Santa Cruz La Laguna

The bloody compressor where I seemed to spend all my time
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After the last few weeks of packing in as much as possible with Hazel (I think there were only 3 days that we got up after 730) I decided to head down to Lago Atilan for a bit of well deserved R & R.

Not that it ended up that way.  As within an hour of arriving at Santa Cruz the hostel I was staying at had offered me a job.  The hostel had a small dive shop running trips on the lake and as soon as they found out I was a dive leader I was pounced upon.  I honestly couldn't believe it.  The idea of getting paid to do something I love was just to much to resist so I had to say yes.  Plus Guatemala had been going through a massive money crisis, caused in part by the financial collapse of two banks over Christmas and some incredibly poor decisions by the central bank.  The result of which has been a very real money shortage, with nearly all the ATM's empty for weeks at a time.  By the time I reached Santa Cruz I was down to very little money and the idea of earning some money looked very attractive.

Paid to go diving!

Me with Jimmy the bar tender and Natalie the dive instructor
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To be totally honest the diving on the lake was pretty boring, and I can best describe it as akin to UK quarry diving - cold, dark, poor vis and nothing much to see.  That said there was an active fault line running down the centre of the lake and there were spots where you could bury your hands in the sand and really feel the intense heat coming up from it.

Despite seeming to spend all my time sat with the compressor (I couldn't believe I had actually found a compressor slower than the UBUC compressor!) I had a really great time at the Iguana.  Especially on Saturday night, which rather worryingly was a massive fancy dress party with all the staff in drag.  Scarily I managed to find a silk dress that fit me perfectly (apparently I'm a size 10), but all in all I think I got off pretty lightly compared to a lot of people!