Almost two months of living out of a backpack, a different city every week, lots of planes, cars, even a train – we wrapped up the Travel Show circuit which had us running back to the states. Hoss finished the aluminum skiff he was working on for the Lodge. We just made our way back to the boat in the Rio Dulce of Guatemala. Finally! Boy, was the sailboat good to see! She was a little dirty, acquired a few friends – spiders, but after a hosing and a little scrubbing she’s ready to go. So, now where? We’ve been thinking about this the whole time we were away…..North to the Belize atolls? South to the Bay Islands of Honduras? Neither! We’re hauling out next week, putting her on the hard for the season and heading inland. See, I told ya we could surprise ya!

Not only are we headed inland, we’re going to school! We have booked three weeks at a Spanish Immersion School in Antigua, Guatemala. Our Spanish is atrocious, actually it’s down right embarrassing. We have been getting by on the little we remember from high school…..oh, so many years ago. Through our travels we have supplemented our Spanish with all the important phrases. ‘Uno mas cervez, por favor’ (another beer, please). Which leads us to ‘Donde esta el bano’ (where is the bathroom)? When we are done ‘la cuenta, por favor’ (check, please). Thank goodness taco is taco, that’s one word we don’t screw up! To exchange money ‘cambio’. We’ve managed to understand numbers if we concentrate. ‘Derecha’ (right) and ‘izquierda’ (left) are permanently etched into Hoss’s vocabulary from his early days of being a rafting guide in Chile. If someone speaks slow, we are able to pick out a few words here and there, with charades we manage to make do. We downloaded Doulingo and before we fall asleep we manage a session or two, which has helped us identify more words. Yet, we’re still muddling through.

Well, muddle no more…..we hope! Monday thru Friday, 1 pm to 5 pm, for three weeks we are hitting the books! It’s been a long time since either of us were in school. Antigua is known for their Spanish Immersion Schools, Guatemalan’s are known for having less of an accent (thus making Spanish easier to understand/learn). We shall see!

We’ll also be able to explore inland Guatemala, half days at school and weekends off sound like a schedule leaving plenty of time for adventure! Although, I read there is HOMEWORK…..ugh!

That leaves us a week to put away the boat and lay by the pool. Well, I’m laying by the pool! Hoss is installing all the new goodies we brought back from the states…..it’s a boat – there’s ALWAYS something to do! Oh! That was the Happy Hour bell, I better go drag my husband to the pool bar!