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!

A trip to Rio Dulce

At Castillo San Felipe, we wandered through the old fort, which was originally built by the spanish as a guard post to protect against pirates in the 16th century. It served for a short while as a prison as well. Now it is a great little park area for tourists and locals to enjoy a sunny day!
Lago Izabal is a huge lake, and is the livelihood of so many - fishermen, waterside tiendas, and, of course, the tourism industry.
A trip to Finca Paraiso brought us to a beautiful hot springs water fall which mixed with the cool river waters flowing into the little lagoon. Truly a spectacular place, and we had it all to ourselves!

Our First Canadian Visitor - Mom! Destination #1: Coban - Coffee Plantation

This trip was a real treat! We were met at the hostel by a young guide who drove with us outside Coban to a "co-op" plantation. This plantation had more than 300 families connected with it, each with their own plot of land/coffee which they were responsible for. The beans were processed and prepared for roasting at the plantation. From there, they were shipped off for roasting. Along the way into the plantation we stopped to pick up the 2 young girls - the older of whom became one of the main guides throughout the tour. They were a lot of fun, and thoroughly enjoyed Mom taking their photos!
It was not the season for picking while we were there, but we did see some of the plants in flower, and a few red berries (which contain the coffee seed - "bean").
There was also a little surprise in store for us - a "zip-line" across 2 of the man-made lakes/water sources.

Caves at Lanquin, Orchid Nursery outside Coban

We explored the caves of Lanquin, on the return from Semuc Champey (along a very long, narrow, dirt road). The caves go on for kilometers and kilometers, much of it unexplored. The parts we walked through were well lit, and had several of the formations labeled, but boy! Watch your step - talk about slippery! As we left Coban, we stopped in at an orchid nursery. The fellow there, who gave us the tour, had worked at this nursery for nearly 20 years. His knowledge of the various species was extensive, and he knew many of the flowers "personally" with some of the orchids living 20 years or more. This nursery also had samples of the "Monja Blanca", a rare species of orchid, which is native to Guatemala. It is the national flower. Unfortunately, it wasn't flowering at this time.

Semuc Champey & Coban

There is no question that Semuc Champey is truly spectacular. We hiked in along a trail passing little water falls, and great views of the pools. The pools are quite incredible. There are about 7 or so that are good for swimming in. Most interesting of all is the roaring Cohaban river that runs beneath the pools, which are filled with only the run off from the river. Following the hike up to the "Mirador" look out, the refreshing swim was most welcome!

Antigua

Antigua was incredible - full of people, vendors, processions and carpets. Constantly changing, constantly colorful. We re-visited the monastery, and visited several churches in the evening to see their velaciones, or vigils. This was the first time we had seen a procession of only women and girls.

Semana Santa at the Lake (Atitlan), Panajachel

Along the lakeside there were hundreds of tables/booths supplying food, handiwork, miscellaneous household items and.....bonnets!
Chichi was as colorful as we remembered it, although somewhat quieter on this day. We found ourselves frequently getting in the way of a small Easter Morning procession which was winding its was through the market.