Dia Dos

 So, you think you have it bad with gas prices?  Before you go and get all shocked, I will point out that this is not in the United States Dollar currency. It is in the quetzal, which is the Guatemalan currency.  It takes about 12 quetzales to make one dollar.

 Oh yeah.  The mountain is smoking.  When you realize this is coming out of the earth...  what a world!!  I wonder if anyone has told the mountain it is harmful to itself and the environment.:)

 In the our hosts yard.  They had palm trees, avocado trees, and mango trees.  This may be a reason for me to not like winter.

 Yes, more transportation pictures.

 How romantic.

 We went to a small recreational park/retreat center thing, where they had some great hiking, with rope bridges.  They are really fun and a little creepy to walk on.  They sway and bounce with every step.  Almost like a boat.  Our guide was carrying the typical Guatemalan protection. I sawed off pistol grip shotgun.  They seem pretty comfortable with it. Before the hike, I noticed him using it as a back scratching device.

 Then down some steps and into a stream tunnel.

 We thankfully did not have to walk in the water.  It was so cool -the tunnel and the water.

 About 75 feet.  And no, the picture does it almost no justice.

 Looking back down the valley.

 Oh yeah.  When we reached the summit of our hike, we rode zip lines (11 of them back and forth) back down to the bottom.

 Booya.  Long and high.  Makes for some fun rides and great views.

 Here we are (left to right) Antonio, Me, Michael, and I don't remember, it was Pedro... or something very Spanish.  He was one of our zip line guides.   Made sure we were all attached correctly.  Kind of important.

 When electricity or gas is not heating your stove, this is.  These are some strong people.  They carry a load like that for miles uphill.

 On our way back from the zip lines (they call them "canopy") we stopped at a rather posh conference resort area.  Our main purpose, to enjoy some of the gardens.  They grow funny shaped plants.

 

Star fruit, It is pretty good.  It is sour and sweet. Not sure if I was supposed to eat it.

Ended the day with some mini golf in the midst of a developing thunderstorm.  They have some great thunder and lightening that get going when their storms let loose.  It was another great day.

An Expected Journey

 Recently my brother Michael and I took an international journey to visit our friend/brother Antonio and his family the beautiful country of Guatemala.  It is thanks to them that we had such an awesome time.  This is the official first day of our one week stay.  After arriving about 10:30 ish pm in Guatemala, Antonio and his mom Lucrecia picked us up and drove us to a friend's (who was absent) apartment to spend the first night.  The next morning I awoke to a beautiful day and some new looking foliage.  I am not sure of all the plant names.  The one above is most likely a type of orchid.

 This flower was about 5 or 6 inches across and grew on a tree.

 First big noticeable cultural differences were experienced on the road.  Transport is something that if it needs to happen will happen.  Sometimes with little regard for the safety of all concerned.  These folks seemed to make the most of it and were at least protecting themselves from the harmful rays of the sun.

 The tuk tuk (pictured above) is the standard inner city taxi.  It has style. Also kind of redefines crossover.  You try fitting it into a category.

 This is a motor bike with three people on it.  We saw one with four.  Again transport will happen.  At this point we were driving from Guatemala City (the capitol) to the Southern beach of Guatemala.

 Perhaps on of the greatest parts of the Guatemalan landscape is its towering volcanoes.

 This is the area we stayed at the beach.  The house is just down there on the right.  It was owned by the same friend whose apartment we had spent the previous night in.  We got to meet her.  Her name was Anna Cicilia and she was a great host.  In relation to the ocean this house was out of sight of it, but you could still hear the magical sound of waves persistently pounding on the sand.

 It was a short walk to the ocean.  We went swimming and boogy boarding for a while.  Then after going back to the house for lunch, we returned to the ocean to watch the sunset.  On the way I had to capture one of the awesome palm trees that actually had coconuts growing in it.

 Not sure again what this tree is called.  But it is cool.  Its branches hang down and then become rooted in the ground.  It is a tree with many trunks.

 This is a panoramic photo I took with my new i touch 5th generation that I got for my birthday.  It was truly a great present that my brothers and a friend got together and gave me.  Thanks a lot guys.  It made taking pictures so much easier for me.  I am pretty much the only person in my family who is not a photographer, in the sense of it being a hobby or job of mine. This panoramic makes me think maybe that could change.

 Beach sunsets.  ahhhhhh.

Waves to end the day.  That night we traveled to the nearest town for church.  It was good.  All of it was in Spanish, so my comprehension was limited.  But I still got that the sermon was on the two greatest commandments, "Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, and mind.  And love your neighbor as yourself."  It was encouraging to hear in a different language.  That concludes the events of day one.