Hotel del Norte

The old hotel we stayed at in Puerto Barrios. The floors sagged, the deck slanted, and the stairs creaked, but the old place was imbued with a wonderful sense of history. Apparently it was built around the turn of the century and used to house workers from the United Fruit Company.

Antigua preps for Independence Day

Fuego Erupts!

I woke up yesterday morning intending to be incredibly productive, until my boss called and told me to go have a look at Fuego. From the street I could see a huge plume of smoke and ash rising from the crater...an actual eruption! So instead of concentrating on my school work, C and I rushed off to watch from the roof of La Merced. It was a spectacular (and, I'll admit, somewhat nerve-wracking) sight to behold. So far, there are plans to evacuate some 30,000 people from communities close to the mountain and lava flows have threatened several roads. 

Apparently, NASA documented the eruption from space:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57513173/nasa-captures-guatemala-volcano-erupting-from-space/ 

Monterrico

The Hawaii-Monterrico Biosphere

The docks - Monterrico

Monterrico is located on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala, about 2.5 hours southwest of Antigua.  The brilliant thing about it is that there’s almost nothing to do.  No dive boats, no thumping clubs, no surfing.  The ocean, with an unforgiving break close to the shore, even discourages most swimmers. The small village has a rustic, laid-back charm.  A handful of seafood restaurants, black sand, stray dogs, political graffiti on crumbling walls.  

Our activities in Monterrico consisted of:

1. Floating in the pool

2.  Drinking Beer

3. Walking on the beach

4. Drinking beer

5. Eating Ceviche

….you get the picture!

Yes, that is a giant pelican...and he's not about to be pushed around!

 

There is one undeniably splendid attraction: the Hawaii-Monterrico Biosphere, an extensive reserve of mangrove canals home to caiman, iguanas, fish, crustaceans, and migrating birds.  We took a canoe tour organized by a fantastic guide from the “Tortuguero”; a local organization that protects nesting sea turtles and other wildlife. It was worth waking up at 5 am to see the spectacular sunrise over the distant volcanoes.  Due to the influx of fresh water during the rainy season, the canals were especially green.

Convento Capuchinas and Santa Clara

Courtyard of Convento Capuchinas

Outside of the San Francisco Cathedral

Convento Santa Clara

Covento Santa Clara

Guatemala wins first Olympic medal...EVER

Yesterday we watched Erick Barrondo race walk his way into history, winning the first ever Olympic medal for his country. It was pretty exciting and has undoubtedly been the topic of conversation on every street corner. When we turned back to the local station hours later the announcers were still recapping his victory. Not only did Barrondo win a silver medal, but he kept China from sweeping the top three spots. AND he is a good role model, using his Olympic success as a platform to encourage youth to make smarter choices and turn to sports rather than violence. Go Erick!

Reasons to Love Antigua - Views like this...

Taken from the rooftop terrace at El Sereno 

San Felipe de Jesus

Today we headed to the village of San Felipe de Jesus - about a 15-20 minute walk from our home in Antigua. There is a beautiful little church and the area is also known for its clay owls. They're kind of like piggy banks...kids save their coins and then break open the figures when they are ready to spend their loot!

San Felipe de Jesus - please note the men loading a table onto a bicycle in the foreground

The church

Owls for sale...

Volcan Acatenango

Below is a series of photos from our EPIC hike up the Acatenango Volcano. A friend and coworker who was soon to leave town was kind enough to include me in her plans to scale the mountain. Altogether, we went as a group of fourteen and drove part way up the mountain via entrance to a private finca (farm). The road up was quite harrowing: extremely steep, uneven, and muddy...it was like Indiana Jones, only real.

View of Agua from the summit

ACTIVE Volcan de Fuego

From the parking area the hike was roughly 1.5 - 2 hours; ascending from pine forest to barren, volcanic rock. The last portion was rather difficult given the steep sides of the crater and loose soil. At nearly 13,000 feet the altitude also leaves you feeling short of breath.

