June 16, 2009 PANAJACHEL!!!

Hello world! We’ve officially been in Panajachel for two weeks and some days, our little cottage is perfection. It’s small: the kitchen is so tiny only one person can work in there at a time. But it’s got a sweet yard full of flowers and bamboo and a killer view of all 3 volcanoes and a waterfall.
Panajachel is a nice place, I like it. Affectionately, I’m sure, it’s often called Gringotenango (tenango is a suffix for town, like Chichicastenango, Quetzaltenango and other towns around here) so it's Gringotown! Pana is officially a city! It’s got busy streets, lots of restaurants and a vibrant nightlife. We still don’t go out too much (c’mon, it’s us) but we’re loving it anyway.
A few places I love around here:

First and foremost: Dina’s Chocolates, a chocolate shop at the fork in the road al centro. It’s got the richest, creamiest chocolate bars I’ve ever tasted, made by a Mayan woman who, I've heard, harvests her cacao on the pacific coast and makes these chocolates herself with love. And they’ve got great flavors like peanut butter, macadamia nut, orange and dark and milk chocolates. The big attraction: the chili chocolate bar, the favorite of Mayan Kings, or so the shop boasts. It’s amazing. When we leave, I’m going to bring a case of that chocolate with me.

Deli is a restaurant with two locations, each one is a little different, on Calle Santander. The breakfast is amazing here. In Berkeley there was this place called Venus that had the best breakfast, all farm fresh veggies, dairy and so on. Deli reminds me of Venus a lot, which is good because I thought I’d left behind veggie omelets and home fried potatoes. They also make and sell their own bread, English muffins and a variety of other things including soy milk and Sal’s new favorite hot sauce.
Solomon’s Porch, of course, is our favorite internet café. The Leroy is our sandwich of choice, just hold the bacon please. It’s egg salad. Plus, they have live music a lot, espresso and movie rentals. Free internet and convenient location.
We’ve been checking out some other fun places, our good friend, Joseph (just call him Chepe here in Guatemala) recently returned to the lake and has been showing us all his favorite places from the time he spent here a few months ago. Las Chinitas has real Chinese food (more or less) including Miso Soup! Mmmm, miso soup. The chow mein was alright, although they only used normal spaghetti noodles, and the potstickers are really good.
I also enjoyed the bakery El Horno on my birthday, we picked up four different pieces of cake and then took them home and passed them around to taste them all. Zanahoria, chocolate y coco, chocolate y almendra and tres leches. Deliciouso!
Our time here in Panajachel, we agreed months ago, is to be devoted to the creative pursuits. I’m trying to write a second draft of my book, and I’m making progress. And Sal lovingly slaves away to make our cartoons a reality. We’ve been keeping busy with all the busyness of life, but this cottage, this sweet comfy cushion, is proving to be the ideal place for us to create and enjoy.
We’re got the cottage until the end of August, then we’ll go back to the states for a while. I really want to visit Europe soon too, but these things keep on looking more and more expensive and the world keeps on getting more and more tumultuous. Oh well, there’s always strife, unrest and tumult, that’s no reason to keep your head buried in the sand. There’s a world to see, we’re going to see it.