Sunday morning . . . worship at the hotel near the beach

Today, we started the day with a short worship service by the beach. We sat in chairs under umbrellas as Augusto shared Scripture and his story with us. We closed by singing the first verse of "How Great Thou Art." Then, we boarded the bus to begin our trip back to Guatemala City by way of Antigua.

We stopped on the way at a roadside stand and Augusto persuaded the vendor to allow him to show us several of the different fruits of Guatemala. He purchased a few plantains and 3 coconuts; Barbara purchased an interesting piece of fruit as well.

We had a small challenge as we were enroute to Antigua: the bus driver missed our exit . . . He did not want to go to the next turn around (because we'd already paid extra for gas), so Augusto and Gabriel got out of the bus to help the driver back up on the shoulder of the freeway. Augusto removed his shirt in order to catch the attention of other drivers so that they gave us room . . . we managed to get across the incoming ramp just fine and then managed to make our way onto the exit ramp to the correct highway . . .

Saturday afternoon: in search of the turtle reserve

After lunch, we went in search of the turtle reserve. One of the boat drivers from this morning met us at our hotel and walked us to the place . . . he works there too part time. When we arrived, we were a bit disappointed as there were no sea turtles there (the time to see them and/or the eggs or small turtles is apparently August - October, but they do not tell you that prior to taking your $$).

In any event, we learned about the program which was started in the late 1970's. There is a legal requirement that when turtle eggs are found, at least 20% must be left here and the rest can go to market (the finders can choose to leave more here if they want). The eggs are kept until until they are hatched, then the turtles are kept for a few hours in a special water before to acclimate before they are released to the ocean.

The reserve also has iguanas and cayman . . . It is safe to say that we applied but spray more than once today . . . the were plenty of mosquitoes in the swamps as well as by the cayman.

Guatemala Lunch

We had a special Guatemala soup for lunch . . . it had several kinds of seafood in it, including shrimp / prawns, crab, fish (some kind that sounded like it began with "taco"), tomatoes, onions, and ??? It was served with corn tortillas and was well-received by all -- I think Melissa was the most excited but most bowls were close to empty by the time we were done.

Saturday morning

This morning, we started off by trying to get a group picture . . .


Then, we boarded 2 small boats and did an eco tour of the natural reserve of the mangrove swamps. Here are a few images . . .



once we were aboard, we saw 3 kinds of mangrove trees (white, red, and black); volcanos in a distance, some beautiful flowers that were like water lillies, and a variety of birds

mangroves


water lillies


volcano in background
one of several kinds of birds which included cranes, oriels, and egrets
(the oriels are larger here than in Indiana . . . .)

and large termite nests in the mangroves . . . some bird (sorry, forgot which one right this minute) builds their nest in the bottom of these termite nests and feasts on the termites.

Friday in Review

street with our hotel on it in Guatemala City.

We left the hotel Friday morning after breakfast and headed for the Pacific ocean. We encountered no problems other than no internet at the hotel where we were staying. We arrived around lunch time and had hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, or ham and cheese (something quick so we could explore the hotel and beach area.) We relaxed as we walked along the beach, looked at flowers, swam in a pool, and enjoyed the sunset. Supper was open for choice and people had a variety of items. The place we stayed had small cabanas, each with their own thatched roof.

The beach had beautiful black volcanic sand, and the water was rough -- only a couple ventured into the water; the rest stayed at a safe distance away and just enjoyed the sound and sight of the waves.

As we went to bed, it was to the sound of falling rain on the thatched roofs. It rained all night -- or most of the night . . . we enjoyed it for all of you who are still needing rain.



A few images are provided below


birds of paradise
sunset
hotel restaurant; rooms were similar construction except solid walls with air conditioning . . .
thatched roof from inside the room . . .

Patience please -- we are back in Guatemala City

and now have internet access again . . . we will try to catch you up ASAP. . . All are well and all is going well.

Good Friday morning . . .

Up early (around 5) . . . then around 6, we heard beautiful bells ringing -- we have not yet been out of the confines of the hotel, so we are assuming they are from a nearby church. The hotel restaurant is not yet open, so folks are gathering in the living area and observing flowers, turtles, etc.

There is another small group here; they are from a church in Philadelphia and are bringing things to their sister church in Guatemala City (things for the kids, hymnals last year . . . )

For those who have read yesterday's blog already, I posted a few pictures this morning. More later . . . Hopefully a cup of tea con leche sooner than later :)
Have a wonderful day.