Guatemala
Every other year Maverik takes their employees and spouses on an adventurous vacation. Such places have included Rio, Costa Rica and Mexico to name a few. Brad plans and scouts out these trips in advance with the help of our friend Doug Wren. This year they had the option to choose between Guatemala or Colombia. We went down a few days early to make sure everything was set up and ready for the 300 peeps that would arrive. The guide took us on a quick tour of Guatemala city which included a topiograph of the area. It was great to see the country depicted this way.
Guatemala City
On our tour we drove past the LDS Temple so we asked the tour guide to make a quick stop.
We then traveled north to Tikal, a World Heritage Site. Tikal is one of the sites of huge ancient Mayan civilization, inhabited from 6th century B.C. to the 10 century A.D. Archeologists are still working to uncover these ruins today.
Signs on the drive into the entrance to Tikal
Towering above the jungle canopy, the Mayan temples are among the tallest examples reaching 230 feet. The ceremonial centre contains temples, palaces and public squares both magical and spiritual. Remains of dwellings are scattered throughout, some of which are still not uncovered.
The Tree of Life
This tall stately tree is Guatemala's national tree. It's downy fibers are used to this day to stuff pillows and cushions. It's most important role was to shade the main plaza with it's leafy, long-reaching branches. The tree is an ecosystem itself, it's branches are populated with orchids, ferns and cacti.
At night we could hear the howler monkeys making mating calls. They were so loud and scary. It sounded like they were going to jump on us at any moment.
Moving to the southern part of Guatemala is another World Heritage Site, the ancient capital of Guatemala, Antigua. The city was destroyed several times by earthquakes and Volcanos. We stayed at the incredibly charming Casa Santa Domingo a former monastery. Each night they light over 1,000 candles.
They had this cute display out to greet the Maverik crew when they arrived.
Saint Joseph Cathedral
In the villages women dress in their traditional outfit. Each village is depicted in a different way on the blouses they make. When they make tortillas, a few times each day, it sounds like they are clapping because they are so fast at patting the dough out. I gave it a whirl and was not so good!!
These colonial towns are all laid out pretty much the same. The houses are right on the street with a courtyard in the center. They are so charming inside some have elaborate gardens and fountains.
We did a few activities while in Antigua. I went on a zip line through the mountains of coffee groves while Brad biked around a volcano.
At the end of the trip they had a farewell dinner with a roasted pig. A group of orphan children came to sing. They were so cute and loving I couldn't help but hug them all!! We lit lanterns and sent them sailing into the sky as the dinner concluded.
Nicaragua
Because we had gone down a few days early and in true Brad style we jumped on over to Nicaragua. This is such a poor country with living conditions that are hard to see. We did a 4 day tour in 2. Some of the highlights included stopping by churches, villages, an active volcano, swimming in a crater lake and visiting by boat the exotic islands of lake Nicaragua. We stayed in the old colonial town of Granada.
Granada
A little history about the colonial town of Granada. It was once the first European city in America. It was registered in the kingdom of Spain. The city has been victim to many battles with invasions from English, French and Dutch pirates trying to take control of Nicaragua. But one of the most devastating was when an American man, William Walker, attempted to take control as a ruling monarch. One of Walker's generals set the city ablaze before escaping, destroying much of the ancient city. So what remains today are burned buildings that have not been torn down or rebuilt. This was once the Hospital.
This church was so different from the usual old churches. It was bright and white with the paintings inside in more of a shaker style than the renaissance style.
We moved on to a few other towns in the area. One of them was Diria. This little witch town has a crazy tradition every year. On a specific day the towns people are allowed to beat each other up with a type of sword made out of wood. A monument at the entrance of the city depicts this fun little tradition!!
Next town was Oriente. We stopped by one of the locals home where they made and sold pottery. We got a demonstration of the process from beginning to end. We bought a few pieces and had them shipped but only one made it.
We stopped at a Lagoon, Apoyo, created by a Volcano that had erupted twenty thousand years ago!! Brad couldn't resist jumping in after our lunch. Next stop was an active Volcano Masya.
We finished Nicaragua off with a boat tour on Lake Nicaragua. There is a little community out on the lake with little "islands" where houses are built. It's very serene and beautiful. We had a surprise visitor jump into our boat when we pulled up to one of the islets!! This was such a fun side trip from our Guatemala trip.
