Comments on: Estelí

By: Fritz Allen

Fritz Allen — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:46:04 +0000

We have been going down there since 1991, and have made 20 or so trips, I think Sadi has been 6 times. The last was in 2006. You really need to be some what careful. There is a fair amount of crime. Traveling in small vans and even small tourist buses is not always a good idea as they are easy for bandits to stop, chicken buses at times seem safer.The roads from Guate City to Antigua are ok but the roads to lake Atitlan you really need to be careful. We are pretty good about keeping money in several different place and having a throw away wallet just in case you are robbed. Most of the people are really nice, great culture and weather. BTW thanks for the card, how cool. Be safe and have a great time!

Fritz, Paula and Sadi

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:04:43 +0000

Larry, we are having fun. The other reason is we have been in some remote areas and the only Internet access is by satellite connection (very slow).

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:03:37 +0000

Thanks a lot, Fritz. We will check out those places. When were you down there?

By: Fritz Allen

Fritz Allen — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:03:44 +0000

Hi!

Sounds like you guys are having lots of fun!
The places we like in Guatemala are Antigua, there’s a nice 5 star hotel for around $80 US called Santa Domingo it is in a ruin of an old monastary. We also like going to Lake Atitlan we usually stay with friends in a place called Su NuNa (don’t think thats the right spelling). They have lived in Guatemala now around 20 years. Its a real small village close to San Marcos on the lake. There are boats that leave from Panajachel
pretty regularly take the east boat dock. To visit them you would ask the boat driver to take you to Casa Mariposa in Su Nu Na. Their names are
Bonnie and Joe. There is a hotel up the road from them. Pretty steep walk the owners would usually pick you up at the town dock. The views from the lake are incredible with all the surrounding volcanoes. Another hotel we stayed at on the lake was Villa Sumaya it was nice when we were there. Lots of people take trips to Santiago on the lake but I wouldn’t stay there because they have christian loudspeakers going off till late at night. Panajachel has a good market on the street and good restaurants but not as good of views of the lake. A side trip from the lake would be
Chichicastenango it is crowded on market days but kind of interesting to see. Market days are Wed and Sun they have a Mayan procession at the church
on Sundays and I think that is the biggest market day. It is probably too hot for Tikal or Monterico on the Pacific beach (black sand) but those can be great to visit at the right time. There are other places that sound interesting but we have not been to. Check with tourist companies
for ideas and also check bus schedules for better fares. The bus from Antigua to Lake Atitlan is probably better than the shuttles. Take the early morning bus. We’ve had friends hike some of the volcanoes which would be interesting. Some are still active. My favorite place is probably Lake Atitlan.

Paula and Fritz

By: Patrick

Patrick — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:53:58 +0000

The master plan is to go from Panama to Guatemala. We are trying to mix up beach, highlands, lakes, cities and small, local areas and more or less keep moving north and west. We have two guide books, but really only plan a couple of days at a time. We usually don´t make reservations. It´s a lot of countries in not too much time. Took some panoramics, but not as good as yours. The uploads are (mostly)from the point and shoot.

By: Larry Hudson

Larry Hudson — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:44:27 +0000

The trip sounds exciting. Do you have a master plan or just wander around looking for interesting things to do?

Have you been making any panoramic shots?

Larry