Lake Amatitlan

So a little update on my Spanish classes. All has been going well with my buddy Juan Carlos. We meet religiously every Saturday afternoon after my gardening work is done. He takes the classes really seriously which makes me way more into it (he records our conversations so he can practice listening to them during the week, plus he always makes me repeat things he doesn't understand which I really like). He keeps pushing me to do these activities with him instead of our classes though. I know that it's only because he wants to milk more time out of the lessons (usually we meet in McDonald's for two hours but if we go out somewhere it's usually for five or six hours). I was hesitant at first; one, because I didn't want to give up so much of my free time, and two because I was entirely sure that he didn't plan to murder me. I've slowly decided that killing me would be very stupid on his part since literally hundreds of people have seen us together in public and I've introduced him to several of my friends, so it would be a pretty tough crime to get away with. Okay, I guess that doesn't mean he isn't going to kill me, it just means that he isn't going to get away with it. Well that still gives me some relief, so I'm still counting that issue as resolved. As far as the second point goes, I decided that since I want to go to these places ANYWAY, if some dude is offering to take me there, pay for all my expenses and a meal, plus act as my personal tour guide, I should take him up on it. So now I've decided that wherever Juan Carlos wants to go, I'll go.

This weekend he took me to Lake Amatitlan which is a big ass lake outside of Guatemala City. It lies right under Volcan Pacaya (the one that I valiantly summited) and because of all the smoke that it gives off, the lake is chock full of sulfer. It's basically just a huge lake of acid rain. It's bright green and totally not okay to swim/fish/play in, though people do use boats. Despite its toxic contents, it's super pretty to look at. They have a gondola that goes up one of the adjacent mountains but it was closed down for repairs. Juan Carlos was super disappointed that we couldn't go into the gondola (quite possibly because he had an elaborate plan to murder me mid-ride and drop my body into the gigantic vat of sulfuric acid). Luckily he knew of a National Park on top of one of the mountains, so we drove there to get a look at the view.

We had to pass through a guard station to get into the park. Juan looks at me and says, "If they ask, say you're Guatemalan" then pulls up to them. WHAT?!? Um, I'm the most Irish-looking Guatemalan I ever met. AND my Spanish may be decent for an American, but it sure as hell ain't gonna pass for a Guatemalan. Luckily three years of intensive training in New York helped me perfect my anti-social scowl. Either my nasty face worked or they didn't really care to talk to me in the first place; we went in without issue. Their National Park was exactly like ours, I loved it! Super clean, tons of trees and areas for camping. I felt like I was in Stokes. We drove up to this overlook and I was able to see a nice chunk of the lake.

We only hung out for a few minutes before heading back to Antigua. On our way we went through Guatemala City (the lake is super close to there) and I got to go to WALMART!! I was so excited! There were so many things I wanted to buy for the house: shower curtains, candles, new ADLs for myself, all sorts of stuff. Then I realized that the prices are not cheap at all! It's way cheaper to grab this stuff at the little mom and pop shops around town, this store only offered a convenience of having everything in one place. I treated myself to a scented candle but otherwise left empty handed (except for some food. This was a SUPER Walmart :)

We're going to try to head back to the Lake again once the gondola gets fixed (the way that Guatemala works, that'll probably be three to four months from now.) I might look into how much it costs to rent a hotel room there for a night and head out with my friends. Do you see those gorgeous blue pools?? I want to go swimming!! Maybe since it's next to a toxic water feature they'll be super cheap!!

Side note: I don't have any pictures to show, but while we were driving I kept seeing these rain drops painted on the roads. Juan Carlos told me that they put them on the streets during Semana Santa. They're teardrops and they're supposed to remind people to drive slowly or else they'll kill someone (and everyone will cry). I like it :)