This is a nice surprise, we actually have wireless internet here at the hotel. So you all get to continue the journey with us.
We got a very early start to the day this morning. We had to be ready to go by 6:30 am. Not my favorite time of the day. We were facing a 2 hour drive on very windy, and that is putting it mildly, roads. Lane, Makenzie, & Karen all tend to get carsick so we were a little apprehensive how this would go. Ashley said that sucking on limes seems to help with nausea, so that is what we did. We were all puckered up but there was no kissing going on. :) Thank God none of us got sick. It was actually a very interesting drive as we were going out into the country. Up to now we have been in the city and you can sometimes forget how poor the country is. Well we saw it today. This is how I pictured Guatemala. The have a tough life, not many modern conveinces although many houses we saw did have atennas for their tv. Tom you would fit right in. They fix the roads by hand laying blocks. It is hard to image people living like this in 2008.
Just to give you an idea of the place we are at. Panajachel is on Lake Atitlan which is surrounded by 5 volcanoes. It is very beautiful here. So that explains the winding roads up and down all the mountains.
After we arrived in Panajachel we checked into a hotel and then headed off to do some ziplining. I thought I might just die. The 30 minute hike to the top of the mountain was rough. Luckily when I thought I couldn't go anymore we were there. On the way we got to see monkeys, other than Lane & Matt, and the kids really liked that. We did 8 different sections of ziplines that got us down to the bottom again. At one point we were off the ground 180 feet. It was a neat view but I don't know how soon I need to do it again. Makenzie even got brave and did a few lines without the guide holding her. She did great! We all a fun time. It was nice to have a little time to ourselves after going strong all week.
Next was a visit to an orphanage called Eagles Nest. Where are Eagle's Nests? You got it at the very top of the mountain. It was a very steep drive with huge dropoffs right at the edge of the road. Lane was not impressed. This was a very nice looking place with beautiful surroundings but the kids are not treated that great. There were a lot of babies and some that should have been able to could barely put weight on their legs. It was so sad. There was alot of crying going on when we got there because they have not seen alot of white people so the babies were afraid of us. The highlight....for me was that they had a 6 week old baby boy Angel that we got to hold. This is the youngest baby we have seen so far. Mariah was holding him and leaned over to me and said, "Mom, we should adopt this one." If only it were as easy as speaking the words.
We ended the day by shopping in open air markets here in town and relaxing in the hotel. The kids were also excited because the hotel has some TV channels in english so they are now watching The Incredibles and are ready to fall off to sleep.
So goodnight to all! "See" you tomorrow.
Karen, for everyone