Yesterday was a fun day. We took a day trip with Elder, our bartender at Tortugal who also does tours on the side, to two swimming spots. We were joined by another couple from California who were also staying at Tortugal (they have great bungalows to stay in here).

First, we rode for about 50 minutes in Elder's van through the countryside of Guatemala, passing by numerous cattle fields, a banana plantation, little Mayan towns and lots of recently logged forest. The statistics say that Central America is being logged at an alarming rate and we definitely notice that to be true.

We arrived to El Boqueron, a popular park with several local Mayans enjoying the swimming area. It was once an underground river, and the cave collapsed years ago leaving this beautiful canyon filled with interesting rock formations including stalagtites and stalagmites, crystal clear, cool water and lush green foliage. We hired a local with a cayuka (dugout canoe) to take us up the narrow river a ways and then we were able to get out and swim the rest of the way up until it got too shallow. You could look way up above to the high cliffs that formed the canyon and there were caves set in those cliffs as well. As we passed one of the caves, we could smell incense burning and there were a group of Mayans gathered inside conducting a ceremony. Elder asked our cayuca paddler what it was for and he said it was a prayer for a good corn harvest. As an aside, we've also heard that the US is sending much less corn to Central America now that we're using so much of it for ethanol. So it has a rippling effect that can be felt down here.

The river was really peaceful and the current wasn't too strong to swim against, but gave you a nice easy ride back just the same. Although Elder said the water was cold, it was still in the 80's and felt really good to us!

The second stop was to a local hot spring called Agua Caliente of course! It is another popular spot with locals and everyone seemed to be having a great time. We walked on a little trail through pretty woods to a hot waterfall with sulfur steam rising from it, that landed in a good sized natural pool below. Meanwhile, a cool stream also emptied into the same pool. There, the water mixed to form lots of pockets to relax in with varying temperatures. You could even go underneath the ledge of the waterfall (quickly though since the water is too hot to touch) and it was like a sauna. Pretty neat! There were trails that led to the spring up above where the hot water first comes bubbling out of the ground. Some parts of the river sand under our feet would also be very hot with hot water bubbling up from it. You would be sitting there in warm water and then get this blast of hot water, seemingly out of nowhere.

We spent an hour just soaking in the warm water and talking with the other couple we were traveling with. She was a recovery room nurse who'd just completed a week of work with an organization that comes to Guatemala to provide much needed health care. They did numerous hernia repairs, cleft lip surgeries and hysterectomies.

And then we headed back to Tortugal marina. It was fun to get out and see a couple of local sites.

We've got our bus tickets to Antigua and leave on Wednesday. It's an old colonial city (formerly the capitol of Central America I believe) that is now a UNESCO world heritage site. Everyone raves about it- we can't wait to see it for ourselves.