Fun with the Forehands!

Beth and I were fortunate enough to have our two good friends, Mandi and Aaron Forehand, come visit us two weeks ago. We all became friends while living in Lawrence, and shortly after we moved to Guatemala, they moved to Los Angeles. So it was especially nice to spend a week with them since we won't get to see them very often any more. We had a really fun time and wished we could have had more time together.

They flew in on Tuesday, June 28, in the afternoon. That evening we had a tasty dinner of Guatemalan specialties at the Hacienda Real restaurant in Zona Viva (the nightlife zone of the city). They were exhausted from traveling all day, plus Beth had to go to work the next day, so we called it fairly early that night.

On Wednesday, we slept late and took our time getting around. Mid-morning I took Aaron and Mandi down to Zone 1 to see the National Palace and go shopping in the market. They enjoyed exploring the wares, buying a few souvenirs, and perusing the colorful food market where we bought fresh mango, pineapple, strawberries, and bananas for smoothies later in the day.

After the market, we drove to Beth's school to have lunch with her at the cafe on adjoining University's campus. We all had crepes with various tasty fillings. Afterward we showed them around the expansive, pretty campus.

That night we lived it up by going to our first VIP movie showing! A new mall in the city has a special movie theater that charges double the normal ticket price, but you get to enjoy sitting in large leather recliners, order dinner from a full menu, as well as drinks, and of course candy and popcorn. It was the most comfortable movie viewing any of us had ever seen. And best of all, the tickets only cost $8! Oh, and we saw the new X-Men origens movie, which was entertaining but not as memorable as the experience.



Beth had off from school Thursday and Friday, so we got up early Thursday to head south to the coast where we stayed a night at the Cayman Suites. It was an easy drive, and we got there early enough in the day to enjoy the place all to ourselves until late afternoon. We spent the whole day by the pool and really enjoyed the time together. That night we ordered room service to get away from the bugs and heat as well as to watch Harry Potter 4 (they're big fans like Beth and me).


The next day we got up early and were at the pool from 7 a.m. till nearly 1 p.m. getting in as much sun and water as we could before leaving. Once back in Guatemala City, we took our time cleaning up and repacking our bags for two days in Antigua. That evening in Antigua we did some light shopping and exploring before having dinner at the Mexican restaurant, Fridas.



The following morning we had a wonderful breakfast at Cafe Condessa, one of our favorite places to eat in the town. Afterwards, we explored the local and artisan markets. After noon, Aaron and I tried catching a shuttle to a nearby coffee farm to take a tour, but it never came. So, he and I spent the afternoon snacking on chips and salsa at the Irish pub, reading our books while it rained in the afternoon, and then getting coffee later. All the while, Mandi and Beth were busy shopping and exploring the multitude of shops.



In the evening, the four of us went to Casa Santo Domingo for dinner. The Forehands seemed to really enjoy the food, ambience, and grounds of the amazing hotel.

On Sunday morning, we did a bit more last minute shopping, then drove over to Pacaya Volcano for a hike. We had good views again of flowing lava, and even enjoyed lava-toasted marshmellows! After the tiring hike, we drove up to the Santa Terecita Spas at Amatitlan to relax in the thermal pools. Aaron and Mandi also got massages. Getting home that night took longer than normal due to a carnival taking place in Amatitlan, followed by heavy traffic into the city. Unfortunately, Beth came down suddenly with a bug that evening and ended up going to bed at 8 p.m. and missing the next day of school.

From Spa at Lago Amatitlan

Monday night was our last night together, and since we had nothing planned, we decided to go back and rewatch the Wolvering movie at the VIP theater. It was just as enjoyable as the first time around.

The next day we said our goodbyes, but had already made plans to come visit them this summer in L.A. The adventure wasn't over yet however. Mandi and Aaron arrived at the airport on time, but had somehow missed their flight by a full day! Somewhere along the way, we were all convinced they left on Tuesday, when in fact their ticket was booked for Monday. But thanks to the unbelievable generosity of a Mexican Air employee, they were able to fly back home for free and at the same time as their originally scheduled flight! Pretty amazing.

