Way back when--at the beginning of 2 Go Global--we visited Lago Atitlan.  We found it to be one of the more friendly and picturesque places that we visited, so we decided to take Jodi there.  Last time, we stayed in the town of Panahachel.  This time, we decided to stay at the Casa del Mundo which sits alone on the hillside on the other side of the lake.  Melanie joined us as well.  The four of us had a wonderful time.

When we arrived in Panahachel, Melanie, Jodi and Kelly did a little shopping, while Rich enjoyed some cold ones in an outdoor restaurant.  He was so lonely that he even let Manuel shine his shoes.

Meet Manuel.  At the age of ten, he walks around Panhachel offering shoe shines for the equivelent of 40 cents (U.S.) to help make ends meet.  

La Casa del Mundo is situated along a cliff near the town of Jaibalito.  It can only be reached by boat or by foot.  This is a view of the hotel from a nearby trail.

This is the view from Room 6, where we stayed our first night.  While we loved that room, we moved to Room 3 the second night which had even more stunning views of the three volcanoes from its large windows.

We had a great time together at the Casa.  The meals were great and the conversation hilarious.  Rich commented that he felt like he was in the Beaches movie as he listened to the women tell their stories.  Deep down inside he loved it.

We hiked along the mountainside to the nearby village of Santa Cruz.

Jodi takes photos of the lake and volcanoes.  By now, you may be asking, "Who is this Jodi character?"  We met Jodi in December of 1999 when we were first in Central America.  Rich and I were hitch-hiking in Costa Rica as the bus system was terrible and we could not afford a rental car.  Jodi and her then-boyfriend, Paul, picked us up and we enjoyed the next few days together at Volcan Arenal  (2 Go Volcan Arenal).  Both Jodi and Paul kept in close touch with us.  We traveled with Paul again later in our Costa Rican travels (2 Go Beaches) and again in India (beginning with 2 Go Jaipur Photos).  Jodi met us again here in Guatemala.  We had a great time traveling together.  Since she speaks good Spanish, we were able to continue speaking in our new mother tongue.

In the village of Santa Cruz, boys play futbol outside of the church.

This young boy enjoys a Sunday afternoon stroll.

While these young girls do all of the work.

If you visit the Casa del Mundo, watch out for the Parrot from Hell.  This insane bird enjoys harassing guests.  This time he chose Rich as his victim.  Every time Rich left the room, the little green guy would chase Rich around often flying right for his head.  Here the parrot is actually stalking Rich outside of our window, with one of the three Lago Atitlan volcanoes in the background.

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