Laura has been smitten with the hand painted tiendas (stores) here in Panajachel. Here are a few:

Shoe Show of Pana

Get your keys cut and your motorcycle repaired too

 We had a great time on our hike to the Mayan caves and saw a number of Mayan ceremonies going on. The hike down was something else. The owner of the school told us he could run down in 6 minutes as a kid. It took us about an hour.

Scenic vista during hike to Mayan Cave

View of Panajechel from Way above

Inside the Mayan cave

the cutest little boy who "helped" us on the tricky parts of the trail

Okay, here's a post with some of the amazing meals we have been enjoying. Aura, our host, favors organic foods and it's low fat to boot. Enjoy!

Chile rellenos, papas revueltes y pepinos con zanahoria

Tostados peguenos y repollo

carne fritas y el brocoli

Happy 4th of July Gringos!!

Well we are midway through our second week of language classes and we are all sounding much better! Working one-on-one for four hours each day is pretty intense but it is paying off. After class Sully went to the bank to change some money. The banks were closed on Monday and we were down to 75 centavos which is equal to about 10 cents! We had to pay off some debts around town (Alden had bought a skirt on Sunday which the lady let her take on credit and we had to beg the laundry lady to wash our clothes on Monday and not get paid until Tuesday, thankfully everyone is very nice and trusting!). After taking care of all of that we went shopping and got all kinds of gifts to bring home! It is hard to chose because everything is so beautiful.
After dinner we walked downtown to hear some girls playing the Marimba. Walked home in a cold rain.
Today we are going to hike to a Mayan Cave, I'm exited to get out of the city and the kids are definitely in need of some exercise. We walk everywhere we go but other than the alley there is no place to run. Tilghman is pretty fed up with the alley because every time he falls the cement and rocks tear up his hands and knees. Yesterday he had the broom out there sweeping but I don't think it did much good!

Mayan Calendar, notice where it says time's up?

A Mayan quilt

sign from San Pedro

Alden's nuevo cuaderno and a stripy Tuc Tuc

the market in Santiago de Atitlan

Here are some recent pics of our weekend aventuras.

mi cabeza está llena!

Over the weekend we went to Jaibelito, San Pedro, and on Sunday, Santiago to see Maximon! Last week we saw a few UVA students in the market!! We have had a few earthquakes over the past few days, small ones, but still! We saw the Euro Cup in a restaurant off the lake! Really yummy food and a great game! I love Iker Casillas! Learned more today and did my homework in the window. Dad is learning tons, mi madre tambien, and Tilghman is losing his fluency in English... We hope you guys are doing alright, hang in there, and have a good fourth of July!

Love Alden

Fin de la semana

This weekend we had some interesting adventures. A guy we met suggested we go to a little village called Jabolito. It is a little ways around the lake from Panajachel. We went Saturday morning. We walked around looking for the center of town only to find out we were in it. It made Orange look like NYC. After that we decided to go to another town across the lake called San Pedro. It is definitely the party town on the lake. We considered a school there and we were glad we didn't choose that one. It was a little too young and edgy for us. We went kayaking in some seriously old kayaks and explored the cove at San Pedro. The water level of the lake fluctuates from year to year, but it has been rising in recent years. We saw this first hand in the form of lots of submerged houses and docks. Just as we were leaving a huge storm blew in and we had to cross the lake in the pouring rain. We had to hold down the tarp across the front to keep from getting soaked. It was not quite the Perfect Storm, but when you consider most of the other people on the boat can't swim it ups the ante a little. The kids loved it. Did some shopping and wandered through town in the pouring rain.

view from dock at Jaibalito

Rico Suave

holding the tarp in the launcha

On Sunday we took another "launcha" boat across the lake to this great little town called Santiago Atitlan. In 2008 there were awful landslides here and many people died. The city is on a steep hillside with an enormous church. We paid a visit to "Maximon" a Mayan/Christian god who resides in Santiago. He is a wooden statue who likes to smoke and drink and answer prayers. We crossed the lake again back home to Pana in time to watch Spain vs Italy in the Euro Cup. The whole place would totally erupt when Spain scored. Had a rainy dinner at this cool little taco shop, came home and read a bit of Where the Red Fern grows and went to bed.

Moximon, the wooden guy in the center

La launcha on a nicer crossing

Me talk pretty one day...

Well, we just completed our first week of Spanish classes and I guess we are sounding a bit better. The teachers and our family are constantly helping us and I do feel like we have made some progress. What is worse though is that poor Tilghman can't speak English anymore.
Our typical day goes like this...
We wake up around 6:30 when the church bells ring, we have breakfast and then walk to school. On the way we stop at a bakery and pick up some yummy cookies to dunk in our coffee. We get to school and go meet our teachers. I am on the third floor terrace which has gorgeous views of the cliffs surrounding the town, Sully and Tilghman are in the garden and Alden is in the front room of the school. We study for 2hours and then get a 20 minute break. After the break Sully and I go back to work and the kids go wandering around town, to the lake, library or market with their teachers. At noon the church bells ring and we go home for lunch. In the afternoon we tool around town, play soccer in the alley and do homework. We usually go for a walk before dinner, down to the chocolate shop or stroll by all of the street vendors. Dinner is at 6:30 with the family. After dinner the kids usually play with the family dog and we go for ice cream across the street at Pana Cafe! We fall into bed around nine and sleep like rocks after a long day of speaking Spanish!
Today after school we walked to the little village next door. The highlight of that trip was standing up in the pickup truck for the ride home.
We have some trips planned to cross the lake this weekend so will write more later!