On our way! Joe and I depart LAX for our overnight flight to Guatemala. Watched some movies, slept, and before we knew it, we were in Guatemala City! It was a bit odd to see the airport staff wearing their swine flu protective masks upon arrival, but we were just so happy to be done with all of our flights!

We were met at the Guatemala City …

Today we did some sightseeing in Antigua – Plaza Central, museums, and then caught our transfer to Lake Atitlan. We arrived at Panajachel, which is the main hub – Where you catch all the boats to the other towns around the lake. We took a lancha (small speedboat) to Santiago de Atitlan, where we were to stay for two nights. The …

This morning we explored the market here in Santiago de Atitlan and I ate the sweetest watermelon I’ve ever tasted! We visited some of the other towns around the lake (San Pedro and San Marcos), and took in a soccer game. After a busy day, we soaked in the hot tub at the Posada, ate a wonderful seafood dinner, and crashed out!

Today we went into Panajachel (Pana) and walked around town exploring the shops. There were a lot of vendors selling textiles and crafts, all beautifully handmade. Next, we took a shuttle (van) back to Antigua where we slept at Hotel Aurora again. We ate at a pizza restaurant called El Pescador, right near Plaza Central. Honestly, it was some …

Long day today! We traveled from Antigua to Rio Dulce in a shuttle and then a first class bus. We watched movies (in Spanish/English) and napped along the way. When we arrived in Rio Dulce Town we were met by someone to take us to the Hacienda Tijax, our bungalow across the river. The Rio Dulce area is in eastern Guatemala, close to the …

This morning we took a river tour up the Rio Dulce, which was beautiful! Along the way we stopped to bird-watch and look at the mangrove trees. We stopped at a little restaurant on the river that sold homemade bread and coconuts. The coconut milk was refreshing, and after I drank from it, I had one of the gentleman cut up the coconut for me to …

In the morning we took a long, hot walk to the Castillo de San Felipe (castle), which sits along the Rio Dulce and Lago de Izabal. You can tour the castle for a small price, and it looks like one of the nicer places to swim. (We, or course, did not bring our swimsuits!) This is a really nice castle with beautiful grounds…A very tranquil …

Up early and picked up at 7:30 AM at our hotel for out tour to Tikal. Our driver picked us up in a very nice shuttle van complete with air-conditioning. We went to the Flores airport to pick up two more people for the tour. We enjoyed a beautiful drive to Tikal. Our guide, Aguilino Martinez, was so informative! He was full of knowledge about …

Had breakfast at our hotel, and were picked up at 9:00 AM for our shuttle to Coban. We picked up some other travelers along the way, and took a gorgeous 5-hour drive to Coban. We drove through lush mountains for about 2 hours until we reach the Rio de Pasion. Here, we board a ferry (while staying in our van) that takes us across the river, as …