Paradise Lost

We arrived at Lake Atitlan, a gorgeous crystal blue mass of water surround by towering volcanoes. We stayed in Panajachel for a night and upon the realization there was nothing to do there, we hopped the boat for San Pedro, a village on the other side of the lake. After getting settled at what is quite possibly the farthest hotel (although cheap and with a nice view) we partied pretty hard. The next morning, as the usual cold air seeps into the room and at which time I would normally grab my sweater and put it on, I came to the stark realization that my sweater was still in Pana. I jumped out fo bed, gathered my things and headed for the dock. Then I realized I didn´t have any money. I head for the bank which when they said was át the top´ of the hill, they weren´t kidding. And by hill I mean Morgantown style 30 degree sloped hill. Then I quickly discovered I didn´t have my debit card on me. I finally got it all settled and jumped on the boat for Pana. Luckily, we stayed at a hospedaje (guest house) run by an elderly mayan couple and the woman had found my sweater and held onto it. by the time I had made it back to the dock another boat was departing. I met up with Chris and we bought some food a local store. Chris prepared an awesome meal and we took a nap. I don´t know what it was. The food? The water? All I know is when I woke up from my nap I was completely devoid of energy. I could barely get out of bed. Add to that a fever, and you have me sleeping on and off for the next 29 hours or so. This was two days ago. This sickness developed into what you would typically assume would happen when traveling. That continued horrendouly through yesterday. Today I feel better but my stomach still hurts. Chris is lying in bed because his stomach hurts too, although he wasn´t sick like I was. We´ve decided to stay in San Pedro for a week and take Spanish lessons. San Pedro is part expat part mayan, ordained with slim alleyways that work like a labyrinth when walking about. Oh and don´t be confused, we are now fully in Mayan country. Did we mention our visit to the Pacaya Volcano from Antigua? We were right next to the lava, roasting marshmellows. One of the coolest things I´ve done. Interestingly, there are even expat owned and operated businesses here. For instance, there is Zoola, an Israeli retreat where your more likely to hear hebrew than Spanish. At Zoola the woman looked us up and down and said they had no rooms. We´re still trying to figure if it was because we´re not Israelis. Hows that fro discrimination? Or take Phatburger, a horrendous storefront run by an odd American expat where Chris and I got tricked into eating. The food was expensive for here, which the thought of combined with our lackluster experience there, nearly ruined our first day in Sand Pedro. Phatburger, we have theorized, could very well be the source of our newfound illness. We have much ahead in this week. we can use kayaks for free, since we signed up for the spanish classes (4 hours per day, for one week at $67 US). By the way, the conversion from one US dollar to one Queztal is 1 to 1.7. Oh and have you seen Apocalypto? Yeah when the Mayan people talk its kind of like that, for real.