Haven't been to San Cris in a while and needed to do a visa run, so figured why not.
The city was great -- as usual -- but the trip there and back was soooooo awful. Twelve hours of hell in a shuttle bus. Bad driver, no seatbelts, speed bumps, construction, no air conditioning, my knees jammed up against the seat in front of me. Ugh.
I try to justify that it's 24 hours of torture for 90 days of paradise in Guatemala!
Didn't take too many pictures cuz I only have the camera on my phone and it's garbage, but here's a few.
I forgot about the many Volkswagen Beetles in San Cris!
I love the pedestrian-only streets.
The big church near the central park. The other cool church was under construction so I didn't take photos of it.
Fancy Burger King
Yes, I walked up those stairs!
View from the top, not so great. But there's a better picture from my walk down the back of the hill on a lovely sloping road. That guy had a Xoloitzcuintle dog but he ran out of the frame.
You don't have to go up those crazy stairs to get to the top. There is a paved road up the back of the hill that you can take a car up. I would think the walk up that way would be more difficult, as it is longer and still pretty steep. But it is wonderful to walk down that way. A gorgeous and peaceful pine and cedar forest with flowers, butterflies, and birds.
The rocks had many pretty little flowers growing on them.
View from the walk down.
I stayed at Hotel San Luis, which was located just behind the church in the picture below. Great hotel at a great price. Easy walking distance to the park and also to Chedraui, a big store like Walmart, where I shopped for 2.5 hours! 😊
Iglesia de la Merced. The Amber Museum entrance is just to the left of the church in this photo. It is located in the former convent of the church.
The Museo del Ambar gallery. Small but really interesting.
pieces of amber
Lots of amber with bugs in them, pretty cool.
Donated by Indiana Jones, lol.
The Amber Museum cost 50 pesos and was less than an hour to see it all but it was really neat and a good thing to do on a rainy day.
I love walking the streets of San Cris. It's such a pretty place, with lots to gawk at.
San Cristobal is a lovely city and worth a visit. Great shopping, parks, churches, food, architecture, and markets. If you're there and don't have sore knees (lol), you can also take day trips for more great adventures.
Got a bit of extra cash and decided to go to Costa Rica for a few days. It was steamy hot & wonderful. I definitely need to go back to see more of the country. Here is a video with some highlights. A few more pics and thoughts below.
I stayed at Verde Mar Hotel in Manuel Antonio. I got their cheapest room, called the Student Room, but it was sufficient for me. It had air conditioning and a hot shower! Luxury.
It also was right on the beach, as you can see in the video. But being so close to the beach meant that little crabs were scurrying all over the property...and in my room! I didn't mind. I started calling them "mis amigos crabitos", which is really bad Spanglish for "my little crab friends." They were shy and harmless, but I can imagine some people might be put off by having crustaceans in the bedroom.
Playa Espadilla, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
It was the off-season and the rainy green season, which was both good and bad. I arrived on a Tuesday and the hotel was pretty much deserted so it was quiet and I had the pool to myself. On the weekend, it got busier.
It did rain on a few days in the afternoons, sometimes all night into the morning, but it was just an excuse to relax and read a book.
One other downside to the off-season though was that some tours and activities weren't running because of lack of customers. For example, I wanted to go on the mangrove tour, but the operator wouldn't go with just one person. And the Ocean King catamaran tour was not running the sunset cruise cuz of the high chance of rain.
One plus of the off-season though was that there were animal babies! I didn't get any photos, but there were several capuchin monkeys with babies hanging onto their backs or stomachs. Super cute!
The highlight of my trip was Manual Antonio National Park. If you go, be sure to get a guide. It is sooooooo worth it, not just for the knowledge, but for the spotting scope. It's like a small telescope and it is vital for getting a closer look at the sloths and other critters way up high in the trees. Our guide also took photos through the scope and sent them to us after the tour! (by Whatsapp or Airdrop) I thought that was so nice, especially since I didn't have a camera, just a crappy phone to take pictures with.
Capuchin monkey close-up photo taken by our lovely guide.
I spent quite a bit of time wandering around in nature, not just in the park, but up and down the road and beach. I saw so many things that I think a lot of people missed cuz they were in cars or took the bus instead of walking. A lot of folks don't know how to spot animals either. You have to listen for squeaks, peeps, and rustling, and watch for movement. It helps to walk slowly and pause often.
Here is a list of the animals I remember seeing, plus many more small lizards and birds that I couldn't identify:
I was disappointed that I didn't see any dolphins on the catamaran cruise but there is a whole big ocean for them to play in, so I understand.
It was a really good trip, with mostly great weather (so hot!), awesome food (I loved the Gallo Pinto rice & beans with breakfast), friendly Ticos and travelers to chat with, and lots of nature. My legs were sore from hiking, my neck from peering above me, and my cheeks from smiling. As they say in CR -- Pura Vida! (Pure Life!)
My wonderful friend and fellow expat, Iva, made a video of the Easter carpets being made here in Panajachel. They are called alfombras in Spanish and they are made from coloured sawdust.
(Click the picture to be taken to her video on Facebook.)
If you want to read about Iva's amazing journey from Canada to the life of an expat in Guatemala (and many more stories!) you can visit her website -- Women Blazing Trails
