Sunday, February 20, 2011

From the "Short and Sweet" Dept.

One of the things I haven't written much about is daily life in San Pedro.  So, in what will become a continuing series, I'll cover some of the day-to-day experiences of living in Guatemala.

A very small part of Lake Atitlan

San Pedro la Laguna is located on Lake Atitlan, one of the most beautiful places on the planet.  The lake is a mountain-top caldera surrounded by volcanos.  Despite San Pedro's elevation - 5,000 feet - it never gets too cold.  About 17,000 people live here and most are of Maya descent.  There are three Maya languages spoken around the lake.  Most indigenous people in San Pedro speak Tz'utujil and Spanish.  There is very little English spoken outside of the ex-pat and tourist communities.  Lake Atitlan itself is located in the southwestern part of the country with the Pacific ocean a few hours away by bus. Volcan San Pedro towers over the town and is, hopefully, dormant.

Weather:  Winter and spring are dry.  It seems it's always sunny.  Cool nights (mid-teens) and warm days (high-20s).  It gets warmer during the day as we get closer to summer. The summer and fall are wet.  The temperatures are warmer, but it rains every afternoon.  Last year it rained so much that there were a number of mudslides around the lake. This time of year is perfect - cool nights, warm days, no rain.  It's like groundhog day.

Banking:  There are two bank machines connected to the outside world.  There is now a third, but it is for local bank customers only.  You can take out 2000 quetzales per transaction.  That's about $250 at the official exchange rate of about $1-Q8.  Money is usually available, but sometimes there is a run on the weekend.  Luckily, I am able to run tabs at most businesses if I run out of cash.

Cost of Living:  I spend about $1000 a month.  That is actually high for living here, but not outrageous.  I am living in a hotel that costs about $190 a month.  The rest goes to eating out 2-3 times a day, a few groceries, coffee, laundry and general entertainment (beer).  If I had a kitchen, I could likely reduce my expenses by 30% if not more.  Last night I spent about Q150 ($18.75) at a local pub.  I was there for many hours using their internet and chewing the fat.  I had 2 imported Guinnesses, a couple of local beers and a plate of nigiri sushi.  My tab also included a 10% propina (tip).

In San Pedro you can eat cheaply (3 for 10Q tacos) or expensively (white table cloth dinner with wine $10). But at the end of the day, nothing is really expensive at all.

More to come...

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