Happy 14th Baktun!

On Friday, December 21th, 2012 we were awaken at 5am by an incredible wind. Avocados and Oranges were bouncing off our roof left and right. The end of the13th Baktun was here and according to the Mayans we were now entering a new era. Some "loco gringos" thought that this was the end of the world and with the extreme wind and trees falling all around it almost felt like it for a second but we are still here.  At 7:30am I went to make some fresh Jaibalito coffee and breakfast for the three of us: Aaron, Travis and myself only to learn that the electricity was out again... so we ended up going to breakfast at Hans's.

These two were in a heated debate on whether the world was going to end, it was going on for days...

Travis came to visit us in Jaibalito for the night and later that day Aaron and Travis were driving to Guatemala City to meet with Travis's family and friends as they were arriving for Helga and Travis's wedding on Sunday, the 23rd.

Congragulations Helga and Travis!

The wedding was very beautiful; Helga and Travis both looked amazing, happy and so much in love! It was very exciting to see them and meet both of their families. The wedding took place at a beautiful hotel complex of Los Hostales del IRTRA with amazing landscape, several swimming pools, fountains, spectacular restaurants, tennis courts, gym, and spa. When we arrived we were surrounded by very confident and colorful peacocks strutting around the property. A new and very different side of Guatemala for us! The day after the wedding most of us went to the Xocomil Waterpark and had a great time racing each other down the slides until Travis was trapped in one of the rides; fortunately about twenty minutes later and unharmed, he was out. :) On Christmas Day we went to Helga's Cousin's house for a wonderful Christmas lunch with delicious traditional Guatemalan food. Yummy! Congratulations Helga and Travis!

Our past couple of months have been filled with visits from friends and family (Aaron's Dad and his fiance), studying and practicing more Spanish, dinner parties, picking and drying coffee, making new friends and saying "Adios" way too soon, taking tons of pictures and worrying that we lost them all but finding them again later, teaching Pilates, and leading Hiking trips around the lake.  More on all of this later, but for now let's all enjoy the New Year. We are planning to leave Guatemala in early February for El Salvador and the rest of Central America before heading to Colombia.  We are hoping to be in South America by May as long as all goes as planned.

We hope All of You had a wonderful Holiday Season and we wish you could have been here with us as we miss everybody very much during this Holiday Season. We are sending you the best wishes for the New Year 2013: great health, happiness, love, prosperity, and much more.

According to the Mayans, the 14th Baktun offers hope and change for the better. To the new era and the new beginnings! See you next year. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Salud!

Aneta and Aaron

Aneta destroying her first CoCoNuT 

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM LAKE ATITLAN