Nerdy self-portrait

Forest on the way up

 It was all worth it for the incredible views: Antigua, Ciudad Vieja, and Volcan de Agua off to one side, the ring of mountains surrounding Lake Atitlan on the other. We were also close to adjoining Volcan de Fuego, which is still active and occasionally let off a plume of smoke from it's angry red cone. Considering this is the rainy season, we were extremely lucky with weather. The skies were clear and blue for most of the hike and clouds didn't roll in until well after noon. When they did come, however, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped drastically. It was absolutely frigid.

Ascension...

Super bundled and extremely happy on the top...

The trip was probably one of the most amazing things I've done here to date. Though we didn't formally go through a tour company, the logistics of our excursion were organized by someone who works for Old Town Outfitters (http://www.bikeguatemala.com/)...so I would definitely recommend them for anyone considering the trek!

4th of July,

Happy July 4th! We did a ton of shopping and made some excellent veggie burgers with mashed garbanzo and black beans, onion, and garlic. Served with avocado, blue cheese, and delicious bread from Epicure.

Oh, this face...

Note the plantain chips...a little twist of Guatemala for 4th of July!

Pic of the Week - Arco de Santa Catalina

Probably the most photographed spot int he city!

Reasons to love Antigua - Central Park

Nuestra Señora de La Merced

Ah, the beautiful church of La Merced. We walk by it nearly everyday and on several occasions have taken advantage of the street food served in the courtyard during special church holidays. Still, this was the first time that we ventured inside. For Q5/person, you can explore the gorgeous ruins of the convent, complete with peaceful courtyard, giant fountain, and rooftop view of the city and distant volcanoes! 

Exterior, La Merced

The fountain

The convent ruins

Panza Verde and Escalonia Cafe

We continued our super-touristy week by visiting La Escolonia; a café and nursery on the far south side of town. We’d first visited in February and walked away with a lucky bamboo. There are a wide variety of indoor and outdoor plants for sale, or you can just enjoy strolling and eating in the beautiful garden setting. Also snapped some photos of the gorgeous hotel Panza Verde. I’ve been going to yoga there semi- regularly (http://www.yogantigua.com/). They have excellent instructors and a wonderful atmosphere! Probably not a bad place to stay either, if you are visiting Antigua and have some cash to spend!

C on the roof of Panza Verde Hotel

Tourist Me

"Tipico" breakfast at La Escalonia Cafe

C in La Escalonia nursery (photo taken back in February)

La Recolección

Lately, I've stopped being a tourist. It seems like I've been caught up in an unending cycle of work, school, and Spanish classes that occupy the vast majority of my time. And whenever we have a vacation, we instantly leave town to travel and explore other areas of Central America.

This week, the vast most of my students are on break and with more free time, we've decided to spend the week exploring Antigua in earnest.

We began at La Recolección, the ruins of a former convent and monastery. Construction began in the early 1700's, but the structure was reduced to rubble by the 1773 earthquakes. I love Antigua's ruins...shells of old churches lie scattered all over the city. Yet this was the first time we were able to venture inside of one.  It was incredibly peaceful and we were mostly alone except for the occasional teenage couple making out in a dark corner. Amazing to wander around the beautifully landscaped grounds and imagine what the buildings had looked like in their heyday. It was really peaceful and I got to do one thing I've truly been missing here in Guatemala...lie in the grass!

Reasons to Love Antigua - Mannequins

According to this blogger, the average female mannequin is 6 ft. tall and wears a size 2-4; the average American woman is 5 ft. 6 in. tall and wears a size 12-14. I cannot understand, in a country where 1/3 of the population is categorized as obese, we continue to worship boyish, pre-pubescent stick-bodies rather than fit, womanly figures.


Thankfully, in Latin America, cultural ideals of beauty are a bit different. This photo was actually taken in Honduras, but we encounter such (sexy) mannequins on a daily basis here in Antigua.  As you can see, women in Central America are preferred to be curvier and more feminine with a little...ahem, junk in the trunk? Thank goodness! Cheers to a healthy female body image!

