Finca Tatin, Our little paradise

Hola Amigo´s

Nojah threw up all night and has some gastrointestinal distress as well but otherwise all is well here. We just got back to Rio Dulce this morning from a place called Finca Tatin a small establishment off the Rio dulce river in the jungle on the Tatin tributary. It´s about an hour launcher boat ride from here. Had we known this place existed I think we would have planned to stay for a week. Unfortunately we only had 2 nights. They had a large open lodge with spread out bungalows through the jungle and on the river front. Hammocks everywhere, fabulous food, spectacular wildlife not to mention a spider and scorpion in every room as an added bonus. We swam, kayaked up the Rio dulce to agua caliente a natural hotsprings and loved every moment of it. There are a ton of little villages and homes along the way with people bathing, doing laundry, kids fishing, etc. Just everyday life for them. It was beautiful. We met fabulous people and were sad to leave. We are heading back to Guatemala City tomorrow morning at 8 by bus. A 6 hour ride with NO bathroom. God help us!! We only have 2 more days left in Guatemala which we will spend at the city going to the market, zoo, and nino´s museo.

Some of you may not know but we planned an 8 day trip to Disney world for the kids when we booked the trip so we will fly to Florida on the 24th and return home on March 3rd. We have kept it a secret because the kids still do not know. We plan to let them figure it out on their own if possible. We are pretty excited and can´t wait to take them. It´s been a fabulous experience and we can´t wait to back post pics and stories to share!!!

***Tikal and some***

Hello all!! I know it has been awhile and I am sorry. I have been pretty sick the past week and am recovering now, thank god! We also have been moving around a lot. The bus rides are long and it seems to take awhile to get everywhere in this small country! These are pics of earlier today and our trip to Tikal yesterday. I think between the 2 we took almost 150 to 200 photos so there is more to see later!

We are on an Island Flores right now about an hour from Tikal. Here are the kids right before we took them for ice cream.

The tuk tuk ride to ice cream

The kids and I on one of the mayan temples. We climbed quite a bit yesterday and were pooped by the end of the day.

We only saw one family of 8 spider monkeys while we were there along with a crocodile named sophie, some lizards, wild turkeys, and heard howling monkeys that sounded like a t-rex. So we took a picture of our little monkeys swinging on the vines in the jungle.

Nojah on top of templo 4. All you can see is 4 other temples and miles of dense jungle. He was a little nervous on the edge for the photo but he did it.

Tob and lex enjoying themselves at the temple of the skulls.

Peek a boo

Standing on templo 2 looking across at temple 1. They used to let people climb it until the 2nd person fell to their death a couple of years ago and they closed it off.

So there you have it a few pictures as promised!! We have been to the Lanquin de grutas caves where we saw a HUGE spider, Semuc Champey were we hiked and the kids swam in emerald green pools, taken some crazy chicken bus rides on sketchy steep dirt roads. Tob actually had to help pull one chicken bus up a hill in the dark at 5:30 in the morning with about 15 other Guatemalan men. It was scary at the time but great fun to talk about now that we are alive. We (um, Tob) killed a monster spider in our bungalow in Semuc Champey. This thing was really too big to be killed and ran like the speed of light but Tob finally got him sweating bullets while the kids and I screamed. We have watched some neat marimba bands and met some great people. Hope everything is great at home. It´s hot and humid here right now but in other places has been cold enough to see my breath. It´s a beautiful country with wonderful people

Adios

Coban

Well after a few days of travel we are now in Coban which is in central Guatemala. There isn´t per say much to do in this town however there are a few national parks outside of town with some beautiful limestone pools and caves to check out. We arrived last night and hope to head out tomorrow to check these places out. It´s hard trying to figure out if we should do a tour with the kids or just try to wing it on our own.

Anyway to catch you up we left San Marco´s on the 7th or 8th by launcher boat to Panajachel. It was a beautiful day with crystal blue water and perfect views of the surrounding volcanoes. After we arrived in pana we spent 4 hours wandering around eating and shopping while we waited for our 4 oclock shuttle bus to Antigua. Knowing that the kids got sick the first time around we thought we would head to the farmacia and get some dramamine for the little buggers. After carefully reading the espanol packaging in the store we determined that it was not to be given to kids under two and that children should have half a tab so we bought 2 tabs for 4 quetzales, about 50 cents or so. They dont sell the boxes so you have to do your reading before hand. At 4 oclock we loaded up into the mini bus and took off. As soon as we got down the street the back of the bus started flapping open so we had to stop as the bus driver cussed in both english and spanish and tied a rope from our seats to the door handle to keep it closed for the 3 hour ride. Huh? Wasn´t sure if we would lose the kids first or the baggage but it actually held the whole way and Mario andretti made it in only 2 and a half hours. My arms and neck were sore from one child always on my lap and holding onto the "oh shit" handles the whole way to avoid knocking the guy next to me out of his seat. The dramamine worked like a champ and the kids managed to hold in their food.

