Livingston & Lake Atitlan

It’s hard to believe that I am only here for 3 more months. I know the time will go really quickly and soon enough I’ll be back on an airplane to Canada. It will definitely be bittersweet to leave here. I’ve made many friends, have bonded with my students, learned how to speak Spanish, and have grown accustomed to Guatemalan food. Alternatively, I am truly looking forward to seeing my family and friends again, as well as being back in Canada.

The distance from home has been made not as long by visits from my family throughout the year. My most recent visitors were my sister Karly and my friend Will. Together we traveled to Livingston which is on the East coast of Guatemala. We spent the entire day on the beach and swimming in the Caribbean Sea. I managed to get quite the sunburn even though it was cloudy the whole time. Apparently my plan to get a tan by only using 4spf failed miserably, and the consequence was a very pink face and shoulders; but hey pink is better than pasty right???

The Caribbean Sea

Which is more red?

While in Livingston there was a huge thunderstorm. At first there was just a lot of lightning, so I decided it would be nice to go out on the dock and watch the show…bad decision. Within 5 minutes the wind and rain increased immensely and sheets of water were being thrown at me. I quickly walked (my slippery flip-flops prohibited running) back to my hotel and was completely drenched. Next time I think I’ll just watch the lightning out my window.

Karly, Will, and I also managed to take a short trip to Lake Atitlan. It was my first time there so I was looking forward to seeing a new part of Guatemala. We joined a tour in Antigua and took a 2.5 hr ride to the lake which is surrounded by volcanoes. It is definitely a beautiful place to see, but why someone would choose to build their house at the foot of a volcano is beyond me. We traveled by boat to the little villages around the lake, and had a little bit of time at each place to look around and do some shopping. It’s always nice to have visitors, but also sad to see them leave.

See you again soon!!