We're in Heaven

Trip Start Jan 20, 2004
1
8
165
Trip End Ongoing


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of Guatemala  ,
Saturday, March 6, 2004

A knock on the door in the middle of the night in Guatemala is not always welcome, but luckily for us Alberto and Juliana, the caretakers of the hacienda, received us very graciously despite our late evening arrival. Although prudence might have dictated that we take a room in one of the discreet 'auto-motels' on the Interamerican Pacific highway, once we turned off and started climbing into the highlands we had little choice but to keep going. So it was with great relief that we arrived safely, and were able to bunk down after a long day of tense driving and bureaucratic hassle.

Next morning we awoke to find ourselves in the little piece of heaven that we remembered from our visit two years previously. The hillside property is a stunning location at close to 7,000 ft in the Mayan highlands, with superb panoramic views overlooking Lake Atitlan 1,500 ft below and across to the three majestic volcanoes standing guard beyond 01 Peaceful haven "Terkuiletenango"
01 Peaceful haven "Terkuiletenango"
 . It is owned by our very good friends Coen and Martha ter Kuile in Ottawa, and the hacienda was built by Coen back in the 1950s. At breakfast on the patio we had to keep pinching ourselves to make sure we weren't dreaming. Watching the tiny boats on the shimmering lake below making their way back and forth to San Pedro or Santiago Atitlán; listening to the flurry of humming birds visiting the flowering bromeliads, epiphytes and cacti in the shade tree beside the kitchen; watching the Eastern Bluebirds in the avocado tree below and the swifts and martins swooping out over the lake; listening to the sound of the stream in the adjacent forested gorge bringing water to the terraced gardens full of vegetables and all manner of both exotic and temperate flowers......who wouldn't believe they had discovered paradise.

Although we had planned several trips to towns in the surrounding highlands, for the first week we found ourselves totally relaxing and soaking up the peaceful serenity and beauty of our surroundings. Rather than trying to describe the scene further, we'll leave you to enjoy some of the images ....as they say a picture is worth a thousand words!
Slideshow Print this entry Guatemala City hotels