Miguel photo slideshow 2

Miguel photo slideshow 1

Tikal

We´re in Tikal today and tomorrow. We hiked to the top of a lot of pyramids-temples. I really liked the view and stuff. On one Dad got a little nervous because we were up high and there weren´t any railings. We were above the jungle and it had a Star Wars connection because they filmed part of it in the battle of Yavin. We tried to go out again about 5 but it was getting dark and Dad forgot the flashlight.

We saw a gum-making thing and we saw (and heard) the howler monkeys that is supposed to be the T Rex in Jurassic Park.

We went to this museum, I knocked on the door even though it was closed, and they let us in! Pretty cool stuff like skeletons.

Today I also got a wooden crocodile, and a jaguar that Mom and Dad says looks like he is eating a fake cartoon squirrel. I really like both of them.

Dad´s getting up at 4 in the morning to go on a tour for 5 hours. Me and Mom are maybe going to sleep in or go meet him.

There´s a nice pool at this hotel, it´s really fun.

Semuc Champey

Hi all - We're in a town called Lanquin, which is where these water pools are, called Semuc Champey, and lots of caves. We're in this little hut doing Internet, but in our little hut that we sleep in (room) there is a hammock outside, and we know which one it is because it has a scorpion picture that matches the picture on our key. Today we went on this cool tour with this cave that Dad went through. Dad, say what happened:
We swam through the dark holding candles and had to climb up and down various ladders. At one point I told the guide he was crazy when he pointed his flashlight out into the distance and said "jump there." Also had to slide down a couple spots into the dark and jump down through a waterfall.

Miguel again:
Another reason it was so crazy was because you had to hold your candle above the water while swimming and all that. After the caves, we went on an innertube ride that was very fun, and then after that we got to explore a little bit. We went swimming, saw the view, lots of waterfalls, it was really cool, a waterfall went into a lagoon and it went into a cave, you could really see it go into the underwater cave. I dropped a stick and it just went.

It was a long bus ride to get here, about 7 hours. Tomorrow we are going to Tikal. Bye for now! Happy new year!

Swimming

Here is a video of me at the swimming pool at our hotel at the Xocomil water park. And here is a picture of my dad and I in the river at the park.

Guatemala City

Yesterday we were in Guatemala City and we went to a few things. We went to the Archeology museum, we went to the relief map, and we went to the zoo. I really liked the zoo. We tried to go to the Popul Vuh Museum (the Popul Vuh is kinda like the Mayan Bible) and the Children´s Museum, but they were closed for the holidays. So we got a taxi to the mall, then we walked around, got a little snack, went to the mall. I tied mom in air hockey at the video arcade. Mom and Dad played Ms. PacMan and Dad played Galiga while I played street fighter. Then we went to a hotel and waited for about an hour because our shuttle was delayed. The hotel was special because it was where I first met my mom and dad when I was a baby.

At the zoo, we saw some coyotes. The coyotes howled for a long time. We saw some coatimundis, an ostrich, a peacock, a white peacock, a puma, a bunch of parrots, an eagle, and a barn owl. We saw a boa constrictor, a false corn snake, a python and a bunch of other snakes. We didn´t see any bears. We some spider monkeys, some with babies. We saw a lion, and a jaguar. We didn´t see a quetzal; I wonder why that was.

At the Archeology Museum, there was a whole collection of masks. A mask of a wolf, jaguar, lion, puma, pig, bull. They had this cool ceremony with maniquins that was suposed to be the Dance of the Deer (Danza del Venado) which had a guy with a rifle and three people with deer masks and capes, and five people that were watching with jaguar masks, and one regular guy wearing a hood over his face. They had a display of Maximon, who is a Mayan saint that smokes and drinks. They had a whole display of Tikal with miniature guys. Outside there was a fountain, and around the fountain with rock carvings. There was one that was a crocodile with a skull in the back of its head, and there were Mayan heads and monkeys. Then we entered a cool room with a bunch of jade necklaces and I think the Mayan alphabet on two slabs of stone. Then when we went around the corner, we saw a skeleton in its crypt covered with jade necklaces, bracelets and stuff.

Then we drove to the relief map that showed the whole of Guatemala and a bit of Mexico. It had Antigua, San Juan, San Pedro, the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. You could see Tikal and all the other pyramids, and they had little docks on the Pacific and Atlantic.

Today we are going to be around the house and take laundry in the town. We have to pick that up at about 4 p.m. Tomorrow we start our five day trip to Tikal and some caves.

Christmas in Guatemala

We had a fun Christmas in Guatemala, but we would have like the fireworks to stop a little earlier. But they didn´t, and when we went out to get something to eat, there was a bunch of wrappings from the fireworks in the street. I even found a smashed Gallo beer bottle in the street...

We got a new stocking at the market for Santa. The stocking is green with a snowman, a christmas tree, two people and some snowflakes...

This is the second christmas I was in guatemala. My mom and dad were here with me when I was a baby in 2003.