Zach's Visit...Better Late than Never

During the month of February Zach Kaza paid us a visit here in Guatemala. Zach, who is currently living in Panama City, needed to renew his visa and thought he'd come up here and visit family in Guatemala. A little undecided at first, he was able to find a really cheap flight, so that sealed the deal. Unfortunately, Zach had all the photos of the trip, until recently, and so I have delayed in writing the blog. It's better late than never though, right?!

At the start of his trip, Zach came to stay with us in Quiché for a few days. He was able to visit our office and see me in action teaching my class. We also visited with our friends Matt and Heidi, ordering some delicious dos por uno Telepizza. One of the days Zach got a much needed haircut from Toby's friend and fellow firefighter, Tumba, who did a fine job as always for a small fee of Q12 ($1.25)! And of course, we took Zach to Blintz for yummy cheap crêpes.

When the weekend rolled around, I was able to head down to the lake with Zach, while Toby stayed back home for an extra day to teach. We hung out in Panajachel savoring the wonderful coffee and goodies at Crossroads Café and shopped for souvenirs. Zach in his usual fashion took over an hour trying on hats and figuring out which one he wanted, but finally was successful in the end! Later that evening we took a boat over San Pedro La Laguna to enjoy the restaurants and nightlife of this town, visiting Jarachik, Zoola, and Freedom (where people were performing fire dancing).

For the next two days Toby caught up with me and Zach in the lakeside community of Santa Cruz La Laguna. Here we stayed at La Iguana Perdida; and while I laid out in the sun, Toby and Zach shot a lot of pool in the community area. We also had 2 very nice big community dinners with all the other guests, although we weren't keen on taking part in the cross-dressing event one of the evenings. Since Santa Cruz La Laguna is quite small, we decided to return to San Pedro La Laguna for one more evening of entertainment and cheap eats.

The week Zach visited we didn't have any vacation time available so Zach had to entertain himself for the rest of his trip. We headed back across the lake to Panajachel and boarded a bus together. However, Toby and I would get off and part ways with Zach prior to his arrival to Antigua. Fortunately, Zach was able to visit with Matt once again, this time in Antigua, and also spend time with his friend Esly from Chimaltenango.

Overall it was a very rare, but nice, opportunity to share so much time with Zach. Toby and I are very happy he made the effort to come and visit us here in Guatemala. It was a pleasure to share our home with another person.