HawkTalk
Beyond NY Christian Grotewold

Guatemalan Encounters: Monterico

Enjoying the view from the pool.
Enjoying the view from the pool.

I had had enough of the city. It was time for some nature in my life. My family and I spent the weekend of my birthday at Monterico, a beach in Guatemala. Most people think that I live near the beach, but they are wrong. I live in the city, and in order to get to either coast it is a three-hour ride. It had been around two years since I last went to the beach, so it was nice to have this as a birthday gift.

The ride to the beach was not bad at all — I had made some playlists to keep us well awake and entertained on our way there. Once we got out of the car, the hot air hit us and we knew we had finally arrived. We went to a hotel called Dos Mundos ('two worlds'), a nice, small hotel. Dos Mundos proved to be private and relaxing enough for families to enjoy the beach. It had a small kiddie pool, and another pool with view of the ocean. It was perfect.

Piña coladas served in a pineapple!
Piña coladas served in a pineapple!
Dinner with the family.
Dinner with the family.

The first thing I did was throw myself on a pool chair to regain some of my color that New York had taken away from me. I have no idea how long I tanned, but when I thought I had my fill of sun for the day I was refreshed by the cool water of the pool. Our afternoon was filled with rounds of piña coladas served inside pineapples and bloody marys.

It was finally time to head over to the beach. It felt so good to feel the sand under my feet and to be hit with the ocean's waves. We walked for a while, encountering crabs, seagulls and pelicans along the beach. It all made me enjoy the beautiful nature of the beach and appreciate one of the many beauties of Guatemala.

The next day, it was a repeat of the day before: tan, pool, beach, food, sleep, but it was still perfect.

He is enjoying some chicken.
He is enjoying some chicken.

Later on, we decided to go visit a turtle reserve, but it was not turtle season yet. We did not leave empty-handed, though, because we saw other reptiles in the reserve. I am not particularly fond of things that slither or have scales, but seeing crocodiles eating chicken was very thrilling. There were more crocodiles than I had ever seen, and for the first time I saw them in action. We saw some iguanas as well, but they were not as interesting as the crocodiles.

Iguanas!
Iguanas!

The time to leave the beach had come. If I could have stayed there forever, I would have. But it was time for our final destination of my birthday week ... Antigua.