From Valle Dorado to Monterrico.... Guatemalan Vacation

From Valle Dorado to Monterrico

Normally, DTT, (Jahzara and I) lead a very basic lifestyle. No electric, rice and beans to eat, washing in rain or river water, and so on…

 Our normal shower facilities

This is all great for the body, mind and soul, and we love it! But, for my Diva girls birthday this year, I managed to scrape together enough money for a complete change…. For a week at least. 

We opted for total VIP and booked a night at Valle Dorado water park ‘ Q500 (just under £50/$70) all inclusive 3pm until 1pm the following day. It was certainly a break from the norm; open bar with amazing, and unlimited cocktails (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), a snack bar, waffle-pancake shack, and breakfast lunch and dinner buffet style in the dining room (food was basic but plentiful). 

Then there was the Jacuzzi (I was dismayed to discover that they let children in freely…. and with food!). Valle Dorados childrens pool, childrens activities, and modern, clean rooms; made me completely forget that I was in Guatemala! I commented to my friend, that while all these city types were enjoying the sun, water, and beer, something we are more than used to, We were making the most of our clean. Fresh, air conditioned room complete with running water, electricity, and TV! Something we certainly are not accustomed to. 

 Valle Dorado Waterpark

The water park itself is modern, clean, safe, and fun; I would certainly recommend it. The all-inclusive package that Valle Dorado offers is also something worth taking up; Just don’t get too excited by the free cocktails! We had an amazing barman called Brian who whipped up the most fantastic, delicious and varied cocktails… I drank many, many, many of these sweet devilish drinks…. And (both physically and mentally) Paid for it the next day! 

To get to Valle Dorado from the city, just take a Litegua coach headed for Puerto Barrios. Valle Dorado is where the coach stops off for its mid point refreshment break. The coach itself should cost less than Q50. 

http://www.hotelvalledorado.com/i/ 

http://www.litegua.com/horarios.html 

Monterrico 

From the water park, we were supposed to head for Chichicastenango, but decided we couldn’t take the mountain chill, so we opted for Monterrico beach, on the Pacific coast of Guatemala. We were faced with allsorts of long winded routes, and ways to reach Monterico, but in the end we discovered that we could get a single chicken bus from a place called Cenma, in Guatemala city which reaches Monterrico in just four hours (to get to Cenma take the Transmetro Sur from Plaza Barrios. It is the last stop). Alternatively, for double the cost but half the journey time, you can travel  from La Antigua Guatemala, to Monterrico in a tourist filled mini bus, which in my opinion is not as fun or as interesting as a chicken bus. To experience both, we took a chicken bus there, and the mini bus back. 

  Hotel Delfin from the Beach

In Monterrico, we found a reasonable deal at hotel el Delfin on the beach, with a decent pool, free drinking water and free coffee or tea in the mornings. The hotel usually offers you a free fourth night and has great food and all the necessary connections with local tour guides. Rooms are basic, but you have little reason to spend long in them, as they have wonderful communal areas, seating on the beach, and a few hammocks too. 

                                                            The pool at El Delfin

There is little to do in Monterrico, with the main attraction being turtle season (July to October). Canoe tours through the mangroves are available for around Q100; it is advisable to take the 5am tour to see any wildlife. 

                                                          Canoe trip of the mangroves

You can take a horse ride along the beach for around Q100, but it is lead, so if you are a rider, it may not be for you. Quads are also available to tour the beautiful stretch of beach, the small town and perhaps even some of the aldeas (small villages) in the area too. 

At Q300 an hour the quads were out of our budget, but a friend we had made borrowed one and gave us a wonderful tour – even finding an area of the sea that was gentle enough for us to paddle in. The sea is simply not for swimming here‘ with  strong undercurrents and powerful waves at the shore-line, neither is it for paddling! If you are with children, keep your eyes and hands on them if they are anywhere near the water! For this reason, we chose a hotel with a pool.

                                                                  Monterrico Beach

Shrimp dishes are good value in this part of Guatemala, so make the most of it. While the hotel Delfin served delicious food, it was a little pricey and included a service charge, which pushed the bill up even more. Our favourite eatery outside of the hotel was somewhere along the main street, and is called Calle Real. We loved their shrimp burritos. Alcohol can be as expensive as Antigua (surely the most expensive place in the country), so be careful of racking up a tab with your hotel! We paid for everything as we went along, to avoid any surprises at check out!

                                                     Seafood Soup in Monterrico... around Q50

From Monterrico we took the tourist shuttle to Antigua – and instantly regretted it! It was hotter and stuffer than a chicken bus and I simply did not enjoy being surrounded by tourists – for me, one of the best things about travel, is meeting local people; and one thing I adore about local transport is seeing peoples lives  in terms of where they are travelling, where they live, what they have bought, or made, or are selling… their stories. 

