three days sequestered on a Guatemalan mountainside

You haven't really lived until you have taken a shit in a 30-foot long drop toilet. Or perhaps, watched the sun set behind an active volcano in the mountains of Guatemala, while a second active volcano rummbles and releases steam off to your right.

We meant to stay one night in this place called the Earth Lodge, which is nestled on the side of a mountain overlooking three volcanoes, a roughly 15 minute drive from Antigua. As soon as we got there, we fell in love with the owners (a 28-year-old American girl and a 27-year-old Canadian guy.... and an Isreali guy who has been there five times, more recently for three months with no plans to ever leave), the views, the food, the entire atmosphere.

We heard about it from a couple we met in Copan, and it turned out we were the only guests at the time. We bunked in a dorm room with out electricity or Internet or a phone, and as I mentioned, the bathroom consisted of a long drop toilet, a sink and a freezing cold shower that broke after the first morning. But the location was unbelivable. Each night, we went to sleep to knock-you-over winds and amazingly bright moonlight and a plethora of stars. The nights and mornings were cold, but the sun warmed us up considerably during the day. One day, we decided to help out by painting avocado trees. (It's an avocado farm, and you have to paint the tree trunks white so they don't sunburn.)

The couple had four dogs (including the new edition, months-old huskie puppy Lola), two cats, seven goats, two pigs, a mountain side of avocado trees..... Really, nothing I say about this place does it justice. The views of the volcanoes were unlike anything I have ever seen before in my life, and each night we ate mounds of vegetables, which if you have been following, we a welcome change.

It looks like we are going to extend our trip. We delayed for a bit around Antigua and I was nursing a cold that slowed us down a bit more. But now were are off to Lago Atitlan, after I call American Airlines and see what I can work out.