Ruta Maya II - Aug 21, 2009

Today we visited the Mayan city of Tikal, and it went beyond any of our expectations. It would be an understatement to try to describe what we saw, so I would recommend googling it to get a visual. Our guide is fantastic though, and pointed out all sorts of animals along the way through the jungle, which used to be a paved, Mayan city with no trees and grass in between these massive pyramids. We saw a crocodile up close (whose name is Paula, a chld told us), a small rodent called "aguti", an animal related to a raccoons and anteaters that was adorable, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, tarantulas (the guide scared it out of a hole and caught it so we could pet it), a giant grasshopper, and a number of ant species. The guide taught us that if you put metal in between your teeth, the ants will avoid you because of the current. Those with braces were quite excited about that.Then we visited the Tikal museums and did some shopping at the markets. Tomorrow morning we are headed for Belize!Take care,Barbara

Mexico - Aug 19, 2009

I have another few miunutes in an internet cafe. Yesterday we went rafting down waterfalls, hiked through the jungle, saw a mountain crab, met a Mayan chief, his son & daughter and pet monkey, climbed up ruins, and had shish kabobs with flaming limes for dinner. The kids loved it. We´re dealing with a passport issue but are assured it will all be fine : ) Kids are holding up well.

Guatemala - Aug 20, 2009

After a longboat ride across the river separating Guatemala from Mexico, we met up with our new guide Julio who will be with us the next few days. He gave us a great introduction to Guatemala on the van ride and we stopped at a grocery store so boys could get quetzales and snacks. Now we are in the Jungle Lodge in Tikal. On the way, the boys were excited by the jaguar, turkey, and snake crossing signs. Just as we arrived, we saw a monkey and its baby up in the tree, and some while turkeys. The hotel is beautiful so today we are resting and exploring the grounds and tomorrow we are going to explore TIkal, which is apparently huge. 7 km wide. Saturday we leave for Belize. Hope all is well in the States!Barbara

Ruta Maya II

Hello! Greetings from the Holiday Inn in Chetumal! We just got into Mexico last night from Belize, where we spent two nights on a tropical island paradise. Truly - it was amazing. We all had little huts overlooking the Carribean, we went snorkeling and kyacking and were treated to fresh seafood. Today we went to two Mayan ruin sites and this afternoon we had lunch and went swimming at a crystal blue lagoon. Tonight we go out for "real Mexican tacos", whatever that means! Tomorrow we head further north where we will visit Tulum and then Chichen Itza the next day. I'm not sure when I'll have internet access again, but everyone is healthy and happy. The boys are having trouble believing we have school in 5 days, as are we all! They have all learned a lot of new Spanish words and a huge amount about pre-Spanish culture, so the education has already begun...

We are looking forward to seeing you all Saturday night!

Barbara and Brian