Hotel Quinta de las Flores, my choice in Antigua

Our hotel was beautiful, relaxing, and most importantly QUIET! With a perfect view of a local Volcano.  As with most of Central America there were all types of Celibrations going on, but with this hotel we didn't get bothered as we have in the past.

I enjoy many of the items they use in their gardens, these pots are beautiful simple and a dream, I only wish I could get some, within a reasonable price, back home!  Not going to happen! 


All of these photos exist BEHIND walls that are boring and seem to be nothing.

This was our room, with a private terrace, small cafe table, two chairs, and a sofa/bench to relax. 

There are water features all over the place to keep down the noise, give the feeling of privacy and to help you relax.    I enjoyed the smooth sound of our little fountain, just outside our door, and the birds loved taking a bath in this at all hours!

Small or large fountains, who wouldn't be relaxed with all this beauty around you!

They make the most simple of things MORE beautiful and simply pleasing to look at! 

I want a life this beautiful!

There are no words to describe a culture we know little of...

But Copan, un like ANY of the other Mayan sites I have been to, is full of relief works, faces that were not destroyed by the Spanish when they arrived...

In the other sites, the best of works are only preserved in the Museums, I can ONLY imagine what would have gone from this place!  it is incredible and if you are interested in the Mayans this is a must see!

I have hundreds of pictures, large enough for poster size... if someone wants to see more just let me know.

Copan Ruins... The City, not artifacts.

Copan the city, is a small town. While I could have walked the entire town in a morning’s hour, Jerry was not up and our agreement was I wasn’t to stray very far, to stay with in our radio distance. So with in a block of town central was my only morning playground. Thankfully market was within that area! I enjoy getting up and walking towns before the rest of the world gets up! Locals don’t expect someone on vacation to be out so early, so it works for me. I sat, listened and watched the locals greet each other, all of Central America seems to be such a friendly lot of people, you show respect, they give it back. 

I have no skills when it comes to the Spanish Language, but was lucky enough- generally I am-- to find someone who spoke English. And he just happen to be the town supplier of my favorite fruit! Laecha? I can not find this word in any dictionary to spell it correctly, but is sounds very close to leche which is milk. Walking the market here was not of my best interest, as it was small, dark and had too many hidden areas for trouble so I sat outside and waited for a large hotel to open so I could get a cappuccino. I sat with my coffee, ate my power bar, watched people clean the streets, picking up trash, sweeping, then wetting with what ever water they had. It is usually a dirty water with no other purpose left except to cut down on the daily dust from the streets.

My favorite foods of the entire trip were consumed in Copan! One more thing I didn’t expect but enjoyed. It took us an hour from the time we ordered to the time we got our food, but it was cooked in front of us on an open pit. It was not only enjoyable and relaxing to watch all the actions of the place it was frankly impressive! As our cook stoked the fire, our server served others while carrying things on her head from table to table, even up the stairs.

The restaurant was not a full block from the Hotel, it was… Nia Lolas, where no one speaks English, but they do have menu’s in both languages, so you point to one and they point to the Spanish version. We ask if their water was pura/ purified and they said yes for ice etc… we still drank out of bottles except the alcohol we ordered; this was one of our few drink splurges.

Honduras.

Everyone dreams of a different type of vacation, while some think only of the beach, others the mountains, I dream of a vacation, or better yet a lifestyle, where time is not the issue, where people do what they need to; so they can do what they want the rest of the day. Does such a place really exist? Only on vacation where others do the things you have to, so you can do what ever you want.

Jerry and I normally go to a place once and mark it off our list, not to return, only to look back at our memories, pictures and notes, this time we used one of our favorite places as a home base to do several other things on our list… go to Copan, Honduras and climb an active volcano; with no restrictions of getting as close as your own body will allow to the molten lava.

On our first trip to Guatemala we stayed in Antigua, Panza Verde Hotel and Restaurant …and to this day it is top of the list, but the need for such a romantic place with the most expensive food was not what we needed. We needed peace and quiet, time to relax, and a place to settle into. This time we choose a hotel middle of the road cost wise, Quinta de la Flores… but a favorite in my mind in that it was spacious and quiet! While each room was full, Friday night we rarely crossed paths with other guest, only to eat, or catch a cab.

