Our little piece of heaven...

Wow! We've only been in San Pedro for a week and it feels like months.

It looks like we have been really lucky. On our second day here we found an apartment on the lake. It is basic but we have a kitchen, hammocks and hot water - something 90% of the town lacks.

The other great thing about our house is that the garden runs down to the lake where we have a jetty and a soon to be opened bar!

Manuel, our earnest landlord, is slowly building an empire (think multi-storey hotel - it's current one floor -, lakeside bar, restaurants etc etc), but we have arrived just in time because there is no one else staying here and it is still underdeveloped.

We are already scheming to work in the bar while improving out Spanish.

We have also found what we think is an excellent teacher. We say this with hesitation however... this is a man who in the first 4 hours told us that he speaks 7 languages, holds 4 degrees (1 PHD), has travelled the world, is a champion rally car driver, martial arts expert, goes hunting with a sling shot - and that modesty is his more outstanding attribute!

Despite this he has been an amazing teacher and in 1 week we can already say so much! One-on-one tuition is the way to go!


As for San Pedro itself, well, what a querky world we have entered.

It is an idilic town on the edge of lake atitlan, adjacent to 3 volcanoes. It is also a getaway of the budget traveller (that's saying something in Central America) and has also become a hideaway for hippies - or as our teacher Roberto likes to say - social drop outs.

The Western presence means that we have internet, hamburgers, thai curry, a pub with cable and 3-4 places showing nightly movies - creature comforts that we appreciate given how long we are staying.

The downside is that the largely hippy foreign populace cruise around town in their own world, an ocean away from our more conventional backgrounds. It also means that San Pedro is known as a bit of a drug town. We had no idea!

Ironically, on our first night here, as walking home after dinner Nat said 'Where on earth would you find drugs here?' Literally that moment someone said 'Ganja? Weed? White stuff?'

It's comical that in the centre of town, just next to our school, the most frequently heard words are 'Kayak? Weed?' and they're coming from the mouth of the same guy.

Fortunately San Pedro is still a lovely Guatemalan town where people wash in the lake, cows walk down the main street, taco vendors ply their trade and we can chat with the friendly locals who are all keen to help us improve our Spanish.

Our final stroke of luck is Poppy, the puppy. She wiggled her way under our fence the first day we were making lunch (our kitchen is outside). This town has a massive stray dog problem and at first we were planning a full adoption. We then discovered that she actually lives next door, but Nat has nevertheless assumed responsibility for her feeding, washing and grooming. In a few days she has been transformed from skin and bones to a healthy pup. It's just another thing to help us feel more at home.