Kayaking beneath the mangroves

---

Wendy and I left for Monterrico with our guide, Wilbur, and another traveler from Germany. We drove for about 2 1/2 hours until another until we arrived in a little town (don't remember the name) where we boarded our kayaks and paddled down river towards Monterrico. Monterrico is famous for its black volcanic sand and tortuga (turtle) and caiman (sp?) reserve. Wendy and I shared a kayak, which tested our communication and paddeling skills! The kayaking was wonderful but my arms weren't ready for the workout. It took us about 3 1/2 hours to paddle through the mangroves and down river the port of Monterrico. Wilbur was an excellent guide even though he got lost in the mangroves a couple of times. However, I think it is amazing that he could find the correct path because all the trees and passages through hanging jungle in the water look exactly the same. I was very thankful to have a guide. During the middle of our track we stopped and ate lunch of bread, frijoles, guacamole, tomatoes, cheese, peppers, onions and water. It was actually very good except that the longer we sat still in the water the more mosquittos swarmed around us. The Guatemalans use long boats to tug their cars upstream, which is very normal except that I thought the motors on these boats looked pretty small to be pulling such wait. But what do I know about boat motors. A few times Wendy and I got stuck between trees and had to kayak backwards or push off from roots to get free. Eventually, we made it into Monterrico where we checked into our hotel and met Wilbur and the German for lunch. All that day the German cracked jokes about American, our politics, our president, etc. Luckily for him, his jokes were not too harsh because I didn't want to bring up WWII! But once I pointed out that all countries have their problems, their corrupt political leaders, etc. etc. and made him agree with me- things were better. We actually had a descent conversation. I did get a little tires of the bad reputation the USA has in, well, the entire world! But some of the criticisms bare truth, while others are very ignorant.

I played on the beach the rest of the day and managed to get black sand in every crevice imaginable! Wendy wussed out and only waded into the water a bit. I can't really blame her because the current was the strongest I have ever felt in the ocean and admittedly the water looked and smelled a bit polluted. After a not so refreshing shower in salt water (in our hotel!), we went to dinner. That night Wendy, Wilbur, the German and I had a drink at a bar on the beach, attempted to have conversations and listened to Stevie Wonder and ABBA, which was a highlight of Wendy's night. Later, we walked down to a dance club and watched people dance. I was too chicken to join even though the kids were not as good of dancers as I had expected. Many of them were tourists.

The next day we checked out the turtle reserve and saw caimans, fish, and other reptiles. On our walk back to the river and our kayaks we had to dodge many pigs roaming free in the streets. THe pigs were definately healthy looking - muy gordo. We also saw a 2 year old child breast feeding. Wendy found that interesting and wanted me to include it in this blog. It is actually kind of sad because the people are so poor.

---

Photos

Monterrico
View from our hotel.

Monterrico
La playa. The beach.

Monterrico
After kayaking for 3 1/2 hours, I was tired, wet, and hot so the hammock outside our hotel hut was a blessing.

Comments

[Chad]

Hammock
Nice shirt, maybe MS 150 tee shirt. hmm, looks familiar. Looks like you are having a good time. Can't wait to hear from you when you get back. Chad

[Aunt Frank]

Forgot
Sorry, I forgot to tell you how wondeful I think you are for making this trip! What a courageous thing to do. Goodness, sometimes I am afraid to go to the mall bt myself. This is so much more amazing than just visiting London or Paris, although someday maybe you will visit even more countries. Don't get lost. Let us know when you return.