Beach life

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We were being very indecisive about where to go next but as we haven't had much sunshine yet on this trip we let the weather decide and headed to the pacific coast. Monterrico is just two hours outside of Antigua and the weather report was the same every day, 32 degrees and sunny. That'll do!

I asked around about how to get there as I am not a fan of the tourist shuttles. They are a lot more expensive than public buses but just as cramped. To get the public bus we would have to change buses in a small town that doesn't have a good reputation. In most places I have been the locals will stick up for places, saying that they are not as dangerous as people say. This does not seem to be true in Central America. I asked two Guatemalans if Esquintla was as bad as people say and they both said "yes. Do not go there".

I'm not sure if people are being overly cautious or not but we took their advice.

Monterrico has been lots of fun, generally just relaxing on the beach or by the pool. Steve has been playing volleyball and we had a couple of heavy nights drinking with a group of Danish guys.

The beach is black sand as it is volcanic and is too hot to walk on in the day. I wasn't brave enough to venture into the sea as the breaks were brutal. Whilst we were there a girl got slammed onto the sand and broke her arm.

The sea has loads of marine life, we saw a humpback whale in the distance coming up to the surface which was pretty cool. Those brave enough to make it past the break in the waves were rewared by being able to hear the whales talking to each other underwater.

Between August and November, sea turtles come on to the beach to lay their eggs. There is a turtle sanctuary who collect these eggs to protect them from poachers and other dangers. These are then released into the sea when they hatch. For a small price that we are assured goes to the turtle sanctuary you can release one into the sea. They are unbelievably cute.

We also did a sunrise boat tour through the mangrove swamps which is a nature reserve for various animals and birds. The closest we got to seeing a caiman or crocodile was a black iguana basking on a branch but the area was very pretty. We also got to see lots of little creatures known as the four-eyed fish. Steve will spoil the fun of this by saying that there is no such thing, it's got something to do with bi-focals or something equally as dull but I like to think of it as a four-eyed fish that looked a bit like a big mud skipper as it jumped across the water.

I am now suitably lobster like with sunburn after eight days here so it's time to get on the road again to the next country.

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Comments

[Kimberly]

Sounds like you had fun!
Heading there in a few weeks. It has been a several years since my last trip to Monterrico but going back because traveling with a friend that would like to go. My question is how bad were the bugs? Also have any suggestions on restaurants that are a must? I don't remember a lot of choices but imagine they're many more now. What hotel did you stay at and would you recommend one over others? Thanks for any ideas you can offer. Can't wait to see what adventures you have south! Be safe and keep having a great time!

[Stelen2]

Monterrico
Hi Kimberly we stayed at El Delfin and to be honest we didn't really leave there much as they had everything, really nice pool, a restaurant on the beach and one at the back. We were told about another restaurant that was meant to be nice but we didnt make it. It was the owner of El Delfin that told us about it so just ask him or his wife for recommendations. The only bugs that were a problem were mosquitos but all of the rooms have nets and the restaurant puts out those coil things under every table. It was super hot so all we really did was move from pool to bar to beach. Enjoy!