GOODBYE TO THE LANGUAGE GROUP

I awakened Saturday to a beautiful view of the lake (smokey San Pablo in the distance)

 and spotted Luis' dog on the neighboring roof, also enjoying the view.

 Stuart and I had our last breakfast with Maria and headed to the dock to meet up with the group.

 We packed into a lancha,

temporarily broke down in the middle of the lake,

and eventually made it to Panajachel - arguably the best place in Guatemala for buying souvenirs. A few folks headed to the Panajachel Reserve which normally would be my choice over shopping but attending to the shuttle details and final payment took longer than expected so I strolled up and down Santander and picked up a few gifts.

If you don't want to go out shopping, it comes to you - waiting for our shuttle bus we were sitting ducks.

 We packed into the shuttle van, luggage on top

 and stopped half way to Antigua at the Iximche Maya site.

 Proof I was there:

 After another hour in the van, we disembarked in Antigua at Casa Cristina.

Most of the group had flights home Sunday, though a few are sticking around Antigua. I hope my fellow travelers enjoyed our shared time as much as I did. They were an easy, fun, diverse group. Happy trails, all!