All Saints...

You know you are in the middle of nowhere when there is a limit of four computers with dial-up internet in a whole mountain range. At the moment our little group of 12 has moved to Todos Santos (meaning all saints) in the mountains north of Guatemala. It was an absolutely crazy ride up here. First on a chicken bus from Xela to Huehuetenango with a good 65 people on board something not fit for more than 30. Then another tiny taxibus up steep hills on one side and down steep hills on the other. The chicken bus was subject to a random police search which was pretty crazy. Armed police stopped the bus and all men and boys had to go out, got searched before they could board the bus again. Went allright, but still, not something you´ll experience in Norway or on the bus from Melbourne to Sydney.

The photo is Tonje Camilla going nuts in an old corn field with a machete. We all had a go at it, and I can promise, it was just as fun as it looks like!

We came pretty tired on Sunday night, a few people with hungovers or carsickness and we had some pizza before heading off to our hostfamilies. Charlotte and me ended up in the same family which was just great. It was one of the two Latino families in town (the rest is Maya and speak the indigenous language Mam in addition to Spanish), and with 15 people it´s just great fun.

The language school is not as coordinated as in Xela but we learn a fair bit as well, as well as going on hikes in the mountains around the village. Yesterday I had a quick brush of food poisioning. Woke up in the middle of the night feeling pretty crap, but today it´s all better.

This weekend we´ve got some time off and the plan is to head to Lago Atitlan, an area that was hit pretty bad by Stan, but hopefully some tourist dollar will aid their economy. It sounds pretty stupid maybe, but it was the case after the tsunami as well, the most important is that people dont get scared away but keep coming to the area, and Guatemala is such a beautiful country!

Next week we´re heading off to three separate fincas (plantations). Im off to La Bendicion with Morten and Tonje Camilla and the finca is famous for its coffee, pineapples and bananas, so Im pretty sure I´ll have an allright time. I´ll definitely find out lots about coffee growing here in Guatemala so I´ll keep anyone interested updated, no worries!

Take care, it´s a lovely day and since I was inside all yesterday it´s about time I got some sun and some new freckles! We´ve spent most of the mornings on our roof playing cards, and life is really not that bad.

Ciao!