A week of Español on the shores of Lake Atitlan

We've finally completed one of our objectives for our Central American adventures: a weeks intensive Spanish course. 

However, I need to start at the beginning. On the 25th January, Bryony and I decided to change our plans. Originally we were aiming to head from Antigua (see previous post) to Xela (Quetzaltenango) in order to find a Spanish school but upon looking up some information on Lake Atitlan we quickly had a change of heart and booked ourselves a 3hr transfer to San Pedro La Laguna; a small but bustling pueblo right on the glittering turquoise shores of Lake Atitlan, in the shadow of the San Pedro volcano.

The transfer minibus was small and full of other tourists as it pulled away from Yellow House hostel at 8am the next day. As is normally the case in Guatemala, the driving was somewhat dubious and the actual rules of the road difficult to see under a fog of interpretation. Furthermore, the driver seemed to also have other errands to run whilst on the way to our destination. I distinctly remember to my incredulity, stopping to pick up a large roll of leather and then two more passengers. An elderly Mayan couple who seemed to only speak in whichever Mayan dialect was used in that area. 

The views of the country side were stunning and the roads of varying quality. Once near Lake Atitlan the roads became winding as they climbed the surrounding mountains. Once we crested the mountains and began our descent we gained a beautiful vista of the lake and its surrounding pueblos.

My first impressions of San Pedro was of a bustling tourist economy with many tuk-tuks and stalls hawking their trades. After taking stock, we headed for our hostel which we had booked the day before as it was such a bargain. £10 all in for two people in a double room. The heat of the day beat down on us as we trekked away from the port strand were we were dropped. The streets quickly became quieter with less vendors, however the people never became less friendly and the streets never felt less safe. Eventually we found the sign to our destination. The legend, on a yellow and blue sign, "Hotel Playa Linda" (cute beach) underneath was an arrow with 50mtrs. The track was small to were only one could walk a breast, dusty and unpaved. Is this the right place? Following it down past back gardens and small holdings we found the door. An elderly Maya woman greeted us and showed us into a beautiful garden facing the lake beach. A tiny shack at the end of the garden with two tables and a roof next to it boasted itself as the restaurant. 

Evening at Lake Atitlan

It was at this point we met a Argentinian couple, their daughter and her husband (a Ukrainian). After a hearty lunch we decided to head out and look for Spanish schools and where we would ultimately spend the next week.

Maya Atitlan Spanish School

Luckily for us San Pedro has a large number of Spanish schools which vary in reputations throughout the pueblo. Our needs were simple: 4 hours of lessons a day for 5 days and a home stay without breaking the bank. After walking into a few schools we thought the price would all be much of a muchness, but just as we were about to just plump with one we found the Maya Atitlan school.

Immediately we had a good feeling about this school. The building were basic and mostly based outside with a garden area leading down to the lake. In broker Spanish we negotiated the best price we had been given all day, at least Q200 cheaper than the other schools and we decided to go for It. Classes started on Monday so we had Saturday and Sunday to kill, but Bryony will be publishing a blog on that weekend soon.

Monday rolled around and classes began, we met our very patient Maestra, Rosalía. Over the week she coached us through all our lessons with humour and most importantly all in Spanish. We mostly focused on gramatica and answering questions. 

Jug of Rosa de Jamaica with a nice view

Our host family lived about 10 minutes walk from the school in a newly built hotel. Our family cooked us all sorts of local/traditional meals such as frijoles (black beans), mush and cornflakes (sort of porridge, served with cornflakes on top), guacamole and lots of tortillas. They also taught us some Tz'utujil- their first language. 

We also had the opportunity to have a traditional weaving demonstration in nearby San Juan and a coffee plantation tour. Our free afternoons were filled with trips to the market for snacks and coffee or licuados de fruta (milkshake) in cafes by the lake.

Catching fish for dinner

After an intense week of Spanish learning, we bought a fishing line and went fishing in the lake with our host. Due to the strong wind, we tried several spots but caught nothing. After returning to our first spot where the fish had appeared, we were joined by some local children who attempted to help us, and a man who managed to catch a couple of fish. We returned back to the house and were served our fish for dinner with guacamole, salad, platanos and tortillas!

Eating the fish we caught. With fried platanos, frijoles and scrambled egg.

We left the homestay the next morning and bought pancakes with banana at a cafe before checking back into Casa Filipe for another night before our next adventure!

We would like to say a big thank you to Maya Atitlan and our host family for giving us such a great experience learning Spanish and getting to know more of the amazing Mayan culture. We would definitely recommend them for anyone looking to learn Spanish in Guatemala. 

As usual, follow, like and subscribe for more updates on our trip round Central America. More posts coming soon on our recent hikes up two of Guatemala's famous volcanoes and our next stop Xela (Quetzaltenango).

Happy Travels,

Greg & Bryony