Thanks for coming to visit us, Mandi and Aaron!

Spring Break Guatemala!

The week leading up to Easter, we were fortunate to have Beth's brother and sister, Tim and Robin, come spend the week with us. Here's a picture recap of our fun time together.

The trip was supposed to kick off with a hike up Pacaya Volcano, however, there had been too much seismic activity and the park was closed for fear of a large eruption. So, instead, we just spent the afternoon lounging at the spa in Amatitlan.

The next day we headed down to our favorite beach spot in El Salvador, Roca Sunzal. We all enjoyed the heat, the food and drinks, trying to surf, boogie-boarding, the pool, playing pool, tossing the Frisbee, sun bathing, and plenty of relaxing.











The next leg of our trip took us to Antigua, where we had fun sight-seeing and shopping, as well as enjoying an exciting sunset view of an erupting Fuego Volcano, followed by a fabulous dinner at Casa de Santo Domingo, courtesy of Steve and Jackie (THANK YOU!).



After Antigua, we drove over to the lakeside city Panajachel. From there, we took a boat over to the small village of San Marcos. We planned to stay two nights here, but do to parts of the hotel having no electricity (hence the candle light Trivial Pursuit photo), we bailed a day early and spent our second night on the lake back in Panajachel. There we enjoyed the active night life, shopping, and zip lining, as well as a comfortable stay at our hotel, Posada Los Encuentros.






After getting back from the lake, we spent our last night evening together eating at Frida's, a Mexican food restaurant.

Thank you, Tim and Robin, for coming to visit! We had a great time!

The Kennys Counquer Antigua

Picturesque of Volcan Agua under the arch

We had a great time seeing Antigua through our parents' eyes! Antigua was wonderful with Mom and Dad Kenny because 1) we visited some places we have never gone before 2) it was the week of Semana Santa, and we had the fortune of seeing 2 processionals and multiple alfombras being made 3) It is the dry season and the weather was perfect for their visit.

Mom Kenny and Beth under the Antigua arch

Arriving into the city was much easier than it was a few weeks ago when James and I went. In fact, there was no traffic at all, and we were able to find our hotel and a parking spot with no hold up at all.
We left Dad to a nap while the three of us wandered over to the main cathedral in the Parque Central and visited ruins of an old monastery that had been partially destroyed by an earthquake, and subsequently abandoned to build onto the new cathedral that stands today. We had a great time, and all of us were amazed at the beauty of it. They were also making some processionals on the grounds, and one that we saw was going to weigh over 4,000 pounds! WOW!

Old Monastery ruins destroyed in a 1773 earthquake

The San Francisco church was holding a vigil. Partly regal, partly celebratory

Once we picked Dad up after his beauty rest, we walked over to the San Francisco church to see a vigil taking place. Inside the church were alfombras, huertas (shrines with flowers, food, pictures, alfombras, and candles), and large religious displays. Outside the church was more of a subdued carnival atmosphere with vendors selling Guate goodies and families milling about.

An Alfombra preserved from one of last year's stencil designs

We then went to the Cafe Sky to see an alfombra art exhibit (some artists had figured out a way to preserve the alfombras), and catch an awesome glimpse of Volcan Fuego ("Fire Volcano") billowing with smoke on the horizon. Pretty cool! We think Mom and Dad were impressed with the beauty of the skyline -- surrounded by volcanos and steep hillsides.

Afterward, we went to Hotel Casa Santo Domingo for dinner. Santo Domingo is a hundreds of years old monestary-now renovated hotel. The grounds were spectacularly beautiful, candlelit, and serene.

A candlelit alfombra on the entrance to Casa Santo Domingo (above)

The dinner could not have been better tasting or better presented! We all enjoyed our meals immensely, and Mom and Dad claim it was one of the nicest places they've eaten.

After dinner we walked home in a bit of a daze after such a wonderful dinner and first day in Guate.