Happy Holidays to all!  Like the tittle indicates, in the last week I have been through the Guatemala Embassy and Immigration system yet again, through the border and somehow they let me back into the country.  Highlights were seeing my family, snorkeling-sailboat trip to the reefs off of Caye Caulker and hanging out on our balcony-suite with family friends.  I would like to say that seeing Tikal at the end of our trip was another highlight, but I must have been done with the touristing thing by then because one of the greatest constructs of the Mayan civilization failed to awe.  The view from Temple IV just after dawn and over the tree tops to the other temples was amazing, but I kept wising for monkeys, jaguars and tropical birds.  From Temple II Greg and I saw parrots flying across the main plaza, which was exciting and almost as diverting as watching our fellow tourists take a couple dozen photographs of a seemingly normal crow relative bird that was perched on the railing of the temple s platform.  They would creep up very slowly, lower their head and crouch their body into the perfect angle to capture the creature, then take about six pictures in a row, retreat and compare digital pictures with their comrades.  After a couple times of this process, the bird had had enough of the photo session and turned to each one of us and squawked its disapproval of them for their pictures and Greg and I for our lack of interest in capturing its tropical beauty.

Back to the highlights.  Caye Caulker was the perfect Albright family get-away.  We stayed at the hotel of a half American, half Belizian couple that brilliantly encompassed small town America with their gossip and running commentary about all the islands inhabitants.  Our hostess knew the family histories of all the islands population and liked to tell stories about her uncle, mother, grandmother and any other family member that a particular event called to mind.  I was impressed that her mothers home has survived all hurricanes the island has seen.  And I was sad to learn about the alligators at the town dump on the last day or I might have organized an expedition to see them.  Beyond sitting around, drinking coffee or beer, reading and taking occasional strolls down the mile or less town, we had little else to do.  There were a variety of seating options, though, so we rotated from the chairs to the hammock to the porch swing depending on weather and personal mood.  But do not think we were all laziness, we roused ourselves from the hammocks at least three times a day for meals and once Greg and I even went snorkeling.  The whole family also went on a tour with Juni in his sailboat (which was built by our hostess uncle or brother, it got a bit vague at this point).

Despite promises to  keep the secret of the trip a secret, I can see by other gringo posts that they have already let  out the cat, or nurse sharks , should I say.  Yes, we swam with nurse sharks, petted nurse sharks and even held them in our arms.  We also hugged a sting ray and tried not to remimber how  the crocodile hunter died.

Moving back through Belize, Greg and I took the local bus from Belize City to San Ignacio, which was relatively uneventful.  I did discover from my seat mate that Belizeians have a much easier time getting into the US and getting work permits than their Guatemalan counterparts.  After the ride, we met up with Mom, Dad and BJ and Karen in the most beautiful hotel suite I have even seen and quite possibly the most beautiful I will ever stay in.  The room was just nice with a  cool ceiling of wood running in different angles, but the balcony, of equal size to the room made the suite awesome.  We had a hammock, benches, a table and chairs and an perfect view of the city.  Suffice to say most of our stay in San Ignacio was spent on the balcony of Martha s Guesthouse.  We arrived on Christmas  Day and  the next day was boxing day, so we were forced by restaurant closures to stay in and no one objected.  (Insert plug for  the South Indian Restaurant on West St.  as the best restaurant in the area).

Okay, running out of steam, but hopefully I can get back on the computer before our tours start up again, because we are expecting to have a very busy January at Quetzeltrekkers.