My Return To Guatemala

For spring brak of 2009 I was so happy to hear that my father bought me a ticket to visit Guatemala. This was my second time going. I was so excited my first trip was in 2007 and ever since I wanted to return.

This year I visited so many places. I went to Antigua Guatemala. This was the thirs capital of Guatemala but was moved due to the 7.4 earthquake in 1717. Now it is the center of tourist attarctions. The architecture is so beautiful. Many of the buildings are now spectacular ruins of colonial churches. I was lucky to visit during "the semana santa ( holy week); it is a week of ceremonies and festivites to celebrate the rebirth of christ. There is many processions were men and women in groups of 100 or more carry a enormous bier waying up to 2 tons of religous effiges.

These men and women walk and destroy the stunningly beautiful carpets that were made the night before by hand. These carpets are made from flowet petals, pine needles, and colored saw dust. This was the most specatculatr scene and event I have witnessed. I was so happy while walking at night and seeing these people work so hard give me tehe pleasure of helping them a bit on a carpet. These carpets are extraordinary, for they use the most beautiful and bright colors. So much dedication and deovtions was put int o these carpets. 

I stayed a week in Antigua, then left to Rio Dulce ( sweet river) !WOW! WAS IT HOTI live in California and I thought I had experienced hot weather, but I was wrong. It was extremely hot. However, it was wonderful to cool off in the river. I visited the castle of San Felipe, which was destroyed by the invasion of pirates. I also visited the park of Quirigua, a park with Mayan history and sculptures. It was wonderful to see all the Mayan monuments, and carvings that the Mayans were able to create.

After leavingthe city of Rio Dulce we headed to the city of Tikal home of the largest archeological sites of Mayan civilization. This is were parts of the movie "Apocalypto were filmed" This place was INCREDIBLE. I climbed all of the temples that were opened to the public. These temples are ENORMOUS, it takes ALL YOUR STRENGHT to climb up them, but once oyu reach the top the view is AMAZING!!!! You can see for miles. The scenery is wonderful you can hear monkeys and all types of birds sorrounding hte forest. I can say that the most memorable experience I had was ZIP linig throught the forest of Tikal. I was SO SCARED!!! We were about !700! FEET FROM THE GROUND. Hangiong on to this thin wire. However it was amazing I left all my fears behind. I zipped thorught the forest, and saw so many animals, trees, and flowers I had never thought of seeing.!

THIS TRIP WAS ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR THINGS I HAVE DONE! I FACED MY FEAR HEIGHTS, SAW SO MANY ANIMALS, AND LEARNED ABOUT DIFFERENT CULTURES. I AM GLAD TO BE GUATEMALA/AMRICAN. THIS COUNTRY IS FULL OF NATURE AND LOVELY PEOPLE. I HOPE TO RETURN SOON AND HAVE A NEW ADVENTURE.