San Andres Itzapa - Maya Pedal, here I come

Hi all. I am in Antigua and about to bike to San Andres Itzapa, home of Maya Pedal, the great engineers of bicimaquinas, or bicycle machines. These use pedal power to accomplish any number of tasks from grinding corn, pumping water from the ground, blending ingredients to create shampoo, making smoothies, producing electricity, and more. I hope to learn to weld there, plus help them using my bicycle technician skills.
Antigua has been great, especially the campground, which is quite beautiful, on the grounds of a former hospital complex and administered by the tourist police, Asistur, provided free, though participation in maintenance and some sort of donation is expected. I donated English lessons (audio, recorded). The folks I met on the campground were quite interesting. Hailing from California, Switzerland, Brazil, France, Germany, England. Many were traveling in truck or RV to South America. A couple on motorcycle. I was the only one on bicycle there at the time, but I heard from several people that bicycle travelers are quite common passing through Antigua, as I would expect, since it is such a tourist magnet, and the channel of Central America funnels people through a relatively narrow strip; there are only a few tourist magnets at this latitude on this stretch of land.
Some notes: I started uploading my photos to Facebook on an Everyone can see them access basis, and link to them from here (my blog). It is easier to upload photos to Facebook, and more people see them there.
Bicycle: I love my bike. The best thing I did recently was change my handlebars to the touring/trekking bars--any back/shoulder pain has disappeared. The positions are perfect; the wide grip is perfect for the often bumpy roads I come across. If you are thinking about getting a big dummy, don't hesistate. They are awesome, absolutely lovely. Also, 26 inch wheels have been a super choice. I have replaced tires and tubes several times now, and the availability of the 26 inch size has been highly convenient; I think 700c stuff is almost nowwhere to be found except in places like Guatemala City.
Camera: I am using my 3.1 megapixel cellphone camera for photos and videos now! I know, they look better. I lost my camera in Mexico, but as I had it insured, the debt on it should be forgiven (papers are processing). But I am in the market for a replacement. I am now thinking the Panasonic Lumix TS2 which is super-durable and waterproof, shockproof, dustproof, freezeproof and takes good photos. But I am looking for someone who could transport it from the States, someone who is flying here anyway, because to send it by mail would incur a 100% technology import tax, and buying it here is twice as expensive, too. Any help or suggestions here is welcome.
Well, as I need to head out to San Andres Itzapa now in order to make it in before dark, I will sign off. Saludos!

Today I biked from San Cristobal (suburb of Guatemala City) to Antigua, Guatemala. The photos from today are here: San Cristobal to Antigua. Yesterday, I biked around Guatemala City and took the photos shown here: Guatemala City.

Finally, I moved on from Guatemala City. I accomplished there what I needed to accomplish, mostly obtaining bike parts, mailing some forms to the States, and receiving some replacement glasses in the mail. The last couple days I have had some great fun biking through and around Guatemala City.

I should be moving onto Maya Pedal pretty soon here, within the next couple days.

Chilled Chocobananos are the best

Frozen, Chocolate-covered bananas on a stick are common in Guatemala, and are sold for 20 cents each. Sometimes they are nut covered.

Pro Bikes by José, Guatemala City, Guatemala

The folks at Pro Bikes by José in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Best bicycle shop in Guatemala City.

So I worked out a deal with Pro Bikes by José. They gave me parts at cost in exchange for some English lessons in the form of MP3s, plus some publicity work including putting them on Google Maps, publicizing them on my blog and letting people know about them in the Lonely Planet forum.

Milk Goats in Parque Central, Guatemala City, Guatemala