America here we come....first stop CHICAGO!

For those who have been eagerly anticipating the next post, I  truly apologise. The blog was actually written up to date but not published and unfortunately my mobile got stolen with all the drafts so essentially I have had to start again. However, I shall pick up from where we were last.

After a long flight from Guatemala with a change over in Mexico City, we finally arrived in Chicago O'Hare airport very early in the morning. We were greeted with the America national anthem blasting through the tannoys as we queued for immigration. I watched as a young Mexican woman was being heavily questioned by the immigration officer, her knees knocking as she explained in broken English the reason for her visit.Next up, I was also met with the same volume of questions joined with a steely stare. I was asked how much money I had, what my intentions were, what will I do when I get back England etc. It was like participating in an intense pub quiz, I stood there wondering if I had answered it correctly. Sure enough he stamped my passport and I was in, the American leg of our journey had commenced!

The reason we decided to go to Chicago was that I have family that live there. We were lucky enough to be picked up from the airport and taken to my Aunties house where we would stay a week. My family live on the outskirts of Chicago so we were able to experience the suburban American life. After 7 months of roughing it, we were excited of the prospects of having our own bedroom with a double bed, a bath tub to soak in and the luxury of staying in a house. These are the little things that after a while on the road you grow to appreciate it.

It was really great seeing my family as I hadn't seen my mums side of the family in 15 years. My mums side are from the Philippines so I was taken to a Filipino restaurant which was well and truly heaven. We ate like kings for the whole week, being treated to a family BBQ everyday. It was interesting to see how the Americans lived, everyone had big cars, big houses, big grocery shops (Walmart)! Its like the land of the giants, everything is super big and super-sized. I explained to my cousin that her truck would take up two lanes on a typical English narrow road. The small compacts I did see (they were hard to find) where shrunken next to these monster trucks everyone seemed to have.

My family had a jet ski so we were taken to a nearby lake and I got to ride one for the first time, it was great fun. We were also taken to visit the centre of Chicago to see all the touristy things. We went up to the skydeck at the Willis Tower. At 1,353 feet in the air, the ledge's glass boxes extend out 4.3 feet from the Skydeck. It is not for the faint hearted as the dizzying heights from below can send your heart racing. When we left the Willis Tower we had to vacate the area as they were filming. I was told it was a new Channing Tatum movie to the delight of my Aunties who giggled and squealed at the thought of meeting him. Disappointingly, it was just his stunt double but we did get to see a helicopter land in downtown Chicago which was pretty cool.

After, we drove around the city and we got out to take a picture at the docks on Michigan Lake. It was a wonderful view of the city. I found Chicago very clean and it gave me a feeling that I could easily live there. Hungry, we stopped of at Chinatown where we feasted on amazing Chinese food. My Auntie even convinced Michael to eat chicken feet.  

Chicago gave us time to get used to being back in a western country where you could flush the toilet roll down the loo! Having done all our washing (with an actual washing machine and tumbled dried, so fresh and so clean) and borrowed a suitcase so I could ditch my backpack, we were ready to take a flight to San Diego. The plan was to head down to San Diego where we would pick up our red mustang convertible. Travelling 'Fear and Loathing' style we would embark on a road trip up the west coast of California, through Nevada, pass Arizona and back to San Diego.

We had a wonderful time in Chicago catching up with family but we were eager to get back on the road again. With that we booked our flight to San Diego and said our goodbyes.

The Willis Tower

Film set- Helicopter touching down

Chicago Skyline

Michael Jordan statue

You've got mail 

Stars and Stripes

Floating- Skydeck

Oh so high!

Trying out the famous Portillos hotdog

Super sized

Customary trip

Full recliner in American cinema and yes that drink is a medium

The all American house

Sunny day at a man made beach with my cousins 

Family BBQ

Michael pretending to get arrested

Tram 

Looking out onto the lake

Family :)

On the lake

Jet Skiing on  the lake

Lake Atitlan, San Pedro. GUATEMALA.

Travel tips for Lake Atitlan and San Pedro, Guatemala.

• There are two cash points in San Pedro,  one by the dock and another up the hill from the block around 5 cuadras.
• We stayed at hotel Pinocchio  it is relaxing and has a nice kitchen and garden. Double rooms are cheap and staff are super friendly. Zoola is also a good hostel where most travellers go as it has a pool and a bar.
• San Marcos is the nicest village on the lake, the boat from San Pedro is 10 Quetzals each way. You can enter the park to walk round for 15 Quetzals.
• You can hire kayaks for the lake, horse riding for the island and of course hike up the volcanoes.
• San Pedro has many bars and good restaurants, it is lively so if you´re looking for a party here´s the place.
• There are many tour agencies that will book bus/shuttle to almost anywhere in Guatemala, Mexico and southwards too.

San Pedro - Awesommmeeeee people and lake

We´d heard from friends that Lake Atitlan in Guatemala was a must, they had originally planned on staying here for a couple of days, but the beauty and the chilled out vibe meant they only left two weeks after their arrival! 

The lake is situated in the Guatemalan highlands, and is surrounded by 3 volcanoes which shade the lake from the surrounding areas. We decided to stay in San Pedro, located in between the two biggest volcanoes, and as we drove down the slope to the town we saw the full beauty of the lake and its surroundings.

We land in San Pedro and straight away we see the many bars and restaurants that line the streets, filled with young tourists. A classier Magaluf came to mind with less litter and a bit more culture. The locals here have a distinctive dress code, the men walking round dressed as cowboys and the women dressed in skirts and checkered tops. Spanish is not the first language here, Mayan is, and the mix of the culture the locals have kept alive and the influx of tourists gives the place a nice and different feel. 

A local tourist guide offers us some free help to find a hostel, all we want is the cheapest place with a kitchen. We head of to Pinocchios and as soon as we arrive we bump into Louie and Joanna, who immediately offer us a beer and join the party, we drop our bags off in the room and crack open a beer! 

That night we head into town and sample the local establishments, a great night had with a small hangover the next day. We even got to watch a cool local acoustic drum band who played the night away with rhythmic sounds as we sat around a fire drinking the local beers. San Pedro´s reputation held up as being a lively place.

With our new gang, we head off to the next day to go and visit San Marco, a short boat ride across the lake. San Marco is the more chilled out town of the lake and it certainly looked like a lovely place on arrival. We walk around the gorgeous forest, taking the views of the lake and the volcanoes around.  As part of the pathway there various spots where you could jump into the lake, the first we came across being 10m high, me being me was straight off, where as the two Jo´s took their time, eventually taking the plunge. Both Jo´s came up after their jumps proud as punch as Joanna offered her wisdom "Awesome things happen to Awesome people".  This saying would be the theme for the next couple of days.

The rest of the time was spent chilling out most of the days and having the odd beer or here and there and having immense dinner parties at the hostel. 

San Pedro overlooking the lake

Traditional cowboy attire

Jo and Elena, our friend from the hostel.