Antigua, Guatemala

J and I did a short little photo shoot inspired by all the colors in Flores, it ended up being really hot that day, but we got a few great shots.

We left on a night bus to Antigua that evening @ 9pm. The bus ride was crazy! J has an interesting story to come about almost being robbed by a little girl while sleeping… Details to come on that… Our bus driver was a maniac and we wondered if we would make it out alive… We arrived in Antigua at about 7am the following morning. We spoke to an American woman on the street that has lived here for 10 years. She suggested we stay on this woman’s property right close to the main park. We found it charming, and decided to stay for two nights. She is such a nice person and loves animals. Her whole downstairs is filled with bird cages, rabbits, and a few dog’s and Cat’s. The upstairs balcony, where we are staying has an excellent view of a 2 volcanoes, and a terrace where I did some yoga this morning. We had our first hot shower today! It felt great!

Unbelievable view from our balcony

Morning yoga on the terrace

We absolutely LOVE Antigua!!! It’s an amazing place! It’s almost like a tiny little European town In Guatemala. We have had delicious meals ever since we have arrived. Justin loves the architecture this area has to offer. There are many old cathedrals that were constructed after the Spanish conquest, but were mostly destroyed by earthquakes. Most remain partially reconstructed and are beautiful, especially for photographing… all the good photos an here are from J… He has such a great eye.

Tonight is Halloween and we wonder what adventures will come our way this evening. We plan to go out for some drinks in celebration… We have no costumes of course, but hope there are some festivities around to join. We plan to stay in Antigua for another 6 nights, we will be renting another room in a couple’s home from Tues-Sun. Thanks to the website Airbnb.com. If you have never seen this website, I highly recommend taking a look, even just for fun. When we stay at this home we will finally have our own kitchen to make meals, which will save us some $$$. Although we are quite proud of ourselves, we have not even spent a thousand dollars yet:) Ok, on with the day! I hope you all have a happy Halloween and I look forward to seeing all the costumes on facebook. Miss you all!

J with green curry

Cathedral at night

Magnificent hostel

Hostel Los Amigos, Flores

Last night we stayed at Los Amigos Hostel in Flores and it was the best hostel experience we have ever had. First off, our room cost US $12 a night, and it’s really nice! There is a main Bar/jungle area where you can order food and cheap cocktails. We have a bunny who lives outside our room in the large area of plants:) There is also a parrot and around 5 dogs and a cat roaming free. It’s awesome.

 Our $12 room

Inside the bar/Cafe, it's a private jungle

We had our first “real” shower last night… and even though the water was cold, it felt amazing to be standing under the water and getting squeeky clean! I’m planning to do yoga with a group set up by the hostel tomorrow morning @ 7. We also booked our overnight bus ride to Antigua this morning… it’s 9 hours 1^st class for $33 US. We will leave here tomorrow night @ 9pm. Antigua is supposed to be beautiful, on Sunday (the day we arrive) there will be a large market in town. I’m excited! And our adventure continues…

Guatemala es muy bonita.

The time line of our blog is going to hop around a bit... as it is my turn to post some things.  I have found Guatemala to be a special place... with the nicest people on earth.  Spanish class has been hard for me, as I would rather crack jokes and learn conversational Spanish then talk of adverbs and past tense.  If I didn't have Emily I would be screwed.   ;)

Are class at Eco Escuela in San Andres

Lets talk about the beauty and color of this place.  Everyday we find new wild life and a lifestyle so different from the states.  It isn't always easy.  I can't say I like necessarily like my showers in a lake or a bed as stiff as stone.  But its all part of it.  Here are a few pics of color and culture....

Our host families Boat (lancha)

A wild turkey in the jungles of El Peten

Now thats some roots

Guatemala City, Zona 1

We have left San Andres today for new adventures.  Our first stop is just across the lake at Flores… a quaint little island with colorful building, and more tourists.  We found a hostel at $12 a night with wifi and our own room.  It is quite nice, and full of fun people from all over the world.  We plan to stay here for a couple of nights before we take an overnight bus to Antigua.  We are hoping to make it there before All Saints day (November 1^st) where an amazing tradition of giant kites, and parades is put on in the streets.  The architecture and Mayan traditions are supposed to be rich in Antigua which is exciting to anticipate.  The camera will be flashing.



Flores viewed from a hike we did on a peninsula across the way.

