DAY 1 - 11/24/05 - Depart U.S./Arrive San Salvador, El Salvador Our alarm went off at 4 AM and we were up and had our last minute morning chores done quickly. It was very dark when we left the house at 5 AM with the temperature at 38 (4 C) degrees. Traffic was light as it was early to be out on the interstate on this Thanksgiving morning. Driving through Denver we saw a few ...
Read Day 1!
DAY 2 - 11/25/05 - Tour Joya de Cerén archaeological site/Drive to Copán, Honduras We set our alarm for 5:50 so that we would have plenty of time to get packed and explore the neighborhood and the hotel this sunny morning. We enjoyed our breakfast with our guide Judith Bautista. The fresh fruits of berries, melon, pineapple, papaya and oranges were delightful. I was adventurous and ...
Read Day 2!
DAY 3 - 11/26/05 - Visit Copán ruins/Macaw Mountain We began our day at 6:30 and then enjoyed our breakfast with our new friends in the dining room. Our morning program began at 7:30 with an introduction to the ruins of by Dr. David Sedat, a professor from the University of Pennsylvania who has been here for 18 years as an archaeologist excavating the tunnels of Copan. His slide ...
Read Day 3!
DAY 4 - 11/27/05 - Overland to Antigua, Guatemala We woke to a cool gray day, but after a very nice breakfast at 7:30, the sun was trying to peek through. The porters picked up our luggage from our room at 8:00. An interesting feature on this trip, we do not put our bags outside our door in the hallways, but instead leave it in our rooms for security reasons. Also, each day we ...
Read Day 4!
DAY 5 - 11/28/05 - School Visit/Home-hosted Lunch/Jade Factory Visit The staff was preparing for breakfast very early this morning so we were awake before the alarm went off! The sun was bright today, and even though it is a little chilly, the weather promised to be warm. After our breakfast we sang Happy Birthday to Ralph, who, in the local tradition, received hot chocolate and a ...
Read Day 5!
DAY 6 - 11/29/05 - Free Day/Laundry/Post Office/Water Volcano/ True Mayan Market/Macadamia Plantation We woke up to another sunny day, a little warmer than the one before. I went to the internet to upload the journal from yesterday as we were to have a late breakfast. It was Jeanne's birthday so we had a very special celebration at 8:00 in the main dining room, with the pacaya, a ...
Read Day 6!
DAY 7 - 11/30/05 - Coffee Plantation/Museums/Transfer to Lake Atitlán After another good night's sleep in the cool mountain air, we woke up about 6:30 finished packing and Gennie rushed over to post her University of Phoenix grades before breakfast. There was a huge group from France at our hotel for just one night before going to the capital and they were also trying to eat and ...
Read Day 7!
DAY 8 - 12/01/05 - Lake Atitlán Boat Tour/Explore Santiago/Visit Local Families in San Antonio Palopo Today is our 32nd Anniversary. OAT is very good about celebrating important days and the manager of the hotel, Yolanda, Judith, and Carlos greeted us at breakfast with a cake, candle, and the staff sang Happy Anniversary to us. After breakfast we went right to the local ...
Read Day 8!
DAY 9 - 12/02/05 - Overland to Guatemala City This morning we had a simple breakfast, quickly checked our e-mails, and had our luggage ready at 7:30. The day was very clear and the views of the volcano peaks were spectacular! We were on the bus at 8:00 and had our last view of the lakeside panorama before we traveled to sprawling Guatemala City, passing patchwork landscapes of ...
Read Day 9!
DAY 10 - 12/03/05 - Fly to Flores/ Explore Yaxha Archaeological Site Our hotel was very close to the airport so we heard the early flights leaving this morning. After our brief buffet breakfast at the hotel, we made sure our luggage was packed and we left the hotel at 8:30. This group has been so good about being on time it is a pleasure to travel with them. It was just a 10 ...
Read Day 10!
DAY 11 - 12/04/05 - Full-day Exploration of Tikal Ruins/Museum Visit To get an early start, we were up before 6, and as we looked out our picture window towards Lake Petén, there were 7 collared aracaris sitting on a tree preening for the new day. We had our buffet breakfast, everyone agreed it was the best breakfast we have had, and were out of the hotel at 7:15. Jacob had spent ...
Read Day 11!
DAY 12 - 12/05/05 - Transfer to San Ignacio, Belize/Green Iguana Project We woke up to the birds singing and the sun shining, another beautiful day on the lake. There was no buffet breakfast this morning, but we did have a nice meal; eggs, pancakes, fresh fruit and coffee. We had plenty of time, so I explored the region by the lake and the docks. There was a nice breeze by the ...
Read Day 12!
DAY 13 - 12/06/05 - Visit Caracol Ruins/Afternoon at Five Sisters Lodge The skies were overcast this morning but it was very humid! After breakfast, we met our local guide Edward who joined us for our trip to the ruins of Caracol (Spanish for snail). Caracol is named for the abundance of snail shells unearthed at the site. Edward told us much about his country as we traveled ...
Read Day 13!
DAY 14 - 12/07/05 - Transfer to Belize Airport/Houston/Denver/Home Our alarm went off at 4:15 and we got up quickly to take a shower only to find we had no water. I went the office at the restaurant and no one was there. I then tried reception and again, no one was there. As I started looking around, a night watchman came out of the dark with his automatic weapon in his hands. In ...
Read Day 14!