la vida loca: vamos a la playa

Today is the day. Today marks exactly one month until I’m on a plane back to the United States. So, because that thought makes me kind of sad, I will instead focus on what I have been up to and what I look forward to this month.

Last week marked our Semana Santa vacation/Spring Break. A group of 8 of us planned a trip to Honduras that turned out to be quite the adventure. We left right away on Friday, March 30 after class and headed to Antigua. Our bus to Tela, Honduras would pick us up on Saturday morning at 3:30am, so we decided not to rent a hotel for the night. However, upon arriving we decided we didn't want to carry around our bags, so we paid for a single room at a hostel and put our bags in there. After wandering around Antigua, attempting to sleep in the park, and watching every restaurant close down, we realized that we were all very tired. So, we headed to the hostel and attempted to sleep 7 people in one double bed for an hour. After leaving the hostel and sitting on the deserted streets of Antigua, our shuttle arrived and we were off on a 14 hour journey across Guatemala and Honduras. The bus was an extremely fancy version of a coach bus complete with reclining seats, televisions, and refreshments served on board. Not a bad way to travel! After many laughs and awkward moments with the bus attendant (he woke us up just to give us taco chips!), we made it across the border, into Honduras, and finally to our destination of Tela at about 7:30pm. We were dropped off at our hotel which was really nice. The next three days I spent lying on the beach, enjoying the sun and the ocean, acquiring a few new dresses and other random things throughout the days. It was a beautiful ocean paradise and another country to add to my list. It’s weird to think that in less than a week I was in three countries (Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras). We left Tela on Wednesday and after 14 more hours we arrived in Antigua once again. We only spent a minimal amount of time there as Semana Santa attracts many tourists in Antigua. Thursday we walked around the streets watching the alfombras (decorative carpets) being made on the streets in preparation for the processions that take place.

From Antigua we shuttled to San Marcos La Laguna on Lake Atitlan where we stayed the rest of the weekend. San Marcos is a very laid back town, and we all stayed in a cabin in the trees. It was fun to end the vacation relaxing and staying put for awhile. We ate at a delicious (and cheap!) Japanese restaurant two nights in a row, and attempted to find good coffee during the day. That proved to be a difficult task but we finally succeeded by the end of the weekend. On Saturday we went kayaking again on the lake, although this time it was much more laid back and my kayak partner Alivia and I spent more time drifting than actually rowing. Since it was later in the day the lake was a bit wavier, adding a little extra intensity as we attempted to row ourselves back to shore before it started storming. All in all a great time on the lake as it is one of the more beautiful sights I have seen. Easter Sunday was quite different than usual. We took a boat from San Marcos to Panajachel and ate brunch as a group. We wandered around the town for a bit doing some last minute shopping, coffee searching, and everything in between. As I sat drinking coffee an adorable girl named Manuela came up to us and offered to sell us bracelets, purses, etc. Of course I just had to buy some bracelets, and after she hung around for quite some time. She tried on my new sunglasses, put on sunscreen that she found on the table, and eventually told me directly: “I would like a Coke.” How could I say no? She settled on a Pepsi and was quite content and on her way.

Back in Xela now and finishing up the end of the semester is proving to be a bit difficult. Right now we are all in the middle of working on various papers and projects. It is hard to concentrate when I want to spend time doing other things, so I guess I am in search of a good balance for this last month. I am really excited that my dad and sister will be visiting Guatemala at the end of this month; my host family is excited too! I am starting to feel nervous, excited, and sad all at the same time but I must remember to just live every day and enjoy my time here like I have been.

Here are a some photos from my Semana Santa vacation in Honduras and Guatemala: