panajachel
at 730am we got to school for our field trip to the coffee plantation. we saw coffee trees, learned the steps of coffee production, and viewed an active volcano from afar. i got bitten multiple times by mosquitos. bah! we skipped out on the subsequent hike to the lake (where apparently the fish were biting) and caught a chicken bus to xela instead. another lunch at pollo campero, and then we were off on a private shuttle to panajachel. the ride took longer than expected, as there was massive roadwork being done along the way. we were dropped off in front of our hotel, Utz-Jay (meaning: little house). we nearly screamed when we saw our hotel room — clean, bright, with a hot shower!
we spent the evening walking up calle santander looking for bags and stuffed giraffes (that one´s just me) and bargaining with the vendors until we got a decent price. dinner was at cafe bombay, a cute hippie vegetarian cafe.
once we got back to the hotel, theresa found a gigantic spider on her bed, and started freaking out. subsequently, we found more spiders and bugs, and ended up stripping our beds and throwing all of the linens in the corner. tram busted out her sheet and she and i shared a twin bed. we slept with the light on at theresa´s request.
