Roatan - Semana Santa

We had a great time in Roatan - snorkeling, sunning, and diving. It was crazy busy with thousands of people (especially towards the end of the week), but we could understand why - it is a pretty amazing beach and place to be.
At one of the parks, we were able to meet up with some parrots and monkeys, especially "Buddy" - the white faced monkey who seemed to enjoy a chance to get a visit with people.











Mariachi band (spelling?) meets rastafarian beach band.

A climb up Volcan Agua

More sights along the way. We even got to see a small eruption from Volcan Fuego across the valley. Wouldn't you know it though, when we got to the parking lot, a small car had parked behind Doug's truck. There was no way around it, so the guys got together and "jumped" it over, just far enough to get the truck out.

From the top of Volcan Agua

This was the group that climbed up Volcan Agua (the most prominent volcano seen from Antigua). It was a great day for a hike.



We watched the clouds just roll past us at racing speed once we reached the top (11,000 ft more or less). Most of the people were from Colegio Maya. In the crater, a soccer field had been "built" as well as a small church.

Time to leave....:(

We stayed at "The Palms". The view was amazing. It was sad to leave, but it was great to share Christmas and New Years with our friends Shelley and Rick!

More fun in paradise

If you like fun, Belize is the place to go!


We went to the mainland to try out the ziplines, and go river cave tubing. On the Island of San Pedro (Ambergris Caye), the main form of transportation is on these 4X4 style golf carts! A fun way to get around (and YES!! a chance for Liana to drive!)

And on to Belize

Just hanging out at Los Mundos. Very relaxing. After leaving Lake Atitlan, Shelley and Rick went off to Tikal. (You'll have to ask them about those pictures!) But, once they had returned from Tikal, we were paradise bound! BELIZE!

From Antigua to Lake Atitlan

A bit of a rocky ferry boat ride, but we arrived at Hotel Los Mundos, then on another launcha traveled over to the towns of San Pedro, and San Juan. In San Juan, we met Felipe Mednoza - a resident painter, who then became our tour guide for the town. He took us to the women's weaving group where all natural dyes are made and used in their weaving, (which were really beautiful), then onto a herbal garden and product center. We met several children along the way - these two were quite eager to have their picture taken.

Rick's first ride on a horse (or in this case a mule)! We had a great tour through finca filadelfia coffee plantation. The view from the top was perfect for spotting Acatengo and Fuego Volcanoes.

The Turtle Release (Monterrico)

Here they are - hopefully swimming wild and free in the depths of the Pacific! It was quite a crowd of us, each releasing 1-2 turtles. The hatchery had just had quite a large hatch, that happened to be ready for release the night we arrived. Lucky us!

Our new home!

Our new home - with the yard....a great place to hang out on a Sunday afternoon!

Pacaya - as it's supposed to be.....!

....unlike our first visit, when we had a great view of the fog! This time, the lava flow had filled up the entire valley which we had walked through on our first visit. You were able to walk right up to the flows to have a close up look.
There were so many people here this night, that when we began the hike back down, it was shoulder-shoulder on the pathway, and a long, slow, walk.

Monterrico

Lounging by the pool and soaking up the sun - a great way to end a holiday!
Thanks for coming Wendy and Ruth!

The Amys tackle Tikal!

Finca Filadelfia

This was our first visit to Filadelfia Coffee Plantation. It was a great tour, and a "high-end" coffee producer, exporting around the world, including to companies such as Starbucks. Definitely a different feel to it, than the co-op plantation we visited in Coban.
At Filadelfia, they are producing there own strain of coffee plants by splicing the tiny "seedling"(?) and taping two variations together. A work of great patience and precision!

Some more Canadian visitors! Mom Amy and Wendy

We had a wonderful time touring Lake Atitlan with Ruth and Wendy, taking the lancha out to San Pedro and Santiago villages.
We had a young guide - Diego - who was happy to show us the sites.
It was another shopping trip in Chichi! Always coloful, and interesting, with so much to see, hear, smell, and taste!