Tajulmulco climb

We climbed the tallest peak in Central America!

 What a great weekend! We had a wonderful group of about 20 of us!
The first day we climbed to the top just below the peak, we set up our tents after 5 hours of climbing, made dinner, sat around the campfire and told jokes just before a chilly slumber beneath the stars. We woke up at 4:30 am to climb the rest of the mountain in order to see the sunrise over the clouds. We drank hot cocoa and snuggled together to stay warm! We enjoyed the beautiful  view and took many pictures of the sights below us. The walk down was wonderful as we said goodbye to the beautiful view and mountain top! A great  experience for my first mountain climb!

a weekend in Montericco

 A wonderfully spontaneous weekend in Montericco! We hopped a chicken bus at 2pm on Friday afternoon for a 5 hour trip to the southern coast of Guatemala.

 Boy are chicken buses PACKED with people! But well worth the cheap ride! We arrived at Hotel Delfin around 7pm and enjoyed a nice dinner on the beach. The next morning I woke up early to take a walk into town with Thomas. We looked at the local restaurants and stores for snack and possible mean options. The afternoon was relaxing and wonderful as we tanned on the black sand beach, swam in the powerful ocean waves and ate amazing food! In the afternoon one of our lifeguards friends we met at the hotel showed us to a local nature reserve! There we got a tour of the reserve, saw crocodiles, iguanas, turtles and all kinds of fish! We learned about the organization and how important community and preserving nature is to the local people.

 The best part by far was when we had the opportunity to let baby turtles into the ocean! We all watched as the little turtles raced their way into the ocean as the sun was setting. We saw whales swimming in distance and a marriage proposal! Oh what a happy day!
Dinner was so delicious! Fresh shrimp and salad! Yum, and only for 6$ too! We listened to live music, walked along the beach and had a few drinks before bed.
The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast, packed up, payed, and had a wonderful return adventure via boat and several buses! A great weekend was had by all!

Finca tatin, Rio Dulce, Peten y TIKAL

 

 Our adventure to Finca Tatin started with a boat ride! It was a beautiful sight riding down the river and being circled by walls of green, lush forest.
We had individual cabins that were quite cozy, mosquito nets and all! The warm weather, crisp water for swimming and the amazing food made for a great two night stay. We kayaked the river and had the opportunity to swim in hot spring located along the river. The hot water was created by the steam and heat of the surrounding volcano.




We spent our morning sitting in hammocks, reading, and watching boats filled with children on their way to school pass by us. After our long kayak of the river a few of us decided to have a much deserved sauna session. After saunaing and jumping in the river several times we have a relaxing group dinner and nights sleep.

Peten:

We then made our way to the upper part of Guatemala were we stayed right on the lake of Peten. This beautiful crisp clear clean lake was an amazing opportunity to have an afternoon swim before dinner. In the morning we made our way to the famous Tikal and spent the day walk on, in and around ancient Mayan ruins. We saw monkeys and all kinds of other fun animals in the park!

After a restful night we went to Coban, making our way back home. That afternoon we had the chance to tour a coffee plantation, learn about the process of picking, drying and making coffee and then we got to enjoy a cup! We had a wonderful group dinner that night and woke up early the next day to head back to Xela.

las escobas, livingston, siete altares y playa blanca

Las escobas
One of my favorite places!
We hiked, swam for hours, climbed through and one top of the falls, and sat under waterfalls.

 

 

Livingston
I am absolutely in love with Livingston. Calm, friendly and warm. The people here are so beautiful, friendly and happy.
We ate dinner at a local restaurant named Bugga Mama's, sat on the dock late that night and talked before bed.

I woke up early the next morning and wrote in my journal before breakfast. After a group breakfast, we went on a boat tour to the 7 altares  and playa blanca, two very well know and beautiful locations in Livingston.

7 altares
Beautiful rock pools with crisp clean water and falls for jumping!

    and Playa Blanca

A beautiful white sand beach! I drank out of my first coconut! We sat in the sun, swam in the ocean and relaxed all afternoon together on the beach. 

 

Guate, Quirigua, Puerto Barrios

Guatemala City
Started off the trip with a great dinner and peaceful night sleep at Quetzalroo. It was so great to see Marcus and Willie again! Marcus made the most amazing, healthy, organic spread for dinner, by far the best meal I have ever had for only 50 Q. We, as a group, ate on the rooftop of Quetzalroo with the wonderful staff and various other groups staying at the hostel.
After a shower, bed and well needed rest we took our wits to the nature preserve that contained centuries old Mayan ruins. Quirigua is a nature preserve in the department of Izabal in the south-eastern part of Guatemala. This site and the Mayans that occupy it date back to 200 A.D.

Puerto Barrios
Puerto Barrios is a beautiful port town located on the Gulf of Honduras.
We stayed at Hotel del Norte, one of the oldest hotels in Guatemala! It is so old the floors are slanted and creek as you walk. Walking through the hallways was a treat, however, because as you walked to your room you could see the ocean not to far off and ships coming into the port. Boats brimming to the top with carts full of bananas. We took a walk next to the ocean, swam in the pool and had a wonderful seafood dinner right on the ocean.

After dinner, we salsa danced at a near by discoteca and had a few piñas coladas! 

We ate a wonderful breakfast the next morning at the hotel. And then loaded up the bus and left Puerto Barrios for a new adventure. 

one month

This week marks the end of my first month here in Guatemala...

For this experience I could not be anymore thankful for.
This beautiful country has taken me in and has created a great deal of joy and happiness within me.

Through 5 hours of classes everyday I have pushed myself, and I have succeeded in learning so much so far. I have tried so many new, wonderful things. I have met so many genuine, intelligent, lively people. I have fallen in love with salsa dancing. I feel so unbelievably healthy. I have learned to appreciate so much. I have seen so many beautiful things so far, I can not image how much more beautiful these next few months are going to be.

cultura antigua

This last weekend

our group took our first long weekend excursion to the city of Antigua.

Knowing that Antigua is the most well known city within Guatemala I was very excited to get the opportunity to visit!

The bus ride was three wonderful hours of bonding time, after we had a wonderful meal and rested up for the day of adventure ahead.

Saturday, Jess and I woke up early, I'm guessing since our bodies are so accustomed to morning classes we can't help but wake up at 7 am, even on a day of vacation! We had an amazing breakfast of eggs, toast, rice, beans, yogurt, fresh fruit, and coffee of course. After living in the mountains for the past few weeks we couldn't help but sit by the pool and have a relaxing morning reading, drinking coffee and chatting with other guests at the hotel. The strong sun, the view of mountains in the distance, and a wonderful cup of coffee made for the best, most peaceful morning.   

During the afternoon we had a wonderful lunch at Mono Loco, I recommend the fish tacos, and spent the afternoon touring museums, ruins and beautiful cathedrals.  

Antigua has so much character and is very different for the other parts of Guatemala I have seen thus far.

We had the wonderful opportunity to find our dear friend Willie while in Antigua! Knowing the area, he was able to show us a beautiful part of Antigua that we would never get to see. We had the opportunity to join him in an adventure to a beautiful art museum, Santo Domingo del Cerro, which just so happened to look over the whole city of Antigua. This beautiful museum had wonderful modern art, a great view and a history lesson in Guatemalan artists.  

Sunday, a small group of us went to a local market. I got to test out my bargaining abilities! I bought a beautiful purse and a handmade blanket. We then decided to spent the rest of our small time left by the pool relaxing in the sun and eating sandwiches and ice cream.

Antigua is so wonderfully beautiful, I loved it so much I've decided to go back at least once before I return to the states.