While Antigua was our home base as I called it, Honduras, Copan Ruins were our main goal for the trip. We had our bags locked up in Antigua and took only what we needed for the trip, in our little back packs… got up long before the sun, and took a van into Honduras. In the van we got lucky we were the ONLY TWO people in the van, this allowed Jerry to lay in the front bench and sleep, how, I have no idea. I was having a hard time just sitting up straight. Laws are different where ever you go, but there are no laws that say a vehicle in Guatemala or Honduras have to have lights/ functional lights I should say! So on several occasions our van would be IN the ON coming traffic lane get over into the correct travel lane and suddenly a metal wall was in front of us. 18 wheelers with NO LIGHTS what so ever. Not to mention the people on bicycles, or walking, and animals of all sizes in the road, all around 3 am in the morning? What are people thinking?

We got to the boarder, and frankly I was worried, but our driver was so well known… we filled out NO paperwork, paid our fees, got our stamp!!! HE stamped our passports while the woman ate her breakfast, and he dropped us at our hotel! Don’t expect the same! There are 6 windows for paperwork… This guy has driven from Antigua to this Honduras Boarder for 2 years EVERY DAY! Everyone greeted him, arms waved, words exchanged (that I didn’t understand) and horns honked every few feet.

Living quarters appeared to be somewhat worse than most of Guatemala BUT Copan is not a major city and few tourist make it there. “We’re not in Kansas anymore” … was Jerry’s quote. To my surprise… our Hotel, Yat Belam, was FAR beyond what I expected. Air Conditioning, a fridge, cable, movies, drying rack for clothes, private balcony, enough room to sleep 4 or 6, sound proofed windows with UV protection, public outdoor living room with books, sofas etc. Nice place! And GREAT Cappuccino; best of the entire trip!

The ruins are something that will take me weeks to express! Of the Mayan ruins this one is on the top of my list. We practically had the place to our selves, we ran into less than 10 other tourist.

I'm Back!

While I am home, and have spell check as well as a normal key board, I am not able to take the time to make a post this moment. I did however just want people to know, we are back, we are safe, we are just getting caught up on work, animals, and getting life back in order. NOT to forget it is going to take my bones a while to adjust back to this cold wet instead of the wonderful dry heat.

volcano hike

ok, first things are this was not an easy hike, i was the tail end of my group, trying to breathe and move at the same time. the humidity kept me from breathing easy, as did the dust from the volcano.

while it was a hard hike the last 45 mintues are the worst, it is nothing but lava shards or sand. there was no footing, and diging in my toes got a little hard to do with sand lava and people rolling back down on top of you.

if you decide to do this hike, do it but do not do it in a group. so you can pick your own pace and go off the trail, which is what i eventually did. going off the trail on the volcano allowed a better footing and i wasnt worried about other people falling on top of me.

i did make it to the top but did not roast marshmellows as standing that close was so hot i didnt care about sugar. i can only say i suppose i was a little more causious than the others in my group of which were all in their 20s except the father of one kid in his early 20s so he was barely older than me but in much better shape.

the best advise i can give is to take your own stick, adjustable if possible, a good flash light, i had two and needed headlamp and hand held, the one thing i didnt have was gloves. even if they are just cotton garden gloves with rubber in the palm this would be good! dont be stupid, im not talking about welders gloves just protection of your hands if you fall on the sharp cooled lava. one guy did hurt himself, gloves would have helped.

i would do it again!

there were professional hikers that said it was a brutal hike, so weigh your options carefully. but it was an incredible experience.

ill write better and more vivid after i get to the office.

burn the devil...

there are always celibrations here, and today is no exception. it is much like our spring cleaning but for relegious thoughts etc... you burn all your unwanted issues-trash along with the devil so to prepare your self for the celebrated coming of jesus. so today they burn the devil to get him out of their lives so jesus has a clean welcoming place in their hearts. please understand this is not a perfect description as this is all i could understand of my translation of the language... probally much better or more eliquent from someone who can speak the language.

