Finca Ixobel

Yesterday we spent all day on the bus from Guatemala City to Poptun, Guatemala. It was 7 hours long to arrive at Finca Ixobel, tired and hot. Since we are in the northern part of Guatemala, the heat and humidity are almost oppressive. We met some people at the Finca and really just went to bed early. -Mom
We got to the finca and it's not how I remember it. The bird was still there saying ¨hola¨
all morning long. It sang hi too. It likes to do tricks. I´m looking forward to buying something with my money and swimming in the finca´s lagoon this afternoon. I also figured out that I like fried zuccini. It´s very loud here, and it was very loud last night because of all the bugs, birds and animals. I also want to send out postcards today. -Rose

Coup in Honduras

I have seen on the news that the military has ousted the Honduran president and taken him to Costa Rica. So...our plans may change when we are down there, depending on what happens. Seems pretty peaceful but I am still waiting for information from the people on the island about what really is going on. It won't be hard to change our plans...I only have about $50 holding our reservations, so it's not that big of a deal. Bummer though, if we don't get to go. No use going if there is a country-wide curfew anyway--maybe they'll get it worked out.

Leaving today for the airport with Grandma--going to stay at Hostel Hermano Pedro, they pick us up from the airport in a car and drive us to the hostel because it is so late there.

Packing Up and Gettin' Out of Town

We are packing up and getting ready to leave tomorrow. Our flight is at 2pm and we arrive in Guatemala City at 10pm after a short layover in Mexico City (AKA Swine Flu Capital). Jasmine is 1/2 way through her pre-trip shave and is staying with Lissy, as are Rose's hermit crabs. Rose and I are getting excited to go. We've got our shots and have already started the malaria pills. I still have a list of to-do's left "to do" because I am such a last minute person. On the right are some maps of Guatemala and Honduras as well as links to some of the wesites of the places we are staying. We hope we'll have a great time--we thought this would be a good way for you to see our trip when you want to and for Grandma and Grandpa to stare at until we get back (they worry about us). We generally stay on the "tourist trail" where we see lots of college kids with backpacks from all over the world. I can't believe our other trip was 4 years ago. We plan to start at the pyramids in Tikal, revisit Finca Ixobel, go to Rio Dulce, then go down to Honduras and visit the ruins at Copan and spend a week snorkeling/being tourists on Roatan Island. After finishing there, we are headed back to stay with the same family in Guatemala (Casa Rosario) and go to language school for a week--to finish up we are going to volunteer with a Sea Turtle Rescue in Monterrico, Guatemala for a week. Rose is very interested in animals and it should be pretty hands-on helping. Then we will head to the airport and return on August 4.

Quetzales, Quetzales, Quetzales...

Rose has been saving her babysitting money since Christmas to change into quetzales in Guatemala. She has over $100US to spend so far. The change rate is about $8Q to $1US so she has more than $800Q to spend already on trinkets, bling, etc.
The only things left to do before the trip are some shots we need and to pack up all of our stuff. This time I plan to pack light and stay to one small suitcase for the two of us. Last time we brought way to much to travel around much.
Michele