Weekend in Monterrico

This last weekend we decided to get out of Antigua for a bit and see the coastline so we headed down to Monterrico, a beach town on the Pacific. The town had been recommended by both my sister and people I have met over the past week. The trip was about two hours by shuttle and presented some great views of the three volcanoes surrounding Antigua as we headed south.

When we pulled into Monterrico it looked much like most of the villages in Guatemala though it was geared more toward tourism with a ton of street vendors and rows of restaurants. The temperature had risen by at least ten degrees during our decent from the higher elevation of Antigua and it was much more humid. The beaches were volcanic sand and were nearly black. We were immediately approached by a fellow named Sender. Turns out he had been born in Guatemala, raised in LA and had returned to Guatemala a few years back to start a little tourism business. Through at first we assumed he was just another schister he turned out to be a great guide and someone we spent much of our time there with. During our first day we got a little sun and then helped release 500 baby turtles into the ocean as part of a yearly effort to boster their population (and provide entertainment for tourists).That evening we scoped the local bar scene but retreated early due to the massive amounts of mosquitoes that swarmed out once the sun went down (probably got bit around 1 million times during the trip).

The next morning we got up at 5AM to go on a boat tour through the mangroves and watch the sun rise. As we approached the water the sound of all the birds and animals waking up was almost deafening. The mangroves were alive with many species of birds, fish and reptiles as we passed through them. Fishermen were already out casting their nets for shrimp and catfish.

We spent the afternoon lounging, something we hadnt done since we arrived in Guatemala and were invited by Sender, along with a couple other americans, to eat dinner at his friends familys house that evening. The other americans turned out to be from Antigua as well and were a good group. Dinner consisted of various types of seasoned fried fish, which they had caught that morning, salad and beans (which is basically what I ate for lunch and dinner every day because the fish there was amazing). It was probably the best fish I have ever had. The family consisted of the mother, eight sisters and one brother. All were very friendly and it was a great chance to practice spanish.

After dinner we went out with Sender, his friends and the Americans to a dance club filled with Guatemalans visiting from the capital. It was an interesting scene as the ages ranged from 14 to 70+ (got some pretty sewwt videos). After a couple drinks we hit the dance floor with the rest of them which was a blast though very crowded.

The next day we sat in the sun then headed back to Antigua. That night we went out with the other americans we had met in Monterrico and watched the Oscars in spanish at a local bar which was kinda funny. This week its back to the grind with classes and afternoon activities.