6 more days....

Well, i decided to extend my ticket and am here for another short week. I just didn't want to come home! So i'm departing officially on Feb. 2 for the cold north. Today is gorgeous! I finished off my 7 days of language school and although i speak a horrible halting searching for words kind of spanish i know about 100 percent more than i did when i started. I can understand most conversation or at least the general idea of it and can write fairly well, it's the talking that is muy deficil (very difficult). I had a great last class with my teacher, we really connected well, she was excellent. I gave her a card i'd written in spanish and a beautiful scarf from the market, i could tell she really liked it. They don't make alot of money, big surprise so i think she appreciated the gesture. If you need to learn spanish, go see Maria at Centro Linguistica Maya in Antigua.
So i decided that with class over there wasnt' really a reason to stay in antigua. Antigua is like the disney land of guatemala, lots of tourists, services, people, police and cleanliness. Not the real guatemala at all. So i took a shuttle to Panachel, which is the second most touristy place in guatemala but beautiful on the shores of lake atitlan. I felt like a backpacker again, walking through the town checking out a few of the hotels. I found a great one at the end of the road, right on the lake with view of volcano, lovely gardens and the best (HOT) shower i have ever had in guatemala. All this for 200Q, about $28. I wandered and had a yummy dinner and went to bed early, oh the room also has american television! crazy.
This am i've been walking in the hills behind the town seeing small communities and taking it all in. Tired now. Will head back to the hotel for siesta. :) Hopefully will take in the market in solola tomorrow and then perhaps head back to Antigua for a final few days. Life is good here.
I hear North America has been hit with a major cold snap. Good Morning America was on this am. Where am I?
It has been interesting to reflect on how much guatemala has changed in the 12 years i have been coming here. Our first trip here: no email, no phone calls home. It was a huge deal to make that happen. The food was basic and the experience much more difficult. Now there are at least 15 internet places in this town alone, every kind of service in the tourist centres that you can imagine including Reiki treatments, yoga classes and shuttle services to any part of guatemala you'd like to go to. I think i prefer the first way of being here. You wouldn't be getting this blog page from me anyhow.
Be well all of you and drop me a line. It's nice to hear from people while i'm away.
dor