Guatemala 20th Wedding Anniversary Trip - Part One

A Scorpion a Day

or

(El Alacran per Dia)

many trips do not turn our the way we think,

even with careful planning

as unforeseen things come up

the savvy traveler must constantly be willing to make adjustments.....

those friends who are paying attention

will notice that we did not spend

a full month in a house on Lake Atitlan as planned

 Guatemala is a good choice from south Florida

an easy 2 hour plus nonstop flight to Guatemala City

so many mountains!

 the airport was small thought the city was huge

we were greeted with this lovely

marimba band

then an easy 45 minute shuttle ride out of the city to Antigua

which as the name implies, the antique city of the Americas

(moved because of too many earthquakes

I saw Antigua for the first time in 1978, 2 years after the 

devastating earthquake of 1976 - every other building in Antigua

was a pile of rubble)

not today though

today Antigua is a beautiful city

with 2 volcanoes still towering over it

we had a wonderful room at Hostal Las Marias

beautiful rooms around a lush courtyard

very quiet at the edge of town an oasis really

 our room had an out door private courtyard

 and a fireplace

at 5,000' it can get chilly when it rains....

(ruined only by the tv on top)

I loved that they curved the opening

and that it is elevated with the draft underneath

even the shower had a view

the room was taller than it was wide and made me feel

like it was built hundreds of years ago

and that we had traveled back in time

 Lake Atitlan is about 3 hours west from Antigua and Guatemala City

along the Pan American Highway

which rises from 5,000 to 7,000 feet before it drops down to the lake

it got kinda of chilly for us Floridians

we spent the night in Panahajal on the lake

at the Hotel Regis -  nice room

and even nicer wood sauna

 and 2 natural hot water pools

the advantage of being near a volcano

made it a great spot to spend the night

the next morning - after 4 days of traveling

we got up early, met our landlords and caught a boat

for the Paxanax (posh-a-nash) Valley

to the house we had rented

see how they just throw the luggage on top

 el vulcan clearly visible

finally - the dock at Paxanax

 and the view

 and the incredible

 at times almost vertical

ascent up the "valley"

there is no photo that can show how steep it was

I know, Florida is flat - but this was

seriously steep

and the day turned to night

and they were happy

to be continued

and yes, I get to the part about the scorpions soon.....

xxoo