We arrived in Antigua at about 6:30 pm and had to search for a place to stay. Alexyss wanted to play with Isabel so we went back to pasado Merced where we had stayed previously. They invited us out to dinner so we ate with them at a fabulous asian restaurant and got back to the hotel at about 9 pm ready for bed. Unfortunately it was malaria pill night so we all took ours without problems and then it was Alexyss´s turn. Oh my gosh, you would have thought we were killing the girl. I know I said Tob could never be a nurse but you would have questioned my skills that night. I practically shoved it down her throat like you would a dog. After a HUGE screaming fit and alexyss determined we should have never come, we settled in for the night. What was even better is when we told her the pills have to be taken for 4 weeks after we get home too :0)

The next morning after breakfast we got a shuttle bus to Guatemala City in hopes for a bus to Coban. As soon as we arrived at the bus station we booked 4 tickets and were on a bus to coban within minutes. How lucky was that? The ride was pretty smooth. We stopped and ate mid way through and arrived in Coban at about 5 or 6 last night. We stayed in a pretty nice place for the night and then moved on to a hostel this morning.

I have tried to download pictures on most computers without any luck. Most of the computers block you from downloading and the others I can´t understand. Guess we may have to put together a slide show when we get home. Today we are catching up on laundry as I am out of undies and Alexyss pretty much out of clothing. Tob is the only one who never seems to need fresh laundry. He attributes it to fire although I tell him we are surrounded with people and it´s not fire season. He doesn´t smell bad though so I´ll let him fly with it. So I know this is another long post with no fun pictures but if you want to know what we are doing here you have it. I had better go see what Tob has figured out for the day. He was coming up with ideas while I was typing.

San Marco´s

On the 5th of Feb we left Panajachel by launcher boat across the lake to a small village San Marco´s. It is absolutely beautiful here and very peaceful. The main purpose of this town is yoga, spanish classes, meditation and such. It´s a very laid back area with a lot of hippies who have left their homes, learned spanish and moved here. There are a lot of locals of course too and a ton of kids. There are dirt and cobblestone paths around town bordered by bamboo and barbed wire fencing. We share the paths with many stray dogs, kids, and chickens. It amazes me that the dogs don´t chase the chickens but they don´t appear too. They have a small playground where the kids have played with many of the local children. Nojah was a little overwhelmed when he had 12 little boys join him for a game of hacky sack but he played well. Alexyss has no fear and often disappears quickly to play with other kids. What an independent little bug. She can do everything herself, just ask her.

Anyway, it started out very windy and cold the first few days and has warmed up tremendously. We took a 10 minute launcher ride over to San Pedro yesterday and rode horses along the base of San Pedro volcano. Our guide Francisco and his father Moses were Mayan. Lucky for us Francisco spoke excellent english and was able to explain things along the way. The mayan people farm coffee most of the way up the very steep volcanoes, pick the beans by hand and carry them in big gunney sacs back to town daily to sell. It then takes them a week to dry the beans after they have been boiled. Someone has to stay out all day to continue to rake and rotate them. I truly appreciate my job. The kids had a blast on their horses. Nojah´s was Ash, Alexyss´s horses name was muchacha and mine Mujaika. I don´t remember the name of Tobs. It was great fun. Alexyss was in heaven continuing to yell giddi-up, giddi-up and Nojah just had loads of belly laughs while Ash trotted down the trail. The horses were very mellow and great for their first real rides. After we headed back and were walking along a trail in San Marco´s we saw 2 little boys who requested our help getting banana´s. Tob tried to climb the tree without much luck. We assisted in pulling the whole tree over and they gave us a banana for our efforts. It was pretty funny. I have some pics I will share later when I have more time. Lex loved the banana. They are much better fresh off the tree.

We were going to go kayaking today however the kayak places had their closed signs up so the kids swam in the lake for almost 3 hours. It´s been very relaxing here but we are leaving tomorrow to start making our way north. We will head back to Pana by boat and then by bus to Antigua or Guatemala City and then maybe a night bus up north. Not sure of the details yet but something will fall into place. We will update again when we get settled in somewhere.

Panajachel

Hola from Panajachel Guatemala. I have finally loaded some pictures, although it has taken a great deal of time. It´s quite frustrating when everything is written in espanol, but seriously what do you expect? We took a 3 hour bus ride yesterday from Antigua to Panajachel. Both kids managed to barf on the way so we thank god that I brought the barf bags from Continental airlines along. It wasn´t as bad as some of our experiences in Thailand however the roads are comparable. We are staying at Casa Loma now and plan to leave tomorrow for San Marco´s by boat across Lago Atitlan. It´s been cloudy but the lake is amazingly beautiful surrounded by large volcanoes. Anyway I won´t write much more due to time but hopefully the pictures aren´t too big for you all to download. Oh yes Karen, regarding the fireworks, they just like them. We found that fireworks were very common in Aisa as well even more so during the festivals but never a bad time in there eyes. So for your viewing pleasure a few pictures, not in any particular order because that would just be too hard.

The coffee plantation. Drying of the coffee beans. Looks like a lot of work. I now can see why good coffee is so expensive.

Nojah having no problems engulfing his food. They have done so well with food this time. They have had panqueques for breakfast, crepes, mixt frutas, and rice, beans, tortilla´s, nacho chips, fritas, and hamberguesa´s as well as others. We are getting pretty used to reading the menu´s now as they are only in spanish.

