June 23rd - at La Lancha

June 22-23

We had the whole day to relax and play together at La Lancha, as our flight didn't leave Flores until 7:20 pm.

Lago Peten Itza

A friend joined us for dinner last night- a baby kinkajou.

Ella, the early riser in Heather's room, began her day with a swing in the hammock on our deck overlooking the lake...

Once everyone was up, we donned our swimsuits and wraps to prepare for our morning at the pool. Alex enjoys some hammock time while waiting for everyone to get ready...

Our kids befriended one of the security guards, Mr. Brewster. He was so kind and helpful during our stay, and knew the kids really wanted to see the family of howler monkeys that lived nearby. We heard them that morning (Aaron heard them about 4:30 that morning! Somehow the rest of us slept through it.), and Mr. Brewster said that they had been sweeping through the trees around the property defending their territory from other monkeys. Aaron thought that sounded quite accurate to what he heard! While enjoying our breakfast, Mr. Brewster said the monkeys were near, and to come right away. Well "right away" was a bit slow with our crew (many of whom had to first get their shoes on!)... and the monkeys had moved on. He led us to go find them, though, and we all trekked down the road in pursuit of the monkeys. His middle name is Alex... so Alex led Alex on down the road...

Alex found the monkeys for us, and we enjoyed watching them play and talk up in the trees. This is the road that we drive into La Lancha on. For about the last half hour of the trip, it's bumpy dirt road, except for one short stretch through a small village about halfway through that is paved. We learned the story behind that road on our trip to Tikal... our guide, David, explained that a man running for mayor promised that if he were elected, he would pave their portion of the road. He was elected, and thus we have the short stretch of paved road! Maybe he should run for mayor of the adjoining towns. :-)
This is the corner of our deck on Lakeview Casita #2, as seen from higher up the hill. There really are a lot of stairs to get anywhere here at La Lancha!
We spent a gloriously relaxing and fun morning at the pool. Well, morning and afternoon- we spent 4-5 hours swimming! It was great fun to splash and play, wrestle and hug the kids, and have the entire pool to ourselves! No fear of disturbing anyone's quiet honeymoon getaway with wild games of Marco Polo. :-)

The kids made up all sorts of dives and jumps to do off this ledge from the small pool to the large pool. It was so wonderful for Aaron and I to be able to relax as our kids swam- they are all so comfortable and competent in the water now, and are pretty good with knowing their limits.

After swimming, we dressed again for lunch and a hike down to the lake after packing. Beth, Alex and Kyler spent some time in the hammock. I tell you, it was a lot nicer being poolside and able to jump into the water to cool off... it was hot and humid. However, by this time there was no shade left at the pool, so it was a good time to move on!

Nothing like working up a good sweat moments before you leave. :-) We hiked down, down, down to the lake...
While not raining here yet, we could see the rain showers across the lake in one direction.
The thoughful staff had prepared the canoes for us with oars and life jackets, and we headed out for a brief row on the lake. It was very brief (10 minutes?) as by the time we got down there it was almost time to head back up so we could get to the airport on time!
Heading back up the hill, so that we can all be nice and hot and tired and exhausted for the ride to the airport!
Driving to the aiport around the lake we had the opportunity to see many little villages, people, and animals, and many people's homes. It is so good to get out and see more of how people really live and what their circumstances are, and talk to the people as you meet them to hear about their hopes and dreams. We loved getting to know our guides and servers and hearing their stories. Many of these young men are ready for something more- more travel or adventure. David was telling us that the previous generations did not travel much outside of what was absolutely necessary- they spent too much time running for their lives during the civil war. This current generation does not feel that limit.
Driving around the lake we saw several games of soccer on various lakeshore fields... and the beautiful view as the sun began to set on the lake.

We arrived at the airport a bit later than expected, but in plenty of time as our flight ended up leaving 45 minutes late. It is a quite small international airport, but I was still surprised to walk up to the TACA ticket counter to check in and be greeted by a smiling young woman with, "Bauer?" I guess we're noticable... :-)
After checking in, we got some ice cream bars for dinner and visited with one of the woman running the small gift shop/cafe. From there we moved through security into one of the hottest rooms I've ever had to wait in! At this point, we didn't know our flight was delayed. That only became apparent as 7:20 came and went (departure time) and we still hadn't boarded the plane. Being such a small airport, there were no stores or shops once we were through security, and of course, we couldn't bring water past security. I think that was the breaking point for some of the kids. Tired after a long day of swimming and hiking, and so very hot in this room... to have no water was just too much!
We eventually made it onto the plane, and the steward had great compassion on a sobbing Alex (or on the rest of the passengers) and brought him a glass of water before we took off. It took Alex about 4 seconds to drain the cup! The rest of our flight was short and uneventful and we made it back to the Barcelo for another long check in (they didn't have us for two rooms together again) that was eventually worked out by Velveth. We again had connecting rooms, but more importantly, sleeping children! :-)