Cush doing what he does best.

I will miss our host family.  They fed us well and gave us insight into a new world.  I guess that’s part of travel.  You meet good people, have good times, give big hugs… and then you are off to encounter a new set of rules, a new group of characters.  New posts to come soon.  

Sara... the sweetest little grandchild of our host family.







The eternal spring continues

After traveling home from tikal yesterday, we were tired, hot and in need of a shower... it's embarrassing to say, but we had not taken a shower since we left the US :) The shower of our host family leaves much to be desired... So we decided to use our branners in the lake. After a short bathe, we walked home.

A nice place to swim and dive

Dinner was great this night. We had fried bananas, refried black beans and homemade tortillas. Our host family’s Mormon, and constantly asks us about religion... we are invited to an unknown party this evening with missionaries from the United States, which should be interesting... I'll let you know how that goes:) We have decided to only stay in San Andres until Thursday, and then we are off to the capital of El Petén, Flores, for a few nights.

The outdoor sink where our family does dishes

Lunch was a bit hard for me today. We had a whole fish... literally the whole fish plopped on the plate, eyes, tail and all. Justin has been so great with helping me finish my food when it's hard to get down:) We met Dalia’s (our host) mother today. She is 94 years old. I sat with her and spoke Spanish for a while... everyone can't believe that we are 27, and 30 and not yet married! It's cute.

Our host (Cush) and J

We finally got a mosquito net over our bed!!! Just in time to leave:( I've had quite a hard time keeping them from biting me constantly... I've probably gotten over 30 bites since arriving... even with repellent!!! Good thing we are taking our malaria meds every day. With the net, I can climb in bed and hang out safely:)

The other thing that is hard about Guatemala (or all of Central America for that matter) is all the starving dogs in the streets. I've shed quite a few tears for them. The biggest problem is that there are no programs or knowledge about spaying or neutering here. The dogs run around having puppies constantly, and then no one can afford to feed them. It's really horrible. I think this has been the hardest part for me. I wish I could buy all of them hundreds of pounds of food each... Alicia, maybe we could start a program like the one in Belize???

These two animals roam free in San Andres, a small chicken and a Pig rummaging through some trash

Ah, well anyway... we are off for a swim with our amigos.

Thanks for your comments, it's nice to hear from all are loved ones at home!! We miss you.



Our travels in Guatemala so far

Hey everyone!!

We have been with out internet since we arrived in Guatemala on Tuesday morning, but we are finally at a hotel with wifi today.

We have been living in the small village named San Andres with a family, taking Spanish lessons for four hours every morning. It is on a huge lake that is great for mid day swimming when it's hot. It's been quite a culture shock here, but a nice one. The people in our village are kind and generous. Our family's home is quite interesting, with no running water at times and in and out electricity.  We are paying $135 US per week for our board, food and lessons. Pretty darn cheap!!

 Our home in San Andres

 Justin on Lake Petan Itza

J on the step of a home

When we first arrived in Guatemala city we visited the Arc. museum of the ancient Maya and have been learning all about them since. We also visited the zoo in the city which was designed perfectly with moats around the animals, so there was limited barriers between us and them. We saw so many cute creatures including tapir, coti, monkeys, and many beautiful birds.

Me at the zoo

The wonderful Tapir

We took an eight hour over night bus ride up to the state of El Petan, where San Andres is located. The road was trecherous with huge potholes and it poured rain the whole time!!! Luckly we had some valium to help us sleep:)

We are now in Tikal, which is and ancient Maya ruin in Northern Guatemala. The park is breath taking, we are staying in a little bunk in the park surrounded by spider monkeys constantly. We met a few friends at school who made the trip up north with us. We took two amazing hikes into the park (with a guide named Able), one at sunset last night, and one at 4am this morning for sunrise. It may be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! Both trips we climbed the highest temple to watch the sun cross the horizion all the while being completly above the canopy of trees in the Jungle filled with howler monkeys. We needed head lamps on both the hikes do to the darkness, it was a lot of fun.

 Denice, Me, Justin, and Chris of Eco Escuela

 Tikal @ sunset

Tikal @ sunrise

We are now waiting to take a 2 hour bus ride back to San Andres to start school on Monday morning:) Hopefully we will have more internet service soon to tell you all about our journey. Hope all is well back home. We miss you!!! Mom, say Hello to Charlie for us!!!