Antigua and Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala (November, 2017)

We departed Monterrico on the Pacific coast towards our final destination in Guatemala, which was Antigua. Antigua is a fun old city with some amazing Spanish architecture, old cobblestone streets, and a pretty hip vibe. There are a ton of tourists, and expatriates from Europe and other places living there. There are tons of cafes, hostels, and backpackers all around. It's definitely a place to visit and there is plenty of things to do and see, but it is not off the beaten path at all. We found a modest hotel (that was really more like a hostel) and stayed 2 nights. On one of the days we were there, we took an excursion out to the Pacaya Volcano, which is about 90 minutes away from Antigua. There we hiked up to the base of the active volcano (the summit was closed due to volcanic activity). We bought a bag of marshmallows and some sticks and found a place on the volcano where there was a lot of geothermal activity and we roasted marshmallows there for a fun treat.

The remainder of our time in Antigua, we spent wandering the streets, going into shops, playing cards and games in the hotel, and having some good food. 

Picture of our group on the way to Pacaya Volcano near Antigua, Guatemala.

Zander, petting a cow on our hike to Pacaya Volcano near Antigua, Guatemala.

Zander, the butterfly whisperer with a butterfly that he caught on our hike to Pacaya Volcano near Antigua, Guatemala.

 Roasting marshmallows over old lava flows on Pacaya Volcano near Antigua, Guatemala.

Roasting marshmallows over old lava flows on Pacaya Volcano (with the volcano in the background) near Antigua, Guatemala.

Walking through a 3 year old lava flow at Pacaya Volcano outside Antigua, Guatemala and finding some rocks that are still hot.

Nash, digging up some hot rocks from an old lava flow at Pacaya Volcano outside Antigua, Guatemala.

Video of the fog rolling in through one of the canyons filled with a lava flow at Pacaya Volcano outside Antigua, Guatemala.

 Colorful buildings and cobblestone streets in Antigua, Guatemala.

 One of the many old Spanish cathedrals in Antigua, Guatemala.

 Lots of colorful buildings and houses and cool cobblestone streets in Antigua, Guatemala.

Old cobble stone streets in Antigua, Guatemala.

Old buildings and infrastructure in Antigua, Guatemala.

 Enjoying some authentic Guatemalan food at Rincon Tipico in Antigua, Guatemala.

 Waiting for our grub at Rincon Tipico in Antigua, Guatemala.

Family card game in our hotel in Antigua, Guatemala.

Monterrico, Guatemala (November, 2017)

After our day of fishing for sailfish and tuna off the Pacific coast of Guatemala (and the fully packed days at Semuc Champey and Tikal prior to this), we were looking for a bit of downtime and relaxation, so we headed down the coast and found a great hotel right on the beach. We spent a couple nights here and were really able to relax, enjoy the beach and the pools, and take in some sunshine. It really was a great spot to recharge the batteries. We would definitely come back to this hotel again.

While there on the coast, we found a place where they protected turtle eggs and allowed them to hatch and every night they released a large amount of baby turtles into the Pacific Ocean. For a small cost, we were able to go to one of these turtle sanctuaries and participate in this release. The kids loved it and would likely say it was their favorite thing they did on this trip. We were able to release 2,147 baby turtles into the Pacific Ocean and there were only a couple other people there to participate with us. We learned that the turtles return to the same beach they were born/released into the ocean to lay their eggs, so some of these baby turtles will likely be back at some point in the future.

Eliza and Sawyer enjoying the pool at our hotel in Monterrico, Guatemala.

Pools at our hotel in Monterrico, Guatemala.

Our hotel on the beach in Monterrico, Guatemala.

Video tour of our beach resort in Monterrico, Guatemala on the Pacific Ocean.

Black sand beaches of Monterrico, Guatemala at our hotel.

Family picture on the coast of Monterrico, Guatemala.

Sawyer, , with her turtles, before releasing them to the Pacific Ocean.

Ryder, with his turtles, before releasing them to the Pacific Ocean.

Nash, with his turtles, before releasing them to the Pacific Ocean.

The kids, releasing baby turtles into the Pacific Ocean in Monterrico, Guatemala.

Cody and Eliza at the release of the baby turtles in Monterrico, Guatemala.

 The kids, enjoying participating in the release of baby turtles to the Pacific Ocean in Monterrico, Guatemala.

One of the 2,147 baby turtles that we released on the black sand beaches of Monterrico, Guatemala.

