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.

Tikal - Mother & Daughter style!

Mom and I had a great time touring around the ruins of Tikal, seeing the sunset and sunrise, and enjoying the peacefulness of the morning hours.

From the first trip that Bruce and I had done, the biggest difference was the weather - much warmer, and without the afternoon rain to cool everything down. Everything looked just a little bit drier and "browner". We saw not only the crocodrilo, but also a bird related to the Quetzal, spider monkeys (heard the howlers, but didn't see any), pizotes, and toucans.

Our Carpet!

Our carpet was made under the direction of Marcos and his uncle, outside his uncles home. It was made entirely from sawdust, died a variety of colours, and with the aide of wooden frames.
It is definitely not a project for someone who wants to see results quickly!
As the sun came out, and the sawdust dried, it was necessary to spray it all down, both to renew the color, and to keep the carpet in place.
One of the challenges was to keep the stray dogs off!
Once finished, the carpets do not last long! Sixty men in a procession manage to destroy it pretty quickly!

Carpets around the town, March 26

The carpets take hours to create, and are made from a wide variety of materials. Sawdust, flower petals, pineneedles, other branches, fruit, vegetables, coffee, beans, even eggs can be used to add details to the design.
The colours are truly spectacular and the detail intricate.
It is unfortunate that the lifespan of these creations is so short! My favorite ones were the flower-petal carpets. You could smell the aroma from quite a long ways away.

The Procession, March 26

This procession started at one of the churches just outside Antigua, and would go on for approximately 10-11 hours. It started at 1:00PM, and would not complete its rounds of the city until close to 11:00PM.
There are people everywhere, dressed in the purple robes, who will take over periodically for the "bearers".

And a few more pics from the trip.....

Copan town is so great - the cobblestone roads, the central park, it is such a unique place.
The drive down was beautiful too. Our friend, Mike, was really taken by the amazing stone formations as we drove through the mountains, and watched the landscape change.