Written By Helen and Kate
Another wonderful week in the books! After saying hasta la vista to the Bambú back in Tzununa, we boated across the lake to San Juan. The group got a glimpse of life in San Juan after the trek but now they get to experience it in its full form. Once arriving in San Juan, we walked to the Eco Language Spanish school to meet up with our new host families! Our host families kindly welcomed us into their homes as we started to get settled into daily life in San Juan.
The next day we grabbed our backpacks and pencils and headed off to school to further improve our Spanish speaking and comprehension. In the afternoons, the group split up according to the extracurricular activities they chose which included classes like weaving, marimba, painting, and tie dye. Students got to make “bufandas” (scarves), hone their musical skills, and learn different painting techniques. Interestingly enough, another gap year program from the States was also in San Juan, so of course we challenged them to a friendly game of basketball on the nearby court. Group activities for the week included playing hide and seek, buying lots of coffee from local cafes, and busting out some fire dance moves at Doña Clara’s 70th birthday.
After a long week of school, the fun ramped up as we headed into the weekend. On Saturday, the group took a delightful boat ride to Santa Cruz and began the relaxing, fun-filled lake day. We were blessed with perfect weather for sunbathing, swimming, and paddling around the lake on Stand Up Paddle boards. The group delighted in jumping off the dock, practicing their dives or doing funny poses in the air. Later that evening, the group played Jeopardy orchestrated by team leaders Helen and Kate where the group was quizzed on topics such as the Kardashians, Guatemalan history, and Kate’s birthday. The next morning, the students woke up, some of them burnt and red from the day before, ready for their next adventure, riding horses. We all packed into the back of a pick-up truck and drove to San Pedro to meet the horses we would be riding up the coast of the lake. We enjoyed panoramic views of Lake Atitlan in the mountains and trotted through various streets in the city. After the horse riding excursion, the group rode back to San Juan to pack up their stuff and get ready to move out and into their next homestay. We had an amazing week here in San Juan and are excited for another week of exploring, learning, and adventuring. Adiós!
