Chris and Bev and Bill and I decided to take a trip to Mexico and Central America together, and what a trip it was!
As we flew over Mexico City, it stretched as far as the eye could see!
We settled in our hotel for the night, and the next morning our first stop was the Anthropology Museum.
The beautiful Mexican flag was flying in the wind.
We learned about the varied cultures of Mexico and Central America through displays and artifacts. I cannot begin to include all of the pictures I took!
In a nearby park a group of men were performing a religious ceremony to music. It was very beautiful.
The buildings in Mexico City were very colorful, thanks to paint donated by the government.
We visited the gigantic ruins of Teotihuacan where we climbed a pyramid called the Temple of the Sun.
The view halfway up the pyramid (Bill)
Chris
Looking across at the Temple of the Moon from the top of the pyramid
We visited the beautiful Mexico City Temple.
Bev, Bill, Becky
Chris and Bev
Our next flight was to Villahermosa, the "land of many waters." Volcanoes from the air were spectacular!
We visited La Venta Park which held a small zoo and many artifacts from the Olmec culture. I loved the jungle foliage.
We made our way over suspension bridges.
We saw many coatimundi. They are wild, but they are very bold.
Beautiful flowering trees
We left Villahermosa and headed for our hotel near Palenque. We passed this checkpoint.
We saw many farm animals.
Often we saw little fruit stands or cafes.
A small village
Our hotel near Palenque was very charming! It was so hot that I even swam in the pool :-).
We saw many different birds there.
Bev and Chris
There were natives (Mayas) selling their wares in the parking lot at the ruins.
Eben the children sold what they could.
The ruins at Palenque were some of the most beautiful on our trip.
Bill
Bev and Chris listening with our group
Bill
Some of us went on a beautiful jungle walk.
Bill
A few more natives approached us as we prepared to board our bus to leave. This little girl is selling handmade bracelets.
Fruit stand on our way back to our hotel.
Chris and I decided to go birding together.
Great Kiskadee
We got distracted by a line of cutter ants carrying tiny blossoms from a tree.
I saw my first toucan!
There were friendly iguanas at the hotel.
We spent one afternoon watching birds for about an hour from our veranda. This is a summer tanager.
Social flycatcher
Yellow-throated warbler
Yellow warbler
I could not figure out what this was!
We left our hotel very early in the morning to head for the Usumacinta River.
We stopped at a jungle restaurant which was one of the highlights of our trip!
All of the food was authentic to the culture, and most of it was cooked traditionally.
The sides of the restaurant were open to the air, and the tables and stools were made from slabs of gum trees.
Chris enjoying his breakfast!
A young man spent the whole time we were there manning some kind of a hand pump.
It was some of the best food I've ever eaten!
The howler monkeys in the jungle canopy above kept us company.
We continued toward the Usumacinta River, passing homes along the way.
Wild turkeys
Chris and Bev preparing to enter a tribal boat
Cattle along the river
Egret rookery
We stopped at the "secret" ruins of Yaxchilan in the Guatemalan rain forest.
Bill
Ceiba tree, the national tree of Guatemala
A beautiful green lizard, well camouflaged
A gorgeous moth, about 3 inches wide
We often saw the restoration of ruins taking place
I loved the bark on these trees!
In the sunlight they looked like they were on fire.
We returned to our boats and headed back up the river to Bethel, Guatemala on the other side, saving us two days of driving around the river!
Crocodile along the river
We saw many people washing and bathing in the river
We left the river and boarded smaller buses, heading for Tikal. I never traveled a bumpier road in my life! We traveled this way for two hours!
We passed people and villages along the way.
A view from the front of the bus!
Coconuts (I didn't know they could grow so low to the ground)
Cemetery
Beautiful evening sky!
We arrived in this friendly little village in the evening.
Our police escorts
Cute kids in the village :-)
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