and we had a great time, my 3 sons my husband and I, had a blast, we began by going to Antigua and got one of those inguat people to take us to 4 different locations outside Antigua, the macadamia farm, then to a cooperativa in textiles, then to a Jade taller, and to a local small town fair, it was awesome, the next day we went to panajachel, for the day it was raining but it was beautiful, we also took a horse drawn carriage ride another day in antigua that one was a blast, the local driver knew so much it was fun to learn about the history and look at places that tourist usually don't have a chance to see, eg, the cemetery, the inside of a church when they were performing a funeral mass, etc.
we made to Tikal and we decided not to drive, we took a linea dorada bus and it rained all the way, we stayed at don david in El remate, when we got up the next morning we were blessed with sunshine and beautiful tropical hazy weather, it was awesome, we walk for 6 hours with our very guatemalan and very knowledgeable guide he was great, we saw a pregnant spider monkey and a young male with her, toucans, a pizote, a very tiny turtle crossed our path, and my 10 year old son found all different of bugs, he loves bugs, we were so lucky my guide said because it had been raining for 3 straight days and we had none, the pyramids were amazing, we also visited monterrico via iztapa the roads are great, we crossed the chiquimulilla channel that was an experience by it self we arrived sunday, the waves were huge and as soon as we arrived i was informed that one tourist 25 years young had drown, i felt very sorry for the family and very concerned about the safety of my own, 23, 14 and 10 years old boys, even though they love to swim in the sunny beaches of california, i was scared, they swam for a while under my watchful eye, by monday everything was deserted our accomodations were cafe del sol, and 2 rooms were rented, we decided to go to the universidad de san carlos santuario and saw turtles, caymans, a gourgeous fish that i can't recalled and they have not been able to help to reproduce in captivity, Please bring your insect repellent you are going to needed trust me. we ate local food and local fruits, but by 3 oclock we decided to get back to the city.
we went to Esquipulas to visit el cristo negro, is in chiquimula, we visited the church we did not stay in the city is kind of a seedy town, very busy and noise, we stayed at el atlantico en rio hondo zacapa that was fun the kids swam for hours and we ate at longharone, best italian food that i ate in guate,
we did a lot of side trips to tecpan, escuintla and others,
my boys loved it i loved it, my husband got tired of driving up around by he loved it as well, the people the way they live the beauty around, i wish they knew how lucky they are to have such a beautiful country, a lot of people put a lot effort to better their environment, but some need to be taught not to throw trash in their cities out of the buses,
and it takes a lot to get used to if you are in the city to see the security personnel, with weapons, all around you, in the stores in the banks, in the pharmacies even, especially try to explain that to an impressionable 10 year old boy.
over all i had a great experience, i ate some exotic fruits, such as zapotes, chicos, jocotes mangos verdes, anonas, pomelos sweet juicy tender coconut.
thanks
So glad you had a happy trip. THe litter problem is better than it used to be, but needs to continue to improve. I rember riding a chicken bus from Guate to Rio Dulce and eating something then carefully putting the refuse in an empty bag at my feet to throw away later. My seat mate, a local woman, watched me as I did this then reached down and threw the bag out through the window saying,"Basura afuera!" I guess from her perspective I was littering the bus and better the garbage be outside than inside with us ......
Hey there...it seems like you guys enjoyed the part that most trvellers to guatemala miss, and that is, tasting the exotic tropical side of the country. That's why I also recommend driving along the pacific coastal highway because there is so much color at the fruit stands along this excellent road. For instance I drove from Panajachel up to Godinez. And even though it's a good paved road, it's kind of isolated. But I felt perfectly safe though driving by myself. Of course I'm always very cautions and never let my guard down. Here you can enjoy some of the most spectacular views of the lake. Then you go down to Cocales to enjoy the food with the vendors. And on the way back to guatemala city you can stop along the road to try all kinds of tropical fruits. Unfortunately Latina Alma is right. When it comes to littering some locals think backwards. So, I guess you guys drove a rental car for most of the trip except for when you all went to Tikal. And if so, how was the ride on Linead Dorada to Flores? I'm glad you all had a safe trip.
Thanks. I too enjoy reading about different trips there, especially when they are as pleasant as yours. I also love insects of all kinds; they are just so fascinating, everywhere you go.
Thanks again.
so glad everyone in the family enjoyed it.
[do you think if you went back you would rent a car again or not?]
thanks everyone what a great response, i loved reading about other travelers adventures as well, and to answer some of your questions:
Delmonte, I took the first class bus, that left at 10:00 am to santa elena because the timing for the luxury bus was not convinient for us 10:00 pm arriving at santa elena at 5:00 am, i wanted also to look at the beautiful contryside during the day so we chose to travel in the am, we got to santa elena at 6:00 pm with enough time to call my hotels cab to pick us up and to take us to el remate, by the way la casa de don david was great, the rooms were clean plenty of h2o and a/c food was good too, we saw a snake there, in their beautiful garden, they have the best view of the lago peten itza, well the trip was great a/c in the bus but very tiring, we stopped for lunch and the place was clean and well organized they have some regional food there, i think it was zacapa and the food was good. the coming back part was not too confortable because the a/c was not working but we opened some windows and it was still hot but hey the air smelled great, (not so much when we were behind a chicken bus) but we survived.
Mayaphile to answered your questions, our guide was an awesome guide, he might referred them as the maya imperio, but he gave us more information that was beyond the guides guidelines i guess, at one point he pick a flower out of the ground and crushed it, he asked me what does it smell like and i said garlic it was the flower of a cedar tree, he also point out the tree that is called chicle tree, and la ceiba guatemala's national tree, he had worked in tikal doing reconstruction on the pyramids and temples and plazas, for over 25 years he had worked around his home is el remate, and he was awesome. he named all the insects that my son found, and knew a lot of the information that i had read before i went to Tikal he was accurate and very professional
cagaleurospring: a big YES that's is the best way to travel, my husband did all the driving but he became a pro, in the city very defensive driving and very challenging, and in the country, we were able to stop at different places at our pleasure, on our way to monterrico we stopped for fresh sugar cane and coconut water. in our way to Esquipulas we stopped to get Grapes, on the roadside yes definately yes, next time we will drive to Tikal and stop over in Rio Dulce. on our way back from esquipulas i mentioned sleeping in santa cruz rio hondo zacapa, we went to santa cruz a small aldea in zacapa, we went to pasabien and the water was wonderful, cold it comes down from a mountain range i think is the cochumatanes??
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