Howdy from Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala!

Thanks for coming along with us on this trip! I've heard from some of you that you're enjoying my blog and that makes me happy. But even if no one reads it, I would still be happy because I like documenting our trip in this way. For me, this is much easier than writing in a journal and it's a bonus to be able to add photos....and an even bigger bonus to be able to share it along the way. I've kept blogs from our other travels and years later they serve as a reminder of things I would have otherwise forgotten by now. I will also confess that even being gone for less than 2 weeks now, places are already beginning to run together in my head!

port view from our balcony

 

Again, we tried to save excursions for places we've never been and will probably never go, but we promised ourselves we would get off the ship in every port - excursion or not. So, despite the heat we got off the ship for a while today.

I didn't realize what a small country Guatemala is (about the size of Ohio)! It borders Mexico (north/northwest), Belize (northeast), Honduras (southeast) and El Salvador (south). It has a Pacific coastline to the southwest and a tiny piece of Caribbean coastline to the east. 

One interesting tidbit - Guatemala was Central America's top coffee producer for most of the 20th century and the early 21st century until it was bypassed by Honduras in 2011. Some of the passengers had excursions, one of which was visiting a coffee plantation. We visited one in Costa Rica some years back but if you ever get the chance to visit one, it's interesting to see the green, then red beans growing on bushes and follow them through the roasting, grinding and tasting stage.

Guatemala is also known for its colorful textiles of the Mayans, indigenous people of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Belize. Even at the port, booth after booth display the Mayan textiles through clothing, scarves, purses, totes, table runners and pretty much anything you can imagine that can be made from their colorful weavings.

 

Maya textile arts

signature primary and bright colors

Each open-air shop is operated by the family who makes these things. There were also lots of colorful beaded animals, including hummingbirds and the Resplendent quetzals, the national bird of Guatemala. The man attending the first booth I approached quickly pointed these out and told me they were $12 each. I said "very pretty" and kept walking. In the 30 seconds or so I was at his booth, the price changed from $12 to $9 to $7 to $5 without my even asking! In reality, they were probably a bargain at $12 given the amount of work and time it took to sew every tiny bead in place. 

Each booth had at least one person who approached us to start pointing out the various items they had for sale. It would have been more enjoyable had we been able to just casually browse, but these sellers were extremely persistent to put it nicely. It's impossible to browse and be friendly without immediately being pressured to buy something. We managed to get away with only a couple of Christmas ornaments and some postcards (me) and a handmade leather belt (Ronnie).

There were several open air restaurants and coconut stands if you get thirsty. The coconuts are fresh right off the tree! By the way, a fresh coconut tastes nothing like the ones we get in the U.S. which are already old with hard flesh. Fresh coconuts are soft and their flesh has a somewhat slimy texture. The first time we tried fresh coconut (in Indonesia), we thought it was ruined and threw it away! But after a while, it grows on you.

coconuts for the taking

 

harvested and ready to go

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a coconut stand

Ronnie passed on the coconut and opted for a Coke instead (no ice).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By this time we'd worked up a sweat from the heat and the walking, so we were ready to head back to our "home away from home." It's so nice to be welcomed back to the ship with a COLD washrag on a hot day!

"Welcome back, Madam"