Sugar High On a Friday Night

My life is so thrilling. My Friday night is staying home playing video games and overdosing on sugar!! 

Amongst the junk food I bought at La Torre grocery store today, on a whim I bought this ginormous bottle of POP. Can you guess what the flavor is? Soda Shampan...champagne! Champagne cola is kind of a unique flavor in the Carribean and Latin America. It tastes sort of like cream soda. This one is not bad but a little weak. I realized belatedly that it has aspartame which gives it a yucky aftertaste. Oh well.

That's a lotta pop.

Another strange find in the store today, Fruit of the Forest Oreos. I can't really say they taste like much at all. I mostly taste the chocolate cookie part but I guess the purple filling tastes like...tangy sugar. Not raspberry or blackberry or anything.

Fruit of the Forest Oreos

Just in case you need more sugar for breakfast, Guatemala is obsessed with horrible sugary cereals. It was fun at first, but it's getting kind of tiresome now. I mean do you really need marshmallows in your chocolate rice krispies? I would love to have some nice lightly sweetened LIFE cereal or some brown sugar Mini-Wheats.

Chocolate Rice Krispies with Marshmallows

Poor Bert is subsisting on Cream of Wheat, yogurt, bananas, and pudding. He's getting his teeth fixed, which basically means he's getting most of them pulled out. He's had four done already. After they're all done being pulled, he will get fitted for partial dentures. Ack, that sounds like such an old man thing, doesn't it? Ha ha!
For reference, getting a tooth pulled (extraction) costs Q150 each. That's roughly $26 Canadian or $20 U.S. dollars. Pretty cheap!

Heart of Wheat -- the closest to Cream of Wheat we've found here.

Look at that face! 😍

Bert is being comforted in his dental pain by a new puppy. Yes, we know. Not another dog! Well, he wasn't supposed to stay but he's just so darn cute! His name is Chunk! He's about three-and-a-half months old and he already weighs almost 20 pounds. He is a big boy. His coat is super shiny and black with brown undertones. He is very handsome and laid back and adorable.

So life is pretty normal. Nice and warm here, a bit cloudy in the evenings but no rain.
It's pretty quiet in town because we're in that peaceful time between Christmas and Easter. A few months of calm and then tourists will come pouring back in.

I hope you're all well and enjoying life wherever you are. Peace out from Guatemala!

High Praise for Lake Atitlan from Fodor's Travel

I just read this great article about how you can vacation at Lake Atitlan for far less than a trip to Italy and still experience all the joys and beauty you would expect from a European destination.

👉🏼 An Affordable Alternative to Italy 👈🏼

Casa Palopó, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

The article from Fodor's features several rather ritzy places and activities, but I can tell you that you can get a lovely hotel for far cheaper than you might think. Plus eating at the restaurants here is very inexpensive, especially for traditional barbecue (churrasco).  That means you'll have more money to splurge on traditional hand-woven fabrics, real jade, beaded animals, wooden masks, amazing paintings of the lake, and buying knick-knacks from the cute child vendors. 

Bert and my sister in the jacuzzi and Hotel Atitlan.
This is not some fancy photo from a hotel website. This is a real pic that I took!

When my sisters visited for the first time, they stayed at the beautiful Hotel Lake Atitlan. It is located just outside of Pana so it is very quiet. They have gorgeous gardens to wander through, a pool with a view of the lake and volcanoes, and extravagant rooms decorated with local art and textiles. My sisters loved it because you could flush your toilet paper. 😄 (Read my article about bathrooms here.)

Lakeview room in Porta Hotel Del Lago

For a more first-world style hotel -- complete with elevator! -- The Porta Hotel Del Lago is a popular choice. It is located right in the middle of Panajachel, only steps from the waterfront. They recently installed a "living wall" of plants that goes all the way up the side of the building. They have a pool, lakeview rooms, conference facilities, and gardens.

Gardens at Hotel Posada de Don Rodrigo, Panajachel

Another popular waterfront hotel is Hotel Posada de Don Rodrigo. They are proud to feature Guatemalan traditions, food, dance, clothing, and decor, yet they still offer first-world amenities to refresh and relax you. Wouldn't you love to be in one of those hammocks right now?

"But I'm a poor traveler. I can't afford those hotels!"
No worries, my friend! Head over to TripAdvisor and sort by price low to high. You will find rooms for as little as $25 Canadian ($20 American) per night! Hmm, at those prices, I might spend a night in a hotel myself!

TIP: Many folks are scared off of Guatemala due to over-exaggerated news reports about violence and crime. While the city and border towns can be a bit scary, Lake Atitlan is pretty peaceful and safe. The locals know that tourism is their bread and butter -- or should I say tortillas and beans -- and they want visitors to enjoy their time. (And spend lots of money too, of course!) Use your common sense, as you would in any city, and you'll be just fine.

I hope to see more of you strolling around Panajachel in the near future. And in case you need more incentive, today it's 23°C (73°F), sunny and breezy and beautiful! 😎

Picture This...

It's January.
I'm wearing shorts and a tshirt, as I always do.
I'm walking home from the store, munching on fresh green coconut slices that I bought for less than a dollar.
I stop to admire this sunset...

And then a tuc-tuc rips by in a cloud of dust, playing TARZAN BOY at full blast. Ha ha ha!
Guatemala, you still make me laugh after all this time. 😄

For those who can't recall what Tarzan Boy sounds like, let me take you back to 1985...where Guatemala still happily lives!