Adios San Pedro
Our time in San Pedro is over for now. We're now hanging out in Casa Del Mundo – a cool little hotel on the edge of the Lake. It's a little slice of luxury before we're once again thrown back into the maelstrom of Guatemalan travel. It's a little indulgent – a lot indulgent considering how we've been living of late - but I'm pretty sure we deserve it. Casa Del Mundo is a tranquil spot on the edge of the lake with a wonderful view and a quiet garden – perfect for relaxing! There are also various hikes to do, but that's not why we're here. Besides, I think I bruised a rib or two playing football this past week (“me duelen las costillas”), so I'm using that excuse.
Speaking of injuries, I've been troubled recently with an irritated mozzie bite that didn't seem to want to die down. I was worried it had become infected, but after a little home medicine (and a little info from the internet) I managed to remove a little piece of god knows what from my shin and now it's clearing up perfectly. We're still undecided if it was a bug, a piece of gravel/dirt/sand/gunk or something else entirely, but I like to claim it was a worm – usually just before Tracy starts eating. Whatever it was, it's now no longer hitching a free ride around Guatemala and I'm feeling a lot better thanks!
Before we left we had one last appointment. My Spanish teacher's daughter turned one today (4th of May) and she invited us around. It was a particular honour because she didn't invite any of the teachers or (as far as I know) any other students. We spent about an hour at her house with her and a select band of her closest family – although true to Guatemalan form, that consisted of 25 other people – and we got to meet little Shaidy Manuela. We did have a good time although in all my previous experience of education I've never had a teacher breast-feed a baby in front of me before. I guess we are here for different experiences... In fairness the attitude to breast-feeding in public seems very different here than in the West – and a lot more sensible too. After an hour at the party we had run out of Spanish phrases and we managed to extricate ourselves - not before having to turn down some meaty looking food (successfully) and some pineapple juice (unsuccessfully). We made our way back to our homestay, picked up our bags and jumped on the next boat out.
Although we'll always have pleasant memories of SP, I think it's about time to move on. We still have plenty of the world to see and now we're better equipped to deal with it – or the part of it that speaks Español anyway. We did meet lots of interesting people – both Guatemaltecos and extraños – and managed to learn something too. Maybe we'll come back a la Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi to complete what we started. I certainly feel like there's plenty more to learn; I just can't fit it in my head right now.
Speaking of injuries, I've been troubled recently with an irritated mozzie bite that didn't seem to want to die down. I was worried it had become infected, but after a little home medicine (and a little info from the internet) I managed to remove a little piece of god knows what from my shin and now it's clearing up perfectly. We're still undecided if it was a bug, a piece of gravel/dirt/sand/gunk or something else entirely, but I like to claim it was a worm – usually just before Tracy starts eating. Whatever it was, it's now no longer hitching a free ride around Guatemala and I'm feeling a lot better thanks!
Before we left we had one last appointment. My Spanish teacher's daughter turned one today (4th of May) and she invited us around. It was a particular honour because she didn't invite any of the teachers or (as far as I know) any other students. We spent about an hour at her house with her and a select band of her closest family – although true to Guatemalan form, that consisted of 25 other people – and we got to meet little Shaidy Manuela. We did have a good time although in all my previous experience of education I've never had a teacher breast-feed a baby in front of me before. I guess we are here for different experiences... In fairness the attitude to breast-feeding in public seems very different here than in the West – and a lot more sensible too. After an hour at the party we had run out of Spanish phrases and we managed to extricate ourselves - not before having to turn down some meaty looking food (successfully) and some pineapple juice (unsuccessfully). We made our way back to our homestay, picked up our bags and jumped on the next boat out.
Although we'll always have pleasant memories of SP, I think it's about time to move on. We still have plenty of the world to see and now we're better equipped to deal with it – or the part of it that speaks Español anyway. We did meet lots of interesting people – both Guatemaltecos and extraños – and managed to learn something too. Maybe we'll come back a la Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi to complete what we started. I certainly feel like there's plenty more to learn; I just can't fit it in my head right now.
posted by Iff at
6:07 pm
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