sayonara guatemala!

our last few days in guatemala were wonderful... a nice peaceful + fitting end to our time in guatemala. sunday we headed off to lake atitlán, a caldera lake surrounded by tall volcanoes and dotted with small towns. we took a boat tour around the lake, and when the heat got to be too much, ari and i took a spontaneous swim in the clear, bluish-green waters. it truly was idyllic (well, aside from the drunk local who seemed insistent on freaking amy out as she guarded our stuff. i am sure i would have been a bit upset by him as well, if i understood a word of what he was saying). the town where we were staying was named panajachel... it's a laid back, fairly hippyish town filled with people who visited way back when and couldn't find it in their hearts to leave. so we had some lovely vegetarian food for dinner and some yummy roadside desserts. the next day we attempted to hike around part of the lake to santa catalina (or somewhere), but we didn't quite make it as we trespassed onto many private estates. however, the scenery was breathtaking and i, of course, took another hundred pictures. monday afternoon brought us back to antigua. that night we met up with my friend jadyn´s cousin, gaby, and four of her friends. it was a great way to spend our last night in guatemala.

and now, here we are in equador--- and the south america part of this south american trip has begun. we woke up 3.20 for our 6 am flight. after a stop in nicaragua (or was it somewhere else?) and a transfer in panama, we arrived in quito. the descent into the city was amazing. we flew right over the mountains surrounding quito, and got a great view of the hundreds of thousands of houses that cover the valley and creep up the hillsides. but i will leave quito for another day, for there is plenty to be said about that... (the next post should hopefully include pickpocket attempts and jumping back and forth between the northern and southern hemispheres. oo, cliffhanger.)