Lago de Atitlan

Hello from the Mayan Highlands!

It's been an amazing 4 days so far! I arrived in Guatemala City last Sunday after a mere 6-hour plane ride. A shuttle driver transported me to Antigua, the former capital. I met 2 other students there at Meson Panza Verde (which literally means "green belly", the equivalent of "green thumb" here) where we awaited our shuttle that took us to Panajachel. The trip to the charming town of Panajachel was 2 hours worth of travel through winding mountain roads.

We were met at the dock by Dr. Sinkinson himself who founded the Mayan Medical Aid. After a 15-minute boat ride through the lake, we arrived at our destination Sta. Cruz La Laguna! Family-style dinner awaited us at the La Iguana Perdida where travelers from all over gather. It's the only local nightspot in town.

The walk up to the clinic is an arduous 15-min walk up a very steep hill. At the clinic we see patients and receive instruction in Medical Spanish on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I now know how to use 7 "magic" verbs: tener, tener que, poder, quiero, ir, esta, deber, haber :). On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we go to outreach clinics outside Sta. Cruz. Last Tuesday we went to San Pablo where we treated patients with UTI, bronchitis, conjunctivitis, ascariasis, gastritis, diarrhea, pharyngeal abscess, lymphadenitis, etc. It's interesting that we use empiric therapy here for most of the cases. No labs, no stool culture, no micro ID, no imaging, for the most part.

Tomorrow I will be going to Guatemala City to attend my first worship service here. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow so you can see my view of Guatemala including Lake Atitlan. It is a beautiful lake surrounded by volcanoes that caused its formation. I would have preferred a salty odor that I associate with bodies of water, but the lake is enticing nonetheless.