 The Terrace at Frank&Fre

  

Antigua is a tourist hot spot, therefore, it has a range of accommodation… some much pricier than others, within nothing absolutely dirt cheap. We found that in particular, Tropicana and el Hostal are good value, but chose to stay above a gastropub called Frank&Fre. It has a lovely terrace, friendly atmosphere and great staff. Another grteat place to stay is the Three Monkeys Hoste.  I rarely spend much time in Antigua, but there is a host of tourist information out there!! Enjoy your stay!! 

https://www.facebook.com/threemonkeyshostel/ 

Summer Solstice 2013 at Stonehenge

Once upon a time, an eager baby came out six weeks early. Some say she came out early because she knew her mother was visiting her birthplace, and she would only have a small window to have the privilege of being born in her mothers homeland of Wales; home to many wonderful myths and legends.... She also came early because she could sense that a special day was upon us; the Summer Solstice. On that night, a shooting star was spotted as if to highlight the importance of this event.  Seven years later, her mother decided it was about time she brought her little star to Stonehenge; to show her how important this date really is.

And so, she, I mean, I, booked us into a nice looking campsite, packed a tent (later to discover it was without pegs), bedding, clothing and pringles, and off we went. Before we even arrived at the campsite we were feeling positive; I had called  a lady called Elaine up, and she was ever so friendly, giving me a heap of information about the stones, and advice on bringing my daughter.

For full information on the campsite visit www.stonehengecampsite.co.uk

Berwick Rd  Salisbury, Wiltshire SP3 4TQ,  07786 734732-

we definitely recommend it! Camping with a real festival atmosphere at solstice, and no doubt brilliant at all other times too! Extremely satisfied customers.

We arrived, set up our tent, and began waiting for the first bus to Stonehenge; ready to see in the summer solstice.... We missed the 9pm one, and a few after that.... due to essential activities such as face-painting and cake eating! But we were up to the 11pm bus.... just about!

The delicious strawberry one-love cake that caused us to miss that first bus!

The bus is a great service; free for those staying on site, it runs up and down to the stones from about 9pm to 1am, then starts again at 5am; theoretically it has a cut off point but will run until the long queue has been transported section by section back to the campsite.  

The bus drops you at the bottom of a field-come-carpark, and there is quite a walk. We took a friend of mine who has fibromyalgia so it was quite a slog for her; but I'm sure if you speak to the campsite staff they would be more than happy to help, or at least advise somebody with any mobility issues; they are really approachable and no matter how busy they are, will always give you some time.

Happy Campers :)

 

The stones were no-where near as big as I expected, but I think that comes from having visited places such as the astounding Tikal in Guatemala; which is ridiculous in size!  Nevertheless, they were truly mystifying, and we felt honoured to be able to lean up against one and cwtch in for the night (cwtch = a common and much loved Welsh word, like cuddle, hug or snuggle).

Stonehenge

The fact that we were there with Jahzara meant that we stayed in one spot and were sober for the night - an amazing tool for people watching! My friend Natasha and I were very surprised (and disappointed) that there were't more hippies there, but we did meet people from all walks of life and many nationalities, and we were pleased to see a good number of people in wheelchairs, 'older' people and people with children.

If nothing else, security got in the way of a lot of photos that night....

There was of course, tight security, and plenty of police, although they weren't too invasive and did not trouble us (they did, however, escort a lovely lady we had been chatting to us out of Stonehenge, for removing all of her clothing and dancing round the stones; by all accounts, she never recovered her knickers!)

We ended up staying up until the sunlight; and witnesses something rather bizarre; although the sun had clearly risen, but was covered by cloud, there were still people waiting for it to rise..... because their smartphone was still telling them 4, 7 , 9 etc, minutes to sunrise! This was such a strange over reliance/ confidence in technology, that the builders of Stonehenge probably turned in their sacred burial grounds!

Wake me up when my Birthday is here! J with her awesome gift, signed by many at the solstice :)

One last bizarre occurrence was the queue for the bus back to the campsite. It never really bothers me when friends join other friends ahead in the queue; be in for a gig, or boarding a plane and so on.... but people in our bus queue for becoming increasingly irate each time they thought someone was jumping the queue. When the bus stop actually moved closer to the road, and the queue became a little shuffled, normal people became what I can only liken to football hooligans, shouting things like "you ain't getting on that bus, we ain't letting ya". My seven year old knows that is not how you behave, and a few people in the queue wondered out loud where all the peace and love had gone.... The whole affair became a sordid shouting match, and I just hope that those involved were a little embarrassed when they looked back on themselves  the next day.

Our campsite was so nice, we had to stay there twice! Yes, although we initially planned for one night, we decided we couldn't leave, and stayed another night. However, as our pringles supply was dwindling, we had to head out for food. The campsite staff again, were patient and very helpful; there was a burger van and a pizza stall at the campsite, but it was a bit pricey for us, and there was not much available for vegetarians so we were given the rundown of a few places; again by Elaine. We chose the Swan, which turned out to be a spectacular pub by the river, which served us an amazing meal, and a refreshing bottle of wine. We were taken care of by the lovely James, and really could not have asked more of him, or the pub. Their beer garden is across a busy road, so be careful if you visit, but its well worth it as the little river/stream really is a sight for sore eyes... and children currently eat free on a Sunday.... apparently (we visited on Friday, but were well taken care of anyway).

Search for the Swan@Solford, Warminster Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP2 0PR or call 01722 790236  http://www.theswanatstoford.co.uk/

 

 

 

The Swan Inn  and its Delightful Riverside Garden

 

Our last night was simple, yet magical. the sun went down, people got cold. Caveman instinct kicked in and a fire was made.... then songs were sung and instruments were played, and a good night was had by all.

 

 

The end.