Quirigua, Guatemala
We got on the dock early morning in Santo Thomas de Castilla, where we were greeted by a marimba band! We then started our journey to Quirigua, one of the many Maya sites in Guatemala. Our local guide, Ruben, was quite busy filling us with information about his country and people. It took us about an hour and a half to reach Quirigua, the last part through the banana plantation which surrounds the site. On arrival, we walked around the ruins, including marveling at the impressive, intricately carved stellae. After doing some shopping from the locals (wonderful textiles), we headed onto another surprise visit. The bus stopped, and we scrambled quickly to take photographs of bananas rushing across the street, followed by a short tour of the packing factory.
After the unplanned visit to the banana factory, our bus took us to Rio Dulce, where we boarded our river boats and continued on to a restaurant on the shores of the lake “El Golfete”. Later when we finished lunch, our boats took us down the Rio Dulce. Entering into dense areas of mangroves we encountered a female green iguana, perched on the top of a low tree, taking in a bit of sun. An unusual sighting was found down close to the water line, giant grasshoppers, that we have yet to identify accurately.
We got on the dock early morning in Santo Thomas de Castilla, where we were greeted by a marimba band! We then started our journey to Quirigua, one of the many Maya sites in Guatemala. Our local guide, Ruben, was quite busy filling us with information about his country and people. It took us about an hour and a half to reach Quirigua, the last part through the banana plantation which surrounds the site. On arrival, we walked around the ruins, including marveling at the impressive, intricately carved stellae. After doing some shopping from the locals (wonderful textiles), we headed onto another surprise visit. The bus stopped, and we scrambled quickly to take photographs of bananas rushing across the street, followed by a short tour of the packing factory.
After the unplanned visit to the banana factory, our bus took us to Rio Dulce, where we boarded our river boats and continued on to a restaurant on the shores of the lake “El Golfete”. Later when we finished lunch, our boats took us down the Rio Dulce. Entering into dense areas of mangroves we encountered a female green iguana, perched on the top of a low tree, taking in a bit of sun. An unusual sighting was found down close to the water line, giant grasshoppers, that we have yet to identify accurately.