Then tomorrow Jesus and Mary start their journey through the village knocking on each door for you to welcome them, and bless them on their journey.

it is all very visual, i will try to take pictures but it will be dark for both.

much love to you all.

Saturday... market day

Back from Honduras, Coban Ruinas area. The trip in a kidney brusing van was well worth the ride, but i do not suggest this trip in the rainy- hot - or high season as it could be a little more than the average air conditioning, lots of room loving, typical US member could take. for me it was just about perfect! ill write more after i get home, got great pictures while we were there didnt run into more than 10 other touriest, and most were from the four neighboring countries not europe or north america.

lots to tell lots to show.

i also just got back from the saturday market, one of the few things one can not describe, the smells, the textures, and the crowds are nothing like you see at home. i remember the old nashville farmers market, and even from a childs view with everything being larger and more than it is as an adult. my memories do nothing compared to the sites here. smells are good, bad and strange, textures are beyond grand expecially if you include the colors here. Crowds are so tight i was put up against a fire pit today. i told the person it was hot and he did move out of my way, but no one regards the other unless your an elder.

Besides with my sun bonnet, sun glasses, and smell of deet i scream touriest... so they let me get by with more!


on to take a shower! we have dinner plans with some of Jerrys old teachers tonight.

much to tell when i get home.

my love to you all

oh yea climbing the volcano tomorrow, taking marshmellows to roast! ill take pictures IF i can make it up there! ha ha ha... i hear its a hard climb and rocky but how often do you get to walk up to running lava. i figured id take the chance while i could.

hey we only live this life once, and im going to have fun with it.

Wonderful day.

the day started with only the sun, wind and sound of birds. our accomidations are wonderful. i got up and got started on an issue with work i have yet to resolve, but hoping to soon, the customer is fine but i dont like unfinished business. i worked on it for 45 minutes and then walked for a cup of coffee which i relaxed and took 30 minutes to sip on and enjoy everything around me. breathing is about as much as i wanted to do. people watching as the locals walk to work, school and get ready for the touriest to invade their beautiful city.

at home jerry and i pass each other, never eating at the same time, so we rarely share a table. while on vacation we get to talk about the day before, hours before, hold hands and enjoy the company of the one we love. it is not just work work work.

we ate, and walked the town together, looking for the accents we want so much in our own home in years to come.

i am in because i am saving my energy for the next few days of hiking coban - copan

i can only hope everyone at home is good. much love to you all.

if you have never ventured into central america, you really must at some point, the people are warm, welcoming, and eager to learn or teach, in my case it is teach!

again, no caps, no spell check due to the computer keys being in different places as my fingers do what they are used to. please do not think it is this bad every day

Antigua,

no spell check, no capitals as i cant figure out the keyboard, other countries have keys in different places due to the usage of letters, symbols etc so this will be crude and hard to read.  i can hopefully fix it once i get back.

serious last 24 hours, checking my list 3 or 4 times, being ocd about the alarm, not getting much sleep but, it was all worth it to get here

in bed by 9pm last night, up with snoring husband by 11pm, off and on sleep for the next few hours till a horrible thud wakes me from  a semi sleep.  but it not only woke me up jerry sat straight up in the bed.  it happened again and all i could think was ok so its not just my tired mind, then the third time jerry went down armed and ready for a fight.  all i could do is call 911 and i did.

no one was in the house although we were both sure of it, and i have never been so scared in my life!  police came and circled the house three times, came in to check, and said they would keep an eye out. 

i was at this point too wired to go back to sleep, started his truck at 445 moved my truck at 450 and we left at 503.  it took that long to get the ice off the windows. 

got to the airport and after boarding they decide to deice the plane... making us very late in schedule, so much so they asked for us whom had time to allow others off the plane who did not.  a first for me!

Got something to eat, loaded on to the second plane and somehow we were in first class.  and so the bad energy melted away.....

we are on the other side of town than we have stayed before, but beautiful and closer to the market and antique districk. 

life is good i can only hope you all are doing ok as well.  ill write tomorrow if i feel like sitting for a while instead of out on the ruins or in the shops.


much love to you all.