Pic of the Week - BLUE

 Wasn't having the best day: loads of homework, a frustrating Spanish class, yet another problem with the ATM, and my textbook being held hostage by customs...but he cheered me up :)

Reasons to love Antigua - Volcanoes

Technically, volcanoes could also be a reason not to love Guatemala and I'll be the first to admit that I have a healthy fear respect for their sometimes violent and unpredictable temperaments. This photo was taken about a month ago at the hotel where I teach. Please note the smoldering cone behind me. This is the aptly named Volcán de Fuego and its puffs of smoke are often visible from Antigua on a clear day. Sometimes during class it grumbles and shakes the walls. I like to think that modern science can predict truly catastrophic eruptions, though it doesn't help that my boss constantly jokes that one day it's going to bury us all in a Pompeii-like mudslide! Regardless, the  the volcano's antics are generally more entertaining than worrisome.
There is something awe-inspiring and primordial about being surrounded by such a landscape. The country boasts over thirty volcanoes, four of which are currently active. The most recent incident to cause significant damage was the 2010 eruption of Pacaya, which left a layer of ash all over Guatemala City and wreaked havoc on the roads. 

El Tunco Beach, El Salvador

El Tunco Beach

 El Tunco beach is located in El Savador. We hadn’t planned  on visiting it until later, but it turns out that bus connections are very complicated between Copan and Rio Dulce. So we scrapped our plans to visit Guatemala’s Caribbean coast and decided to hop a shuttle to El Salvador instead. The journey took about seven hours and we were lucky to only share our spacious van with two other people. It was a beautiful trip and completely hassle-free…with the exception of being harassed by Guatemalan police. 


They stopped us after we crossed the border and demanded to check our passports; claiming we didn’t have the correct documentation. We’d only been given a temporary transit visa (valid 3 days) to visit Copan, which the immigration officer had reclaimed when we’d passed through the checkpoint. We went back to speak with him and found out that the police have absolutely no authority to view our passports or detain us – they’d simply been throwing their weight around out of boredom/in hopes of a bribe. 

Otherwise the ride was pleasant. The Guatemala-El Salvador border crossing was a breeze and I instantly noticed differences between the two countries. People in El Salvador were taller, the highways wider, the countryside devoted to larger-scale farms.  We passed through San Salvador at dusk...it looked much more polished than its  rather poor reputation would suggest.

Arrived in El Tunco around 9 pm and had some difficulty finding a hotel. Finally settled on El Tunco Lodge – a bit tacky with its giant Tiki figures and thatched roof cabanas, but also close to the beach and comfortable with a wonderful pool, hammocks, and communal kitchen.

Tienda, El Tunco

Though only 45 minutes from the capital of San Salvador the tiny beach community was incredibly tranquil. Only on the weekend did it fill up with thumping music and raucous crowds of city-dwellers looking for a good time.  The beach, along with several others up and down the coast, is famous for surfing. Our neighbor in Antigua, who is from Australia and quite serious about the sport, gave the area a good report. We only body - boarded, which wasn’t ideal. The waves broke quite close to the shore and the current made it somewhat difficult to paddle out (a challenge not exactly helped by ill-fitting rental fins). Regardless, it was a great place to swim; there were some lovely sunsets, a laid-back atmosphere, and an excellent variety of cheap food. We mostly gorged on fish tacos (four tacos + beer = USD $5) and papuses (comprised of beans and cheese grilled inside a tortilla, USD $.50 each). 

El Tunco at dusk

 There’s not much else to say about our stay in El Tunco. We swam, we ate, we drank coffee on the deck of Dale Dale Café overlooking the mangroves. It was a true vacation.

FISH TACOS!!! Cost: $4. Taste: Priceless.

Last Papusa stop at the El Salvador - Guatemala border