Miguel it is...

...Back at it again. Please tell me you notice what the baby in my lap is doing.

I've gotten one too many Yessicas in the last week. It's official -- Miguel Festa for the next 2 years. It won out against Francisco or "Sisco", you know the "Thong Song" dude

(A whole heap of us after ziplining over the lake. That's my director on the right Flavio or Flava Flav, he's way cool. We named him that)

Anyways, the big news these days is I got my site assignment, i.e. my home for the next 2 years. The name of my town will be San Vicente Pacaya, at the base of Volcan de Pacaya. And this Pacaya Volcano happens to be the #2 most visited national park in the country. No pressure right? This is also one of the most active volcanoes in Central America (no I'm not near the Equator), and constantly spews lava (as you can see, although I hear it's way better than that)

I've got a laundry list of things to do, one of which will be training and accompanying guides up the volcano. Sweet. So, let's get this straight - I will be living/working where millions of tourists from all over the world come to visit (300/day) and get to hike every day. Rough life ehh?

Time to knock me down...The cold showers will continue, I will be dealing with LOTS of politics (the mayer rocks the half-stache and wears a cowboy hat), and my house for the next 3 months will most likely include me sleeping on the concrete floor or in a hammock if I'm lucky. Not so jealous now?

...And you can take a deep breath, this Pacaya Volcano doesn't erupt that much(at least I don't think). But I am 7km from the crater, so that should be assuring.

Umm, what else. Training comes to a close this Friday. Will be sad to say goodbye to all the good friends I've met, but all of a sudden I feel my wrists becoming looser and looser. Yeah, that's because the handcuffs are coming off! Training has been intense but the 10 year old treatment won't be missed by me.

Pictures:

Baby Carla has taken her first steps. That was pretty cool to see, and I love this picture because of how hysterical my host mom is. Carla clearly doesn't like performing in front of the camera...

...Wait, we actually work? Me giving a charla (presentation) on how to be an "effective tour guide" since I was such a stellar one for the Resort at Squaw Creek (ya right)

Hiked a volcano (Agua - which means??? Water). But there was no water at the top. Boo. But it was sweet despite the fact that it was cloudy at the summit.

Jamie, me, Sarah, Valerie, and Anthony. Followed by our view from the summit

On my visit to Pacaya, we get to run down this resbaladero, which is like a sand dune. I'm in the lead, for once a Festa was fast

Antigua is getting ready for Semana Santa, holy week, and from the looks of it (Kev, Jack, rest of the crew) this place goes off. They start getting ready 6 weeks before. Should be fun!!

We spent a week camping with our whole group, and on this we did the ziplining over Lake Atitlan (wanna be Tahoe). So this is what the superman-version of the zipline looks like. When you get out there, to the right is the view right below this picture

...and continue to enjoy your hot showers folks, that's all