Corazón Maya Spanish School

22 March, 2019

I spent the past week at  Corazón Maya Spanish School in San Pedro La Laguna, Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. Altough I am moving on for personal reasons, the school is wonderful and I would certainly recommend them for the beautiful location, family atmosphere, friendly teachers, and the tranquility.

Here is the view upon entering the gate from the street. The propery is long and narrow, going all the way down to the lake.
 

 A little farther down the path looking back up towards the office. There are flowering plants and trees throughout the property.

Further down the path beyond the office buildings and are the bungalows, tiny cottages which can be rented for a very reasonable price. Many of the students choose to live in this peaceful garden.

The experience of living with my host family has also been very rewarding in a completely different way, and I definitely speak more Spanish with them than I would otherwise, as I tend to be a bit of a hermit when left to myself.

Past the bungalows next to come to the open space of the garden which is dotted with little pavilions in which each teacher-student pair takes lessons together.

At the end of the garden is a lovely little pool; swimming pools are somewhat rare here, so this is quite the find.

At the very bottom next to the lake is the vegetable garden, and beyond that, the lake.

The private beach may be small, but it has spectacular views of the lake.

The school has activities in the evenings 4 times per week.

It's nice that they have evening activities, so that the afternoon students are able to participate as well.

 Making tamales was  time consuming but not nearly as difficult a process as I had anticipated. Everyone had a good time.

These tamales, also called paches, are made with potates rather than cornmeal.

Playing Spanish vocabulary bingo while waiting for the tamales to steam.I

Another evening, we made tostadas. Much faster top make than tamales, and also delicious.

They are careful to make sure there are vegetarian options available for those who want.

A few students were leaving, so there were some farewell speeches after dinner.

And if all that isn't enticing enough, there is a sweet little cat named Puma living at the school.

Thank you to all the wonderful people at Corazón Maya Spanish School for a beautiful experience!