Friday, August 17, 2012

Guatemala: Seeing the Country

After such a hard week of work, the kids (and the adults!) were more than ready for a chance to relax and see more of the beautiful country. As there were a few long bus rides, we did get to see quite a bit as we drove through the highlands towards Lake Attilan. We also enjoyed the much briefer drive to Antigua. All too soon, the weekend ended and we were bound for the airport extremely early on Monday morning.

Here is the email from Saturday:

We just had a wonderful day. The kids enjoyed long naps in the bus on the way to and from Lake Atitlan (3 hours each way).  They will also have spectacular photos to share of the beautiful lake and surrounding volcanoes.
The boat ride across the lake felt a bit like a roller coaster, but the kids really enjoyed it.  We saw a church that played a role during the "dark times" before heading to a great restaurant.  A few teens ventured to try the more typical Guatemalan food, but many stuck with safe chicken sandwiches.  Happily full, we headed out to wander through the street vendors and to a shop that had beautiful paintings.  
Then it was back to the boat to cross the lake and back on the bus for our ride home. Now the kids are relaxing and enjoying a few games before dinner.  We still hope to get them settled fairly early so that we can have a fresh day tomorrow in Antigua.  As it is Andres' home, we are excited to see the city through his eyes - and he knows all the best places for food, shopping, and sight seeing.
The week has flown by; it is incredible to believe that we only have one more day here.

And Sunday:
Today was the day in Antigua.  We enjoyed a more traditional breakfast before loading into the bus.  Thanks to Andres, we were able to see some special sights including an outdoor art exhibition at a hotel that also could boast of one of the best views of Antigua.
We then headed into town where we went to another hotel that is built around the ruins of the old city. We also attended mass at the hotel in the church that was built into or rather around the ruins of the old church.  Then it was off to the coffee plantation before lunch.  
Lunch was a wonderful meal.  With our stomachs full we ventured out to the jade factory.  Andres introduced us to his father who also happened to be our guide. We learned quite a bit and a few of us found our glyph in the Mayan calendar for our birthdays.  We are a group of bats, snakes, jaguars, fish, and more!
From the more refined experience of the jade factory, we headed to the colorful chaos of the markets. The kids really had fun trying to barter for the best prices.  Many will have just as much fun trying to fit it all into their bags.
What they don't know is that we will be meeting to head to breakfast at 6 am.  Monday morning traffic in the city is awful, even by their standards so we need to allow over 2 hours for a drive that took about 30 minutes when we arrived.

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