July 6th, 2012:  Celebrated Leslie's 38th birthday with a strong espresso that Micah and I searched out early this morning and a new skirt, compliments of the native Cachiquel Indian handiwork. Today, we are in Panajachel or "Pana" for short if you're a hip traveler.

Yesterday, while driving in pretty bad traffic in Guatemala City, some local stopped by and told us to follow him.  He diverted us around an accident and got us on the right path to get through the town and to our destination.  This is an example of the amistad (friendliness) in Guatemala.  When we arrived in Panajachel, I was so exhausted from driving (intense through Ciudad Guatemala), that I crashed as soon as we got in our room.  We all eventually fell asleep and the boys were very disoriented when they awoke.  For Leslie's birthday we took a boat ride on lago Atitlan to the pueblo Santa Catarina.  We all jumped off the boat and swam in the warm, refreshing lake.  Bodhi finally got his camisa de futbol Guatemala (Guatemalan soccer jersey).  We also bought a hacky sack that the boys have been throwing under the wheels of passing vehicles to soften up.

Side Note:  On the way to LAX, we had an exciting experience as we saw literally hundreds of firework events on the 91, the 605 and 105 freeways.  It was unreal how many fireworks were on both sides of the freeway.  It all started at around 9pm and it was still going when we arrived at the parking garage. In the future, if you're bored with the local fireworks, try driving the path described...IT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND!!!  Checking in the 3 surfboards in our board bag went well.  We calculated the size and weight perfectly and were not charged any extra for the check-in.  Our flight departed at 1:30 a.m. so we were pretty tired when we arrived in Guatemala City.

Yesterday while driving to Panajachel, we stopped at a roadside comedor (eatery) and had grilled meat, with handmade tortillas, fresh lemonade and super spicy salsa.  We fed the whole family for 75 Quetzales or about $10.00.  The exchange rate is about 7.5 Quetzals for $1 American.

As soon as I finish this post, we will be driving 2.5 hours to Xela (Shay-La) to meet Leslie's high school friend named Cara, who is working there.   Talk with y'all soon!

~Mucho Amor, Los Chitraroff's