We got up to a beautiful view of the lake and volcanoes. It was still pretty overcast but I got some great pictures. We hired a boat for the day to take us around to some of the villages. First he dropped us off to hike to a breakfast spot at a great little hotel on the side of the lake. It was probably the best meal I´ve had so far. Then we got back in the boat to go to Santiago Atitlan. This is where most of the goods in Guatemala are made so I did some shopping and then went to see the house of Saint Maximon. He is a diety in the Mayan-Christian religion that is suppose to be half good and half bad. He smokes cigars and drinks rum and is suppose to be able to put curses on people. After that we went to the village of San Pedro and rented horses. We took a ride through the village and up into the jungle and overlooks onto the lake. It was fun because we were able to run and trot with the horses. Some of the trails were very steep and narrow, so it was also a little scary at times. Once we rode about an hour and a half out we turned around and it started raining, then it started pouring. This made the ride a lot more interesting because know all the trails were very slippery. Plus the horses knew they were going home, so they wanted to run. Once we got off the jungle trails onto a wider, flatter path, the horses really took off. It was very scary, because the saddlehorn was wet and I couldn´t hold on very well. One of the people traveling with me, who was actually a very experienced rider was thrown off her horse. She was OK but the horse stepped on her foot and her back was all scraped up. After that, the guide made us slow down. We had to take a public boat back to Panajachel where we were staying and then the boat dropped us off at the wrong dock, so it turned into quite an adventure by the time we finally got back. After a much needed shower, I went to dinner and then we hit the local clubs. It is very interesting because besides the fact that the music is kind of a salsa, hip-hop mix you would never know you were in a Guatemalan club and not an American club. We even ran into some people who were trying to promote something and were dressed up like they were at Mardi Gras.
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