Okay, so who would have thought I would go to Guatemala to see my first view of the Pacific Ocean? Hard to believe, but I had never seen the Pacific Ocean – so this was on my list to do! Each trip to Guatemala, I try to do service work and visit with friends and family, but also visit an area I have never been to on past trips. So, on this one I was determined to see the Pacific Coast region of the country.
Besides our family, my parents (John & Sandy) and our friends, Amanda & Charlie, joined us for our excursion. Juan Carlos, a trusted driver we have used since Trevor’s adoption finalization trip, picked us up around 6:30am. After negotiating some of the Guatemala City traffic, stopping to get a coffee at McDonald’s, and adding minutes to our cell phone at a local convenience store we were on our way.
My eyes were constantly looking out the window – observing the hustle and bustle of life. We caught sight of a neighborhood that looked like it could have been in the US. We passed volcanoes, including Pacaya. It had erupted last summer and blanketed Guatemala City and the area in about 3” of ash. There was no sign of it erupting today – and I am hoping sometime I get the chance to climb it. I hear you can toast marshmallows over the hot lava! Earlier in the morning, we had viewed 4 volcanoes from our hotel room, including Fuego, which was blowing off ash as usual.
We witnessed men sitting in the backs of trucks packed with materials. We passed road construction workers, but not many pieces of equipment. We saw lots of sugarcane and cows – which seem to be staples of the area. As we got further from Guatemala City, the landscape became flatter, and more palm trees were evident.
Along the way, we stopped at a Nature Reserve where our van had the chance to go through and see the animals. Beyond the mosquitos and beautiful flowers, we saw monkeys, parrots, deer, ostriches, and many more animals. Our favorites were the hippos. We stayed and watched them in the water. I have heard they can be quite mean, but luckily we didn’t encounter them on that level. However, I never knew that they could open their mouths as wide as they can! They put on quite a show for us – and I am sure glad I wasn’t anywhere near it’s jaws when they snapped shut!
After our visit here we traveled down the road toward the
coastline. We saw more trucks from El
Salvador and learned this was one of the main roads leading into the
neighboring country. We saw men cutting
palm fronds to be used as roofs. We
waited for pigs to cross the road in front of us… And then the next big
adventure happened!
I knew we were going on a boat ferry down the river, but I really didn’t know what that meant. Luckily I trust Juan Carlos. I really hadn’t mentioned much about it to our family and friends – though I think I had told them we were going on a boat ride.
J Let me digress, and say that I had learned on our last trip that Amanda really wasn’t fond of boat rides after our trip across Lake Atitilan. However, as always, she was an absolute trooper! Because, as you can see from the pictures, these weren’t really boats, but more like floating wooden rafts…with water pooled in the bottom of them! Though they did make for some good pictures – I can’t say they looked to river-worthy. But we proceed to pull on behind a loaded up pick-up truck…and after our 11 person van was loaded on, a motorcycle squeezed on the rear of the “boat.”
Then we were off on our 30 minute journey down the river to the town of Monterrico. The Nintendo DS’s were put away and all eyes were focused on the area around us. Mangroves and purple flowers lined the banks. We saw a storage area built above the water for firewood. We viewed a unique bird nest that hung from the power lines. We opened the doors to our van as we glided through the water, smelling the diesel from the small outboard motor and feeling the heat of the area. Several times, I caught myself looking for alligators as it reminded me so much of the Florida waterways. It was definitely a unique experience in life!
When we pulled up to the docks, there were many more rafts waiting for passengers. There were also 4 eyed fish (2 below and 2 above) in the water that we all wanted to get a view of. Another boat was getting ready to go onto the river and it had a police truck on it. These are very common in Guatemala – and I don’t pay too much attention to them anymore, but it is one of those things that I wouldn’t take a picture of without permission. So Juan Carlos probably inwardly laughed at me, but was gracious enough to ask them if I could take a picture – which they actually agreed to!
We all had fun on the boat, but I think at the same time we were all happy to be back on solid ground! The schools were getting out, so the kids that were fortunate enough to go were all headed home, while the afternoon school kids were heading to school. Uniforms are a cost many parents can’t afford, but are required by most schools. We met a truck head-on, and luckily it backed up so we could get through. Another truck was filled with bags of ice for delivery. We saw luffa gourds (sponges) being grown and dried in the fields. Juan Carlos went along a stretch of the road looking for the path we were suppose to turn in, calling for directions at one point. Again, I am glad I trust Juan Carlos! J
Finally, we found the rutted, dirt path and drove past lime, orange, and coconut trees to one of his relatives’ vacation home. It was basic, but had a pool and was right on the Pacific Ocean. Everyone skipped the pool and went directly to the ocean. The sand is black volcanic sand and fairly hot to the touch. The waves were huge, and I understand there is quite an undercurrent. Josie, Trevor, Allison, Charlie, and even Papa played in the surf of the water. There were lots of coconuts on the beach, so the kids had a throwing contest. What was strange is that I think that I only saw one other person on the beach the entire time we were there, and I was looking as far as I could in either direction.
After we had played on the beach for a bit, the kids took a swim in the pool. They practiced their cannon balls and synchronized jumps into the pool. J The adults took a break at the patio table. Once everyone had their fill of the beach, off we went up the coast, leaving a different way than by ferry. We passed houses and observed many had palm frond roofs and hammocks being used as beds. We passed people fishing in the rivers/intercoastal ways. Some were in very basic boats, but many threw in nets and pulled out what they could.
We were all pretty hungry by this point, and I had no idea where we were going to eat, but Juan Carlos assured us he knew just the place. We found another little dirt road to pull onto, but once again at the end there was a nice surprise – the restaurant El Capitan. We ate a tasty lunch of shrimp, fish, and hamburgers, but first everyone was served asparagus soup…it was pretty good. We sat right on the water, so we say more of the 4 eyed fish. There were also bright red crabs, parrots, dogs, and other native birds. The kids played on the playground .We watched people fish and saw piglets on the beach across from us. We saw nice yachts, basic boats, and dugout canoes. We saw others fishing without a boat, but instead while walking through the water. And the very best part…can you guess? We didn’t get sick from the food. J
On our way back to Guatemala City, we found an area on the highway where it looked like we were going uphill. However, Juan Carlos had stopped on this stretch before and showed us how if he put the car in neutral we actually moved forward. Neat optical illusion! We also came across a rock formation that looked life a gorilla face looking up at the sky. We drove through another town – Amatitlan - which is on a lake. We have friends that live in this town, so it was important for us to see where they were from. As we left Amatitlan, we encountered Guatemala traffic – which is another blog in and of itself!
When we got back to hotel that night, we met some of our other friends that had come into town during the day. Then the kids were off to the heated pool. Our dinner that night… McDonald’s! It was right next to the hotel, and has amazing customer service. Matt forgot part of our order, and one of the employees must have guessed where he was staying because as he got back to the lobby, the employee was tapping him on the shoulder.
All in all, it was a day of new experiences and sights. I enjoyed just seeing a different area of Guatemala! Though I don’t know that I would make the ferry ride a normal mode of transportation – especially if there were torrential afternoon rains! J
