Part 12.b: On car sickness, terrifying spiders, being too cold and amazing views...Oh, and some pretty great dogs!

We arrived in Guatemala City and headed for the charming little colonial town of Antigua. Surrounded by three volcanos and steeped in culture. From the beautiful architecture to the traditional dress of the women and girls, Antigua is truly worth a few days of exploring. Unfortunately, I arrived sick. A flu, a cold, I don't know. I just felt miserable. I got out a few times but I wish I would have felt better so I could enjoy it more.

We took a shuttle bus for three hours through twisty-turny mountain roads to Beautiful San Pedro La Laguna at Lake Atitlán...

The car sickness was worth it but I never left or returned without motion sickness pills again. There are several villages around this beautiful lake, each with their own native language (but they all speak Spanish too). You really feel like you've gone back to a more simple, slowed down, quiet time.

In fact, we had a very simple rustic stone cabin just a one minute walk to the lake. The upstairs had a balcony with a lake view and the large property was full of trees and other greenery. Sounds perfect, I know. We even had a great landlord who included delivery of 5 gallon bottles of water for our entire stay. There were only a couple of inconveniences...The biggest one was the roommates...Spiders. Lots of spiders. Especially in the bedroom at night. Some were really big. Looking back, with my fear of anything with more than 4 legs, I honestly don't know how I slept there! Add to that, after Mexico, Atitlán felt cold. Sure, during the day shorts and a t-shirt are comfortable but at night I was sleeping in full sweats and bundling up with blankets. Not my cup of tea.

So why did we stay for 3 months (the longest of any country stay since the beginning of this journey)? Well, I think we were tired! Moving every month can be a great distraction from emotional pain. It can be an extraordinary learning experience. It can be so very life enriching but it can also be exhausting! The lake is an absolutely perfect place to rest and recharge. I worked every morning, still loving learning from all of my students around the world! And in the afternoon Chelsea, Nicholas (who had joined us a few weeks in) and I took the most beautiful walks. Sometimes we took a boat across the lake to the other villages. Mostly we just enjoyed ours. San Pedro is the most touristic of the villages, with more restaurants and shops. There are some expats living there too. It was nice to be able to talk to some people in English for a change. Just a bit easier.

One more thing that really stayed with me...The dogs. The lake has the best street dogs, many are strays and many are pets who are just allowed to roam. They are super friendly for the most part. The majority of transportation is tuk-tuks and I have actually witnessed them driving around a sleeping dog in the middle of the road. The dogs are just part of the landscape.

But our favorite dog was a one year old German Shepard named Bingo who lived next door at a family home/business where they made traditional clothing and processed cocoa the old fashioned way! He would often come to hang out in our backyard. We were always happy to see him and give him plenty of love. Bingo's mom, Berlin had her second litter of puppies just before we left and she was so sweet and let us come in and pet them! It was the perfect ending to our peaceful 3 month retreat!