Lex and Nojah in front of one of the Cathedrals in Antigua.

Waterfall at Reserva natural parque outside of Panajachel. We spent most of today there where we saw monkeys, beautiful butterflies and enjoyed a great hike through the jungle with beautiful view of lago atitlan.

It wouldn´t be much of a trip of course without Alexyss contracting some sort of disease. She woke up today with multiple mosquito bites on her cheek near her eye. She is swollen and looks awful. I will just keep watching in hopes to avoid any infection. She has also fallen twice and has bruises and bandaids galore. She´s great!!

At the reserve there were lots of rickity swing bridges we got to cross. They also had zip lines we opted not to use.

Alexyss finally has made friends. This is Isabel a friend she met while in Antigua. Isabel is 8 and speaks fabulous english as well as fluent spanish. They had a great time together before we left and she gave Lex a stuffed bunny to remember her by. Very sweet.

Playing on the dock at the lake yesterday after dinner. Lex has no fear and I am sure will end up in the lake at some point. Probably tomorrow in the middle of the lake.

From the roof top of our first hostel in Antigua.

Alexyss´s new friends at casa loma where we are staying right now. Nojah is really getting jealous and is on the prowl for boys to play with now.

On a break from the bus ride after Nojah barfed and before Lex. Overlooking lago atitlan.

Well i hope you enjoy some of the pictures. Lex wants to go play with her friends and Tob wants to check his email so I better take the kids back so he can have a turn. Hope all is well in the states.

A few days in.........

Hola,
I know you are all looking for photo´s but unfortunately the camera died on our way back to our hotel earlier so it is being recharged. We have spent the past couple of days trying to learn spanish, explore Antigua, enjoy the food, and keep the kiddo´s entertained. As before the food is fabulous. We went to the market this afternoon and bought apples, avacodos and fresh sliced pineapple. The avacodo´s only cost us 2Q each which is roughly only 0.25 and you can´t get much fresher. We also went to a museum today where we learned about the Myan culture and their early musical instruments. Nojah was intrigued with the turtle shells that they would use for drums, conch shells and their wooden flutes. Very cool stuff. It is amazing how many different instruments they had with just using natural resources. We also learned about Guatemala´s coffee production as well and thank goodness they had a little play area for the kids. They really needed to run awhile. The kids are adapting quicker then they did in Thailand although it´s not quite as hot and the smell´s to me at least are more appealing. The people are very nice but it´s been hard for the kids to get others to play with any of the local children. Alexyss so badly wants to play with another little girl and so far no luck. She has been told no or they just run away. Very different then south east asia. Nojah´s pretty shy anyway and sticks to us. We visited Central park yesterday in Antigua where we sat and had lunch. We soon had two little boys hanging out with us sharing our meal. Beautiful little boys. They have wonderful cobblestone streets and beautiful achitecture. The main transportation here is tuk tuks and chicken buses which are old school bus painted into some pretty wild designs. We have mostly used our feet though. It´s not that large of a city and it´s great to explore that way. We did go past the hospital which was kind of neat although we were on the backside of it. I would have loved to have gone inside but didn´t get a chance to as the kids were pooped. Hopefully we never have to go inside. We are planning to go to panachejal tomorrow which is near lago Atitilan. We need to arrange transportation though and need to go pick up our laundry so I had better get off the internet and get somethings done as we promised the kids a view of the sunset from our roof top this evening. We have incredible views of volcanoe agua and del fuego. I have been hopeful for a trip up to one however it´s not looking great with little kids unfortunately. We´ll see. Nojah really wants to go. Hope all is well at home and eventually we will post some pictures.

Hola from Antigua

Well we arrived in Guatemala at about 2 yesterday afternoon and easily found a shuttle to Antigua about an hour away. We ended up staying in the ummagumma hostel last night which proved to be more expensive then we like. 225 quetzals, you do the math, 7.9 exchange rate. Hostels charge per person so they aren´t really worth it we find for a family. Flights were good. A little rough on the way into Guatemala city as he had to circle twice with great turbulence but we managed not to barf. I was afraid though. In the Houston airport we ran into Dort one of my best friends leaving to go to Cozumel Mexico. What a small world. So this has to be short and sweet as we are packing up this morning to find a new home. It was incredibly noisey here with fireworks and yelling throughout most of the night. We aren´t sure what our plans are next but we are definitely picking up some spanish phrases as most we have run into do not speak much english at all. We are hoping to visit Lake Atitalan and some volcanoes here soon. The temp is about 68 to 72 degree´s a little cooler then expected but better then negative 7 or 90. The food has proved to be fabulous so far. I may have a lot of gas while we are gone but it´s well worth it. The keyboard is in spanish and I still can´t figure out some of the keys but we´ll hopefully get oriented and get ourselves together soon. No pictures at this time but hopefully when we have time. We sure are taking them and can´t wait to share them. The kids were a little homesick last night but slept well despite the horrific noise last night and are in great moods this morning. Hope all is good in the states. We´ll try to write soon.