Road trip to Mexico

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This summer we kept our boat in the Rio Dulce of Guatemala to hide out from hurricanes once again. This was our third summer here (out of the last four). Bluewater Cat got a much needed bottom job (antifouling paint) and several other routine maintenance projects completed this summer, so she is ready for another cruising season.

I took a couple of extended trips home to Texas this summer. Jimmy joined me on the first trip and we visited Oregon while in the U.S. for a Peters clan reunion. Our nephew Chris and his wife Leslie live in Bend, Oregon so it seemed time to descend upon the newlyweds for a visit. We all stayed at the Eagle Crest Resort which was an absolutely lovely place. I fell in love with Oregon! If it weren't so far from dear sweet Lily, I would seriously consider moving there at some point.

Since this was our third summer in Guatemala we had to get creative about finding new places to see, so this year we decided to take a road trip from Guatemala to the state of Chiapas, Mexico. Yes, we did check the U.S. State Department website before traveling and found that there were no travel advisories in this area of Mexico. Our first destination after a long couple of bus rides was San Cristobal de las Casas, a beautiful old Spanish colonial city in the Central Highlands region of Chiapas. It is considered the cultural capital of Chiapas and has maintained its Spanish colonial architecture with narrow cobblestone streets, red clay tile roofs, and wrought iron balconies with a profusion of flowers. It was blissfully cool which was a welcome relief from the humidity and heat of the Rio Dulce. We went with our friends Greg and Willena of s/v Kajun Diva. Willena and I kept the bakery owners happy with our daily sampling of their delicious pastries.

The second place of interest we visited in Mexico was Palenque. Palenque was a very important Maya city state dating back to 226 BC to about 799 AD. Only about 10% of the ruins have been excavated but it is an important archaeological site attracting thousands of tourists. Palenque is the 8th Mayan ruin site that Jimmy and I have visited and probably the most beautiful. There is a gorgeous waterfall on the grounds in the area known as the Queen's Bath (a very beautiful place for a bath indeed) with crystal clear water flowing through the falls and forming pools. The Maya ruins throughout Mesoamerica continue to capture my interest and I hope to be able to visit other sites in the future.

After one more trip to Texas for the Christmas holidays we will leave Guatemala in late January and sail the boat up through Belize and Mexico. Our plan is to sail the boat back to the U.S. east coast in the spring.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving season.



Love,



Donna (and Jimmy)

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Photos

San Cristobal de las Casas
Just American tourists in the park.

Palenque
The Queen's Baths

Palenque
The palace

Palenque
Temple of the Inscriptions