On Friday a group of 11 of us headed to Monterrico, a small little beach
town on the Pacific Ocean about a two and a half hour drive from Antigua. It
was HOT there and it felt good. The beach is black sand and the undertow was so
intense that we couldn't really go swimming in the ocean (which was a shame
because the water was warm and refreshing), but we stuck our feet in and swam
in the pool. We stayed at Hotel El Delfin (Dolphin Hotel). It cost 50Q ($6.50)
a night! Our beds were hard and there were only shared bathrooms, but we could
walk out of our room and maybe 20 feet down the hall we were on the beach. I
would definitely stay there again. They also had good food that you could eat
at the beach or poolside. They also had hammocks where I think that everyone
took a couple of naps.
Saturday morning we all woke up at 4:30AM to take a 5AM boat tour of the
mangroves. We all piled into one wooden canoe-like boat which was paddled by a
Guatemalan guide gondola style. The tour lasted two hours and only cost 50Q per
person. It was so beautiful – especially seeing the sunrise over the water. It
is a definite must if you travel to Monterrico!
I liked the town because it wasn't very touristy. Yes there were the boat
tours and activities for tourists, but it wasn't built up or commercialized.
Two full days and nights was the perfect amount of time to spend there
(although I didn't want to leave at the end). What a relaxing weekend!!
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| Drinking coconut water |
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| Apparently the group nap was documented |
Great photos, especially the early morning sunrise. Reinforcing once again that the early bird gets the shot.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pics Meg. Did you really get up at 4:30 a.m. or just not go to bed? With a hammock on the beach, I guess it wouldn't really matter! Kathy.
ReplyDeleteWe were all pretty tired from our fourth of July celebrations so we all actually went to bed and woke up at 4:30! But the hammocks were still heavily utilized.
DeleteSpectacular pictures Meg. So glad you took advantage of the 5:00 a.m. ride through the mangroves followed by a hammock nap. And the Dolphin Hotel sounds like a great spot. Mom
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, what beautiful shots. I think I hear Monterrico calling my name. I especially like the one of you drinking the coconut water.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you're back to the keyboard again.