vivinguatemala

It felt quite strange not going to work at CARE-Belize on Monday morning. Instead I caught the Mundo Maya express bus to Guatemala and checked into La Casa de Don David at El Remate five hours later. It felt good to leave the grime and crime of mad bad Belize City behind and exchange it for the open countryside.



La Casa de Don David is right on the Lago de Peten Itza, and my little cabana is very comfortable with hot water in the bathroom (bliss), a hammock on the verandah (very civilized), good food (always welcome), and decent affordable wine (hurrah!)



I spent the first afternoon wandering along the lake shore, watching the local children swimming while their mothers waded out waste deep to do the weekly wash on the nearest rocks.



The next day I flagged down a minibus and got a ride to Flores, the capital of the El Peten region, which is situated about 30 kilometers from El Remate, and actually on the lake (you reach it via a causeway).



Flores is a pretty and sedate town, full of interesting souvenir shops and little bars and restaurants tucked on to narrow cobbled streets.



The lake surrounding the town is truly blue and I sat happily just gazing at its beauty for quite a long time.



The Guatemalan people in this area are mostly of Mayan descent, with not much evidence of Spanish blood. English isn´t widely spoken amongst the people I come into contact with, though their broken English is invariably better than my broken Spanish.



Interestingly (to me, anyway), I´m taller than most Guatemalans, men as well as women. I feels quite strange to look down at someone for a change.