Thanksgiving Week

There are plenty of opportunities for traditional Thanksgiving dinners on the Rio, but we decided to have our own here at Monkey Bay. We all chipped in for the turkey, and then we agreed on the other dishes to prepare, and then we used a sign-up sheet to keep it organized.

Earlier in the week, we said goodbye to "Worldwide Traveler". They are heading to Maine this coming summer and, along the way, have paid charters, so they have a schedule to keep.

Lee and Wendy

Our Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful. We had fourteen in all, and all of the food was wonderful. Jim grilled the turkeys, using the grill like an oven. We had most of the traditional dishes: mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, fruit salads, rolls, green bean salad, yams, pumpkin pie, whipped cream, and spice cake.

We had also invited Kevin from town, whom we all know, and Petra, a Mayan that our marina manager, John, has been sponsoring to study tourism, and Christina, an 11-year-old Mayan from San Antonio on Lago Atitlan. She is here, living with Petra (also from the same village), working and selling goods from her village until school resumes in January.

Christina

Jim (Dream Away) is carving a turkey.

Our dinner table (note flowers which were provided by Kevin)

Antigua, Guatemala

We visited Antigua last spring as we were leaving Guatemala for the summer, and we were eager to get back. We just finished another inland trip, spending almost a week in Antigua and a few days in Guatemala City.

Antigua is among the world's best conserved colonial cities. It makes you feel time might have stopped some 300 years ago.  Antigua was founded in 1543, and for more than 200 years it served as the seat of the military governor of the Spanish colony of Guatemala, which at that time included almost all of present-day Central America and the southernmost part of Mexico.  On September 29, 1717, an estimated 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Antigua Guatemala and destroyed over 3,000 buildings. Much of the city's architecture was ruined. The earthquake's damage to the city led authorities to consider moving the capital to another city.  Then in 1773, the Santa Maria earthquakes destroyed much of the town, prompting a decision to abandon the city and move the capital to a safer location, which is where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. The badly damaged city of Santiago de los Caballeros, the original city, was ordered abandoned. However, not everyone left, and it was thereafter referred to as la Antigua Guatemala (the Old Guatemala).
Antigua is in the mountains, so the climate is generally very comfortable. The surrounding volcanoes have kept Antigua to just about its original size, which is actually quite small. Antigua is very popular for Spanish-language immersion and has around 75 language schools, generally offering one-on-one instruction. Antigua is also a popular tourist destination with a large selection of hotels, ranging from hostels to luxury, and the same holds for restaurants, from fast food (incorporated into the existing architecture) to fine dining.  We like it as a great place to relax, with plenty of places to explore. We will keep returning to Antigua.

Halloween Party At Marios Marina

Halloween Party at Mario's Marina

Tom and Trish (Double Up)

Monkey Bay Marina

before leaving for the party

Russ and Janet (Rock n' Roll)

Monkey Bay Marina

before leaving for the party

Master of Ceremonies Suzy (Cabaret)

Iain and Jan (Jocks Lodge). We last saw them at Cumberland Island, Georgia, about two years ago.

Winners of the costume contest - White Trash