The three best worst days

So, as you all know, we spent two nights at Takalik Maya Lodge on Tuesday and Wednesday. I picked this hotel intentionally because of their emphasis on environmentally sustainable tourism, which is something I feel strongly about. The hotel is located two hours down the mountains in a much more tropical environment. It's a working coffee, rubber, and macadamia plantation. Since the hotel opened about 6-7 years ago, the quality of life for the plantation workers has increased because of the revenue from the hotel.

Whatever tone this blog entry takes, please know that Dave and I are both glad that we went. At the same time, we never plan to return!

Our room was lovely. It was obviously built out of local materials. It was very clean, but it was also full of bugs. Neither Dave nor I handle insects very well. The way we are used to living in the U.S. (with doors and windows closed and screens that don't have holes) is very different from how they live in tropical Guatemala (accepting that bugs are everywhere and dealing with it, rather than fighting it). The room also did not have electricity, which we handled quite well until it came to taking a cold shower. :) Around 6pm each night a man came to the room to light several lamps, so we had some light.
Because we were so far down the mountain and so far south, it was incredibly hot! It was the opposite of Xela, where we can often see our breath in the mornings! Similar to Xela, it rained every afternoon, but at the hotel the rain was in the form of thunderstorms. Pedro had warned me about the thunderstorms, but I didn't believe him until I experienced them. They were crazy! The rain came down in sheets and the thunder sounded like it was right beside us. Many of you know that I have a strong interest in meterology, so I both loved and hated the storms.

The food at the hotel was incredible. I had the best fruit and fruit juices that I've ever had in my life! The hotel is just outside of a portion of Guatemala that is known for their fruits and vegetable because they are grown on the side of a volcano in rich soil. In the U.S. we eat some of those fruits and veggies because they are shipped to us, but they taste so much better fresh! Our first evening a peacock casually strolled up to us in the middle of dinner and obviously wanted something to eat. We weren't sure if it was supposed to be there or not! After about 15 minutes of begging, it pooped right next to our table and walked away!

No one at the hotel spoke English, which meant that my Spanish was put to the test. A couple times at the restaurant we didn't get what I thought I had ordered. Luckily Dave and I were able to laugh it off. I don't handle uncertainty very well; I prefer to have things all planned out. That wasn't possible at this hotel, so there was a lot of uncomfortableness for me to deal with.

We visited the Mayan ruins at Takalik Abaj, which was only two kilometers from our hotel. We rode horses there because Dave wanted to and it was his birthday. (I'm not a fan of horse-back riding.) Of course, I got the horse who didn't want to cooperate. That always happens to me. (Yes, all two times that I've ridden a horse!) My horse kept walking close to trees so that the branches would hit me in the face. I'm pretty sure it was intentional. We rode through the plantation, so it was beautiful. Dave loved every minute of it.
The archeological park was really cool. Dave was probably a little bored because the presentation was all in Spanish. It was hard to translate. I don't know many words related to archeology and ancient Mayan history! The park is just in the beginning of the restoration stage, so much of it is still underground. For example, in this first photo the entire hill is a pyramid, but only a portion of it has been excavated.
Here are Dave's comments, which I'm sure you're all looking forward to:
Ok the hotel was in the JUNGLE. yes i said the JUNGLE. We were in the middle of nowhere and what was suppose to be a coffee farm looked very like what i call a jungle. I was waiting for the lion to come and take me away. The vegetation was right up to our room door. I was impressed with the room the bed and the loft was very cool. it also had a balcony with a table and chairs. I did not like that there was no electicity in the room. i did know this going in but thought i could handle it ok. Everyone should know i have not watched TV in english for almost two weeks now. i am dying. i have missed so many season finales, but i will see them all soon.

We thought we were going to be fine though. So we sit in our room looking around and we start to see a couple of bugs then a couple of more bugs and then some more bugs and we start thinking what are we doing here. Now our ride left and wouldn't be coming back until thursday at 1 (this is tuesday at 1). Ok we can do i. its going to be ok we said. Its time for lunch. I must admit i wasnt expecting much. Megan had told me it was a limited menu and not to get too excited. The menu when we get there is all in spanish, so i cant read it. so Megan reads it, and i pick Nachos and a chicken dinner. I must tell you they made everything from scratch while we were sitting there. it was amazing. some of the best food i have had anywhere. So things are looking up and i am glad to be here. then comes dinner i eat the same thing and am very happy. Sneaky Megan even had a pineapple cake made for my bday which they gave to us on the 19th instead of the 20th which is ok. it was pretty late when we got back to the room. they had put a bottle of wine from chile on the table. That was super nice, except neither of us had ever had wine before.

On to the next day, my Bday. we wake up at 6am to three men playing guitars and singing a birthday song to me. i got up and went to the door until it was finished. it was super nice of them. they all gave me a hug after they were done and wished me happy birthday. We also got to ride horses to the ruins, which was a 2 kilometer ride one way. i had a blast. i love to ride horses even though i have only done it twice now. it was fun. Megan on the other hand would have preferred to have taken the van down, but it was my bday so i won out. Megans horse was very stubborn and my horse took off trotting a few times, which for a inexperienced rider is quite frightening. It was a good bday. Then it was back to another excellent meal and to the buggy room. I do not sleep well in buggy rooms, so it was two nights of very little sleep for me. Overall it was the best and worst three days of our trip. If you want to know more I suggest you look us up later.

And some more random photos:

The restaurant
Mario, a super nice man who has worked on the plantation for 35 years! He didn't have any teeth, which made it even more difficult for me to understand him. He was so helpful and accomodating. He's the one that planned Dave's morning serenade.
Some coffee that I didn't order at breakfast. (I don't like coffee!)
The peacock again right outside our room
And a hummingbird right outside our room! They were everywhere!
In front of a waterfall that Mario walked us to
And now we're getting ready to leave Xela. One of us is very sad and one of us is very happy. I bet you can't guess which is which. :) We'll take the bus from Xela to Guatemala City this afternoon, spend the night at a bed and breakfast, and fly home tomorrow. We'll probably post one more time over the weekend with some final pictures. See you all soon!