San Pedro is a small town on the banks of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. From Northern Guatemala, we followed Google Maps to our language school on the lake. The 670km trip was supposed to take 9 hours and 8 minutes. What it actually took, was 3 of the hardest days driving we have had so far. Day 1 consisted of a 5 hour traffic jam, day 2, a 3 hour traffic jam and then we were directed onto a tiny mountain road, with 3 river crossings. Day 3, was hours of windy switch backs, and some of the steepest descents we have driven. The final drop into San Pedro consisted of 17 switch backs in a couple of kms. To make matters more complicated, once we had reached San Pedro, the roads in town (which were mostly one way) would turn from a two lane road, into a one way street, into a street so thin that only motor bikes and tuk-tuks could pass. All with no warning. Once you had driven off down a road, there was no way to back track, as it was slimmer than a single lane, with no turn around points, and one way. This road system resulted in lots of swearing, 100 point turns and one very friendly local, who lead us out of the maze on his motor bike, to the safety of a parking lot. |
Once out of the car, San Pedro was a lovely little town. It had skinny little alleyways that snaked their way through the village, and more western style restaurants, pubs and bars than we had seen in months. The main industry in San Pedro was Spanish schools, and it was set up accordingly. We had a week in town (nowhere near enough time to brush up on Spanish, we could have stayed at least 3 weeks more) and stayed with a host family organised through the school. For anyone studying Spanish with the option of a host family, I would definitely recommend it! We had good luck with a wonderful and welcoming family, and speaking Spanish at night definitely helped to consolidate the learning you had done
Cooperative Spanish School
Cooperative Spanish School
This purpose built school is the perfect learning environment. The yard is luscious and green, with birds and butterflies throughout. Each student-teacher pair have their own small cabin, so you aren’t distracted by other students. Teachers are of the highest quality, and the school provides a variety of after school activities. Booking and paying was a breeze, as all administration processes were efficient and business like. Best of all, the school is run by community members, and a percentage of your tuition money goes back to community based projects. Feeding local families, building houses, and supporting education etc. I found prices quite competitive when I looked for schools across Guatemala.
This purpose built school is the perfect learning environment. The yard is luscious and green, with birds and butterflies throughout. Each student-teacher pair have their own small cabin, so you aren’t distracted by other students. Teachers are of the highest quality, and the school provides a variety of after school activities. Booking and paying was a breeze, as all administration processes were efficient and business like. Best of all, the school is run by community members, and a percentage of your tuition money goes back to community based projects. Feeding local families, building houses, and supporting education etc. I found prices quite competitive when I looked for schools across Guatemala.