Video of 2,147 baby turtles that were born on November 3, 2017 in Monterrico, Guatemala as they make their way down the black sand beach to the Pacific Ocean.

More video of the baby turtles as they make their way down the beach to the Pacific Ocean in Monterrico, Guatemala.

Sail fishing the Pacific Ocean in Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala (November, 2017)

We got up early (4:00am) and headed to the Coban airport to catch our charter plane down to Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal) Guatemala to catch a tour to do some deep sea fishing for tuna and sailfish. Allegedly, this is one of the best places in the world for sail fishing, so we had a lot of excitement and anticipation for the day we had ahead. After some amazing views of the volcanoes around Antigua (from the plane), we finally arrived at the coast and were quickly whisked away to the boat and headed off into the Pacific Ocean. 

It took about an hour before we started getting any bites as we had to get out into the blue water. The boat was fully rigged out with 8 heavy fishing poles and a fantastic crew to take care of everything. It wasn't long before we started pulling in enormous sailfish. We had the chance to bring a few into the boat for pictures before we threw them back as it is banned in Guatemala to keep these types of fish. We did, however, keep (and eat) the mahi mahi that we caught as well as all the tuna that we began to catch later in the day. One of the tuna was enormous and it took us almost 3 hours to bring it in. Cody struggled his hardest to do it, but wore down quickly and all the adults in our group took their turns, but it was too much for us, so the guides ultimately ended up having to reel it in. It ended up being a pretty special event as it was the largest tuna any of them had ever caught. The weight was estimated at 125-150 pounds. 

What an incredible day out on the Pacific with our favorite people.

 Nash and Ryder, excited and full of anticipation as we head out for blue waters off the coast of Guatemala.

The kids, as we head out off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal) Guatemala.

Cody, working hard to bring in a tuna off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal) Guatemala.

Ryder, fishing off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal) Guatemala.

Cody bringing in a sailfish off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal) Guatemala.

Ryder, with the help of grandpa Scott bringing in a sailfish off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal) Guatemala.

Scott and Nash bringing in a sailfish off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal) Guatemala.

Scott with a sailfish on the line off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal) Guatemala.

Sailfish being brought in off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal) Guatemala.

We were catching these amazing sailfish all day long.

Fish jumping off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal) Guatemala.

Sailfish jumping after we hooked it off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal) Guatemala.

Cody, working hard to bring in the first sail fish of the day off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala.

Another video of Cody, bringing in a sail fish off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala.

 Cody, with a sail fish caught off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala.

Eliza, working hard to bring in a sail fish off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala.

 Eliza, with a sail fish caught off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala.

Nash, working hard to bring in his first sail fish off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala.

 Ryder, Zander, and Nash with a big sail fish caught off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala.

Sawyer, Grandma Toni, and Grandpa Scott with a big sail fish caught off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala.

Ryder, bringing in a "dorado" (Mahi Mahi) off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala, which the crew grilled up for us for lunch on the ship.

Ryder, with the "dorado" (Mahi Mahi) that he caught for us for lunch.

Ryder with the mahi mahi he caught.

We found a spot where there were hundreds of spinner dolphins jumping and playing around...when we approached them, they loved swimming next to the ship and showing off for us.

Video of dolphins swimming next to the ship, just below the kids' feet as they ride the bow off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala.

We found a great spot where the tuna were biting like crazy...at one point we had 4 of them on the lines and all of us were fighting to bring them in.

Eliza, working on bringing in a tuna off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala.

 Nash, with one of the 8 tuna we brought in for the day.

Ryder, with one of the 8 tuna we hauled in.

Cody, with the 125 pound tuna we hauled in...it took us 90 minutes to get it into the boat. Cody, Eliza, and the 2 mates on the ship took turns working the rod. In the end, the 2 experts had to handle the job.

The 125 pound tuna was as tall as Ryder, and a lot more aggressive.

Our Crew on the back of Captain Chris' ship...we had a fantastic day off the coast of Iztapa (Puerto Quetzal), Guatemala.

Semuc Champey, Guatemala (November, 2017)

One of the primary reasons we wanted to go to Guatemala was to visit Semuc Champey. The problem is that Semuc Champey is very hard to get to, the roads in Guatemala are not very good, and the travel distances and times make it very difficult to see if you want to do anything else while you are in Guatemala. We figured out a relatively cheap (not completely) way to do this. Yep, we chartered a prop plane...which was an amazing experience in and of itself. The plane had a capacity of 8 passengers, so it fit us perfectly. We were picked up from the airport in Flores and flown to a place called Coban, which was still a 2.5 hour drive out to our destination at Semuc Champey, but a lot more doable than the 13-14 hour drive (each way) that we would have had otherwise. We also benefited from using the charter plane to take us from Coban (after the visit to Semuc Champey) to the southern coast of Guatemala for the last portion of our trip, which was amazing as well considering we were able to fly right up to some active volcanoes and take in some amazing sights.

