I am not a big fan of rainy season. Yes, it cools things down, gets rid of the smog and makes my lawn look nice, but otherwise it is no fun. It began in the beginning of May. Haviland, of course, loves it.
We have had two good months. Semana Santa was the big highlight since we had a nice 10 day break from school. We decided to stay local and explore more of Guatemala. Many of our friends headed to Belize, Costa Rica and Hondorus. We went to the mountains (the highlands) and attempted to find the elusive Quetzal (the national bird) and did find Samuc Champey (a beautiful series of torqoise colored pools).
No luck with finding the Quetzal because the fruit they eat is not in season. However, the family did get to hike in a beautiful spot and we did see snakes, frogs, toucans and nice waterfalls. It was great to be outside and hiking - I miss it. From there, we went into middle of nowhere Guatemala to find Semuc Champey. We drove till the pavement ended and then 11 km on dirt through very beautiful country, found our hotel, slept and then took a 4 wheel drive taxi another 10km to the pools. It was certainly worth it. I wish we could have spent several days there, but it was just too damn hard to get to. Haviland and I proved how brave we are by jumping into one of the pools hand-in-hand before our little fish of a son could even get wet. It was a fun day.
We did get to experience a little of the famous Semana Santa activities. Guatemala is known for their colorful decorations called "alfombras" that they make on the streets before the religious processions. The "alfombras" are carpets of flowers or brightly colored sawdust. Sam was fascinated by them and was lucky enough to be able to help one family build one from the beginning all the way until it was trampled by the parading preists. It was a good cultural experience for us all.
We had one other nice weekend trip back to the Eastern portion of the country called Rio Dulce. The highlight was a day finding a canyon called, "El Boqueron". We found ourselves driving on dirt roads again, in cattle country off the northern edge of Lake Izabal (the largest lake in Guatemala). Just off the road was a small river that dumps into the lake, but upstream the river cut a narrow canyon through limestone cliffs. We hired two men to take us in their cut out canoe up river. It was a gorgous canyon with rock walls towering above us (500 ft?). The canoe took us as far as it could and then we waded through the water upstream until we found a great swimming spot. The day got better for our swimmer - Sam, because just down the road from the canyon was a hot spring waterfall! Cold river water mixed with steaming hot water from the waterfall made a nice end to our day.
So, without a doubt, Guatemala has some nice spots to visit. However, I think I am tired. School is almost out (3 weeks to go!) and I am finally missing the Unites States. Of course I miss my family. But, I have seen them just as often here as I did in Colorado. I miss the mountains, I miss being able to communicate without feeling foolish, I miss being able to find the things I want or like, I miss skiing and climbing and getting out in remote wilderness areas - the activities that I am passionate about. Let's say that I am excited to be coming back to the US for four weeks this summer.
Enough about me. Did I mention that Sam is turning six next month? He is thrilled and is making a list of his "needs". He is ending his kindergarten year well. He was very proud to share his work during his "publishing party". He was the author and illustrator of 4 books - 2 in english and 2 in spanish. He is now focusing on the planet earth and is becoming very knowledgeable about what is good for the earth and what is bad for the earth. He likes to yell at his mom to turn the t.v off when she is not watching it :)
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