Keeping warm

Michelle: This weekend headed for some sun at the beach by way of some Mayan and Olmec ruins. These ruins (Abaj Tikalik) had the best kept grounds that I have ever seen around ruins. A guide took us around for free and explained what we were looking at, which turned out to be essential because a lot of the ruins are still under excavation. I have decided that being an anthropologist is for people who like 3D puzzles. First they have to uncover all the rocks, then they number them and then they put them in the correct place. I don't have enough patience at all for that kind of thing. There was also a little zoo at the ruins full of fun animals. There was one naughty spider monkey that tried to steal my camera case. Lucky for me it was wrapped around my neck and I was outside the cage so I could back up.

After the seeing the ruins we caught anther bus down to the beach (Camperico) on Guatemala's Pacific coast and enjoyed lunch with a great view. My favorite part of the beach was looking for seashells; there were all sorts of different types to enjoy. We also learned an important lesson while we were in Camparico: don't leave any food out in your hotel room that can be sniffed out by ants (we had an invasion). By chance our randomly chosen hotel was run by a member of the church so we had really good directions on how to get to the chapel on Sunday. Everyone in the little branch was so friendly, they had some lovely fans in the to keep us cool, and a nice member even gave us a ride half way back to Xela.

For a good time, here is a picture of the dog that we have to walk past everyday to get out of the house. It's a crazy dog. I think that it sniffed glue as a puppy. Be sure and click on the pictures to see more in this week's album, including a few sights here in Guaemala that have made us miss of India.