Jen and Quinn left early on Sunday morning to fly back to Philadelphia for Jen’s Aunt’s funeral. That left me with a whole week of bachelorhood. Fortunately my new job kept me busy and out of trouble.

On Wednesday the whole town was without power, so I rented a mountain bike and did a 3-hour ride visiting the lakeside towns of Santa Carolina and San Antonio (not Texas). On Friday I hired a guide for a hike up San Pedro Volcano, one of the three volcanoes on the opposite side of the lake from Panajachel. The five-hour hike (round trip) was quite steep, but I was rewarded with clear skies and great views from the top. The hike back down was more painful than the hike up, and I’m still sore from it 4 days later! On Sunday a friend and I rented bikes again, took a boat to Tzununá and rode from there to San Pedro and returned to Pana by boat. The ride was easier than the one we did the week before with Jorge, but was still very scenic.

Gone Fishin.

The lower slopes of Volcan San Pedro are covered with coffee plantations, avocado trees, and fields of veggies. Yum.

This cool bug has transparent wings. Yes, that’s a little bug riding on top of the big one.

I finally got to see a toucan!

There are lots of amazing houses with spectacular views of the lake.

Jen and Quinn had a really good trip back to Pennsylvania. Despite the sad reason for the trip, it was an amazing opportunity to see everyone on Jen’s side of the family. Along with the mourning of Aunt Judy’s death was also a respectful celebration of her life. Everyone came together for the occasion and the result was both beautiful and touching to experience.

Quinn all dressed up for the funeral (thanks to Aunt Heather for the spiffy clothes)

In addition Quinn got lots of quality play time with each of his cousins and Jen got to visit with relatives and friends that she doesn’t get to see very often. All-in-all it was a very pleasant and successful trip!

Oh and not to toot my own horn, but if you didn’t notice our new banner image, scroll back up to the top and take a look. I think it’s pretty cool!