foreign victims over many sales transactions.
We marveled at how quickly the conversation went from my saying, “Your fabrics are beautiful, but no thank you“, to her saying “You don’t have to buy anything, but I’d love to show you the quality of my fabrics“, to reel us in. And then, detecting weakness when Rhonda’s eyes fixed on a pretty rainbow-patterned hand-woven scarf, she quickly started the hard sell.
She really was a master of her craft. And the textiles were nice too.
After much back and forth, we haggled a price of 50 quetzales/$6.44 USD (down from her original offer of 100 quetzales). She was decidedly less sweet towards the end of the exchange as we never budged from our original counter-offer, but we all parted on good terms and agreed to find each other at the square when we come back to Antigua in two months.
Our hard-won booty.
Our second shuttle eventually arrived and we boarded, this time sharing the van with nine friendly young international backpackers in various states of detoxification from the previous night’s hostel activities.
There was also one proper-looking older gentleman from Holland who said he was returning home to Lake Atitlan to rejoin the “spiritual organization” that he started in that area. He was a lovely person to talk to. Culty, but lovely.
Our shuttle departed, and for the next 3.5 hours we sped along twisty-turny roads between the mountains and volcanos of Guatemala. We drove through many pueblos and villages along highways and backroads in various states of (dis)repair and saw some really beautiful countryside. As the road in areas was just as much an obstacle course as it was an actual road, all the shuttle passengers were thankful that someone else with experience was driving.
At 1 pm we finally arrived at San Pedro La Laguna, a bit tired, but thankful we made it without issue.
Off to Our Homestay Home
San Pedro La Laguna is no doubt, a party town for the backpacking crowd. Lots of ways to meet people and have a good time! And even if you don’t exactly fit the backpacker mold it is a fascinating place to be.
One of the largest towns on Lake Atitlan, San Pedro La Laguna is a maze of old cobblestone streets lined with tiendas, hotels, offices, hostels, restaurants, bars, markets, homes, and other constructions.
During the day it is a cacophony of sound, made from the engines of motorcycles and three-wheeled tuk-tuks, festival music, fireworks, crowd noise, conversations, and people just going about their lives.
It was in the middle of this chaos that our shuttle dropped Rhonda and me off in front of a local tour agency storefront. As was explained to us, a tuk-tuk was reserved to take us to our Spanish language school. And from there we would meet our homestay host.
Plenty of room for three plus luggage.
Our driver made his way through the maze of extremely steep streets in San Pedro La Laguna and we were dropped off in front of the alleyway entrance to our Spanish language school, the Community Spanish School.
The Community Spanish School is unique among Spanish language schools in San Pedro La Laguna because a portion of the tuition goes back to the community in different areas of need.
For example, some money helps fund the private education of students who aren’t fortunate enough to get into the limited number of free public school seats above the grade school level. Meaning that without help, many kids in this city are not able to obtain an education beyond grade school.
So we followed the sign…
Which led down a narrow alleyway…
That kept going…
And going…
Until we reached the school campus by the shore of Lake Atitlan.
Oh my.
A beautiful campus! Volcán San Pedro is in the background.
View from the lakeside of campus.
All of the classroom spaces are arranged to take advantage of the prime Lake Atitlan view!
Seriously???
We met our contact at the school, Lucas, who introduced us to our homestay host Rosa. Rosa, who speaks minimal English, has hosted students for the school for a number of years and greatly enjoys meeting people from all over the planet.
Our classes started the following morning, so Rosa led us back to her home located on an extremely steep street close to the highest point in San Pedro La Laguna. Our legs will get in serious shape staying here!
The road was getting less steep at this point.
Rosa explained that we are part of her family during our stay and that her home is our home. Currently, her home is occupied by herself, her sons, her late husband’s father, and a relative who also works as a housekeeper and assistant in the kitchen. Everyone was extremely nice and made us feel very welcome!
There are three modern living spaces provided for students. Two are separate rooms on the second floor of their complex, each with its own comfortable double bed, desk, bathroom, and shower. The third space is on the first floor and has a shared bathroom/shower arrangement. And all spaces have access to a stairway that leads to a terrace on the third floor where you can sit, relax, study, and enjoy the amazing view of the town and lake!
Terrace view.
Three times a day, six days a week, Rosa prepares meals for her guests. To say that Rosa is an outstanding cook is an understatement, and she takes pride in her work. Her meals are a tour-de-force of flavor and color, surpassing the restaurants in the area by a large margin.
Here is an example of breakfast…
And lunch…
And dinner.
We get this level of quality three times each day, except for Sunday, which all homestay families get as a break.
Rosa also works with students on their Spanish language skills over dinner separate from classes. This leads to wonderful exchanges about all of our own lives and allows us to get to know each other better.
We are truly blessed.
For a much more detailed account of our homestay at la Casa de Rosa, check out this post.
Back to School!
As I write this, classes are in full swing, and Rhonda and I are enjoying every minute of it.
It is hard work learning a new language as a 52-year-old couple on our intense schedule, but we are really enjoying the process. Our instructor, Fransico, is patient, knowledgeable, and fun with a sense of humor that is perfect for us. We also plan on hiring him as an occasional guide to the Lake Atitlan area.
Our schedule for the next month is intense. Rhonda and I take lessons with Fransico as a couple for 6 hours per day, 5 days per week. And we will do this for 4 weeks.
Here is what our typical schedule looks like Monday – Friday:
7:15 – 8:00 am– Breakfast at our homestay
8:00 – 11 am – Morning Classes
Coffee and potable water are provided for free, as are locally-made snacks during break sessions
11 am – 12:30 pm – Free time to explore, do errands, or review
12:30 – 1:15 pm – Lunch at our homestay
1:15 – 2:00 pm – Free time to explore, do errands, or review
2:00 – 5:00 pm – Afternoon Classes
Again, coffee and potable water are provided for free, as are locally-made snacks during break sessions
5:00 – 6:00 pm – Free time OR cultural exchange activity
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday instructors set up cultural exchange activities that highlight the skills of the local residents, their businesses, and indigenous people. All at no additional cost.
6:15 – 7:00 pm – Dinner at our homestay
On the weekend things are wide open, with the exception of meals on Saturday that are provided at the same set times as during the weekday.
So this explains why we are posting with a little less frequency than before we came to Guatemala! Language learning comes first, and blogging comes as time permits, primarily over the weekends. More if I can fit it in!
This post is running long, so I am going to close it here. But there is much more to say!
4 thoughts on “San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala – Our New Home for 1 Month”
Mark, you do a fantastic job with your posts. I really enjoy reading them. Keep it up!
Marvin Brown
Middletown, OH
Muchas gracias Marvin!
Wonderful view, great blogging, and cudos for being willing and able to study with those surroundings!
Thank you! It’s truly a burden. 😉