two birds; one stone

I want to learn Spanish -- for personal and professional reasons. I have one of those 11 CD programs put out by Barron's that are marketed as the program that US diplomats use to learn the language, but the thing is, I suck at getting myself to work on it on a regular basis. I need a structured program.

I also need to travel. I haven't spent the night outside of my county in over five years (I think it's been that long). A few day trips within a couple hundred miles, but just day trips. I need to get the hell out of here. I'm going stir crazy.

Combining this need and this want, I stumbled across the idea of going to Spain and spending a couple of weeks in a school there. A little research later I found it to be a tad expensive; a little bit of thought put into it I remembered that Castillian Spanish is giggled at by Latin American Spanish-speakers...and so I redefiend my search and found this school in Nicaragua called "Proyecto Ecológico". It sounds beautiful -- a school building on a crater lake inside a nature preserve chock full of monkeys and parrots, with the option of a dozen or so day trips to nearby cities and outdoor activities. It's all pretty cheap too -- $700-ish for a month (classes, food, and lodging) plus a $700 plane ticket. It sounds incredible...though I have a fear of rural Nicaragua.

I also found Minerva Spanish School in Xela Guatamala -- the second largest city in that country, and an old Mayan town at that. It's the same price as "Proyecto Ecológico" but without the idealic setting. There are trips that can be made to beautiful places (including volcanos), but what I like best about this school is the opportunity for constant interaction with native people (something that would be hard in the Nicaraguan jungle). I'm also less scared of Guatamala than I am of Nicaragua (though my fear of Nicaragua is admittedly largely out of ignorance).

I am pretty well settled on the idea of going to "Proyecto Ecológico" -- it sounds like the perfect learning vacation for me -- but I wanted to post something to ask if anyone out there knows of reasons why I shouldn't go to either of these schools or have opinions on other places they have attended. I will probably look to go in July or August (as the rainy season is starting to end), though it may be in April and May -- it depends on when my school and work schedules inevitably open up. I'm on a budget, yes, but from the looks of it I can afford most anyplace in Central and South America -- so that isn't really a problem.

Any advice?