Semuc Champey lived up to all the hype. It was a beautiful place. We started off by hiking to an overlook, which was not very easy because we didn't have the proper footwear. Cody ended up descending the hike barefoot since his flip flops were completely destroyed due to the mud and slippery conditions of the climb. The views were worth it though and it was an incredible experience. 

We then descended and were able to swim in the crystal clear waters that were created by these special pools. The most unique thing about this place was that there was a raging river running below it and these pools were tranquil and came from spring water and the pools were literally on top of the raging stream. The Cahabon River drops below the limestone bridge where the spring water comes forth and forms the natural pools of Semuc Champey. We swam around the pools for a while, there were some natural water slides that we played on and some caves to explore. It was an absolutely magical place.

After we were done swimming, we were off to our next adventure where we were taken through some dark caves and given wax candles to light our way. The caves were filled with water and waterfalls...it was amazing to be exploring the underground with nothing more than candles in our hands. Often the candles would go out and we'd have to relight them with the other candles...just part of the adventure.

After our caving adventure, we did some tubing down the river and some rope swings, then we were back to Coban to sleep and catch our charter flight the next morning to the southern coast of Guatemala for some deep sea fishing for sailfish and tuna.

 Selfie inside our small private airplane on our way from Flores (where we visited Tikal) to Coban (where we visited Semuc Champey) in Guatemala.

 The kids, checking out the airplane after landing in Coban, on our way to Semuc Champey, Guatemala.

 Sawyer, Grandma Toni, Ryder, and Zander as we exit our private airplane traveling between destinations in Guatemala.

Video of the sunrise from our private airplane early in the morning as we travelled between Coban, Guatemala (after visiting Semuc Champey) and San Jose, Guatemala (on the Pacific Coast as we prepared for our day of sail fishing).

 View of Semuc Champey, Guatemala from atop the "mirador" (lookout).

View of Semuc Champey, Guatemala from atop the "mirador" (lookout).

Video from atop the "mirador" (lookout) above Semuc Champey, Guatemala. It took us about 30 minutes to make our way up the slippery, wet steps and rocks to the top to be able to look down on this incredible place. 

Ryder, looking down on the Cahabon River as it dips down below Semuc Champey, Guatemala.

Video of where the Cahabon River drops below the limestone bridge where the spring water comes forth and forms the natural pools of Semuc Champey in Guatemala.

 Some of the crew, swimming in the top pool at Semuc Champey, Guatemala.

 Our crew, swimming in the pools at Semuc Champey, Guatemala.

Grandma Toni and the kids jumping into the pools at Semuc Champey in Central Guatemala.

 Looking down on the turquoise pools at Semuc Champey, Central Guatemala.

Zander, sliding down a natural water slide at Semuc Champey in Central Guatemala.

Nash, sliding down a natural water slide at Semuc Champey in Central Guatemala.

Ryder, sliding down a natural water slide at Semuc Champey in Central Guatemala.

Sawyer, sliding down a natural water slide at Semuc Champey in Central Guatemala.

Cody, sliding down a natural water slide at Semuc Champey in Central Guatemala.

Cody, sliding down another natural water slide at Semuc Champey in Central Guatemala.

Grandpa Scott, sliding down a natural water slide at Semuc Champey in Central Guatemala.

Ryder, Sawyer, and Grandma Toni inside a cave near the bottom of one of the pools at Semuc Champey, Guatemala.

Video entering one of the small caves in the pools at Semuc Champey, Guatemala.

 Our crew, getting ready to enter a dark cave filled with water armed with candles at Semuc Champey, Guatemala.

Lighting our candles before entering our watery cave at Semuc Champey, Guatemala.

Video inside the cave at Semuc Champey, Guatemala...we only had candles to light our way and were often having to swim in water deeper than where we could touch the ground.

 Making a train down the river with tubes at Semuc Champey, Guatemala.

Cody, Sawyer, and Nash, tubing down the river at Semuc Champey, Guatemala.

Cody, doing a backflip off the rope swing at Semuc Champey, Guatemala.