Funniest Home Births

More photos, and I can't see them again on the editing page, so here's the general rundown:

Landing in Flores, Guatemala (by minibus) we investigated a hot tip about an Escuela de Espanol across the river. $150/week each for lessons, homestay and three meals sounded pretty good so we called and the boat picked us up 45min later. It was a fantastic immersion, though as I student I learned a lot about teaching, not so much Spanish. Lisa met the local midwife and they laughed as they shared stories using a handful of words from each others language and some entertaining actions. The ruins at nearby Tikal were spectacular and after almost two weeks it was time to investigate the next tip, received from a variety of sources, El Ritero.

We headed south and stopped for a lazy eight nights in the 'hammocks, buffets and sunsets' backpacker stop off near Semuc Champey. Eating, sleeping and swimming at the right price. A memorable stop off.

Lisa meets people everywhere but I introduced her to Liz and Liz, some Australian girls who were at the hostel and they got along famously. We shared space on a bus to Antigua the following Sunday and passed the 7hrs discussing our feelings, families and women's issues in general. They joined us for a few more adventures in Antigua including climbing up Pacaya Volcan where the four of us giggled like school girls at the oozing red hot magma. It was good to have some Aussie company after months without.

My birthday was fast approaching so we hotfooted it to San Marcos on Lago de Atitlan, billed as the most relaxed of the lakeside spots. We gradually came to enjoy the place, watching the turnstile of hippies with credit cards. Lisa shouted me a few nights in the spare room of a fancy house high above the lake. Spectacular views, an outdoor hot shower, fireplace and modern kitchen meant we spent a lot of time here. I treated us to another week of Spanish lessons, this time with Maestro Francisco. He was much better than the last and helped us reach somewhere further on the way to survival Spanish.

A day trip to Chichi markets was worthwhile, even though I didn't buy anything, just for the colour and the animated Sunday church processions. A month had passed in Guatemala with ease. It was time to head back to Antigua and plan our next move - norte o sur?

Ben and Lisa