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April 2009 - Posts

Road Trip Guatemala - The Ruins at Tikal

Today we visited the ruins of the ancient Mayan city, Tikal . Leave it to the Kinnons to leave something as important as this until last. To be perfectly honest, I was a little worried that I might by psyching myself up too much. We've all seen the Read More...
Posted Thursday, April 30, 2009 12:43 PM by Rob Kinnon | 4 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Flores

Having just suffered through the agonizing trip from Atitlan to Rio Dulce, the scant four hours to Flores seemed like a hop, skip and a jump to us. The drive was easy and uneventful and we arrived in Flores earlier than expected with plenty of sunlight Read More...
Posted Wednesday, April 29, 2009 2:56 PM by Rob Kinnon | 7 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Rio Dulce and Livingston

This morning we all slept in and woke to a rainy day. Well rested and now a bit bored we decided to ignore the weather and hire a "lancha" to take us to see the nearby Garifuna village, Livingston. By the time we were ready to leave, the rain Read More...
Posted Tuesday, April 28, 2009 1:32 PM by Rob Kinnon | 4 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Rio Dulce

With a long drive ahead of us, we had our last breakfast at Hotel Dos Mundos, carefully packed all of our purchases from Chichicastenango into the back of the truck and made our way back through the mountains toward Guatemala City. Our car has certainly Read More...
Posted Monday, April 27, 2009 9:20 PM by Rob Kinnon | 2 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Santiago Atitlan and San Pedro la Laguna

Good news! Rob is on the mend and today he was feeling up to a boat ride across the lake to explore some of the smaller villages, specifically Santiago and San Pedro. We hired a lancha and set off to enjoy a beautiful warm day. It was overcast as we started Read More...
Posted Monday, April 27, 2009 7:01 AM by Rob Kinnon | 1 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Atitlan Nature Reserve

When we awoke this morning, Rob was feeling a bit better but not enough so to risk a day on the lake or wandering around remote hillside villages. After our complimentary breakfast, the kids and I decided to explore the Atitlan Nature Reserve located Read More...
Posted Thursday, April 23, 2009 10:36 AM by Rob Kinnon | 2 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Panajachel on Lake Atitlan

This morning Rob woke with what would be an uncomfortable and somewhat restrictive stomach issue. He and the kids decided to hang out around the pool at the hotel while I went out to explore this pretty lakeside town. It appears, much like any popular Read More...
Posted Thursday, April 23, 2009 8:42 AM by Rob Kinnon | 3 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Market Day in Chichicastenango

Up to this point on the trip, we have been fairly restrained in our souvenir purchases, in anticipation of one big blowout shopping day at the world famous market in Chichicastenango. On our way, we made a short detour just west of the Cuatro Caminos Read More...
Posted Tuesday, April 21, 2009 10:53 AM by Rob Kinnon | 1 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Market Day in Momostenango and the Search for Rompopo

This was one of those days that where everything just seemed to conspire against us. Now ten days into our trip, we have become accustomed to getting ourselves completely turned around and lost. It seems that no matter how many maps we consult, we aways Read More...
Posted Tuesday, April 21, 2009 6:56 AM by Rob Kinnon | 1 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Market Day in Almolonga and Las Fuentes Georginas

After a quick breakfast in the hotel's posh and popular restaurant and dropping off our laundry at a nearby full service lavanderia, we headed south of Xela to investigate the nearby towns of Almolonga and Zunil. I had heard on good authority that Read More...
Posted Sunday, April 19, 2009 5:54 PM by Rob Kinnon | 2 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Antigua to Quetzaltenango

On our last morning in beautiful Antigua, we fueled up with a delicious breakfast at Rainbow Cafe and headed out to our next destination, Quetzaltenango, in the Western Highlands. As I anticipated the trip would take at least 4 hours, I only built in Read More...
Posted Saturday, April 18, 2009 5:56 PM by Rob Kinnon | 4 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Chapin Auto Safari

While we should have been attending Mass at any one of the magnificent churches in Antigua holding Easter services, the heathen Kinnon family decided to avoid the crowds, head out of town and have another adventure. Our destination: the Chapin Auto Safari Read More...
Posted Wednesday, April 15, 2009 9:38 PM by Rob Kinnon | 7 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Pacaya Volcano

In our travels on Thursday, we found a local tour agency and booked transport and a guide for Volcano Pacaya. Our van picked us up at 2:00pm from the hotel, and after collecting the rest of our group, transported us an hour and a half southeast of Antigua. Read More...
Posted Tuesday, April 14, 2009 10:25 AM by Rob Kinnon | 4 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Antigua Day 2

On the morning of our second day in this beautiful colonial town, I woke at 2:00am, quietly dressed and crept out onto the dark and desolate streets of Antigua. The procession from La Merced was scheduled to depart at 3:00am and this was an opportunity Read More...
Posted Monday, April 13, 2009 11:29 PM by Rob Kinnon | 3 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Antigua Day 1

Exhausted from the long drive yesterday, Rob slept in for a bit while the kids and I went out for breakfast and to get our bearings around town. As we strolled through the city, we came upon dozens of families creating colorful "alfombras" on Read More...
Posted Friday, April 10, 2009 11:56 AM by Rob Kinnon | 2 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Poptun to Antigua, Guatemala

Determined to be on the road at 9:00am, we woke early to a cold, misty morning, checked email, enjoyed a filling, hot breakfast and checked out of Finca Ixobel on schedule. Continuing south on CA13 for an hour and a half, we reached Rio Dulce, a bustling Read More...
Posted Thursday, April 9, 2009 11:25 AM by Rob Kinnon | 2 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - San Ignacio to Poptun

The view from Cahal Pech down to San Ignacio. A cool morning fog blankets the valley. We all arose bright and early and ready for a hot breakfast on a chilly morning. Via Facebook, we managed to connect with our friends Sandra and Court Roberson and made Read More...
Posted Wednesday, April 8, 2009 9:49 PM by Rob Kinnon | 1 Comments
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Guatemala Road Trip - Playa to San Ignacio, Belize

Not surprizingly, the Kinnon clan got a late start today, leaving the house at 11:00am. Having packed the car the night before, I was certain that my 9:00am plan for departure was a lock. What I had not accounted for were the blistering sunburns we would Read More...
Posted Tuesday, April 7, 2009 8:19 PM by Rob Kinnon | 4 Comments
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The Adventure Begins: On the Road in Guatemala

After months of anticipation and planning, we are making our final preparations for this year's big adventure, an exciting road trip through Guatemala. The truck has been tuned up, cleaned out and packed. My camera batteries are juiced up and my lenses Read More...
Posted Saturday, April 4, 2009 1:45 PM by Rob Kinnon | 9 Comments