Lake Atitlan

We are now in Panajachel, a town right on beautiful Lake Atitlan. We are at an amazing hotel that you can only get to by boat. It's called Casa Del Mundo (house of the world). It's nestled up into the mountainside with views of the lake and surrounding volcanos. I'm sharing a room with a woman named Kirsten. Our room is the highest up you can possibly get at this hotel. I'm winded everytime I have to go back and get something from my room. I'm trying really hard to remember everything the first time. There are incredible views of the lake from every single room at this place. There are stone pathways with steps throughout within the trees and colorful flowers. This really is a paradise.

We went kayaking on the lake this morning. It was great! There has been quite a bit of wind since we've been here, so we stayed close to shore. The views from the lake were as amazing as from high up in my room. Everytime I think about what month it is, I get an enormous smile on my face. I must travel in February more often. It's surreal to think what the weather is back home. Sorry everybody!

The food is improving for me. We have eaten very well at this hotel. We ate a 4 course family style meal last night. The main course was a chicken shish kabob. Mmmm. Breakfast was a breakfast burrito with potatos. I got to choose my lunch today which I will eat in about an hour. I decided to go for the traditional Guatemalan cuisine special. Yesterday, we had lunch at a restaurant and sat out on a patio. Our table was right below an orange tree and next to an orchid tree. After lunch, we had some time to meander around the market in town. Tracy... I found Brandon another little beanie hat that will actually fit him! I picked one up for Ty too.

A little info about my travelmates...they are an interesting mix of people ranging from a yoga instructor/dance choreographer/doola (Meredith) to a medical device engineer (Mike H.). In between, there is a mortgage broker (Mike R.), a chemist (Becky), a realtor (John), a writer/journalist (Lynette), an attorny on sabbatical (Kirsten), a business student (Nikki), and finally our trip leader Jodi. She is the entrepeneur who started Play it Forward. If anyone is interested in checking out the website it's: pifadventures.com. I'm enjoying getting to know all these interesting and unique people. Our Guatemalan guides are Juan and Ritchie. They are great and keep everything safe and organized. Juan's dog, Ela (chocolate lab), has been with us at the lake. She rode on our kayak for a while this morning. Great dog! After the kayak, we jumped off a high ledge into the lake. This activity is becoming a trademark for all my trips. I think I have jumped off something high up into the water on my last 4 trips. Fun times!

I think that's all for now. We are off on a hike this afternoon along the top of the mountain along the lake. More amazing views. We'll be walking through some more little towns. We'll begin working on our house building project in 2 days. I'm really looking foward to that, being it is a completely new experience for me.
Until next time, adios amigos!! Kristin