I’m trying to get some things done this afternoon and I figured I’d post a few pictures for those interested in seeing some of the things we saw last weekend on our trip across the border to Guatemala.

First, we checked out the Guatemala City Zoo. We heard that it was great for kids, and we all ended up loving it. There were lots of animals there that we never saw at the Pittsburgh Zoo…especially from Central and South America. My kids love the show Go Diego Go (about an animal rescuer for those of you who don’t have kids) and they loved seeing some of the animals that had been featured.

The kids enjoyed checking out all of the animals at the zoo.

Lots of really beautiful birds…

…and some wierd animals like this tapir.

This is just plain scary.

Guatemala City was fun…next stop Antigua Guatemala!

Antigua Guatemala translates as Old Guatemala and it was the original capital of the territory of Guatemala which covered a big part of Central America. It was built by the conquistadores and the colonial Spanish government. After many buildings were destroyed by an earthquake, the city was rebuilt in what is now Guatemala City. Many beautiful churches and colonial style buildings have been restored and touring the city reminded me of past visits to London and Paris. We enjoyed the delicious restaurants and heard a great live band playing traditional Andean music from Peru.

Tori posing on top of our hotel. This was the view. Antigua is surrouded by three volcanoes.

Many beautiful churches like this one were all around the city.

This picture was taken at a site of a church that was incorporated into a hotel. The grounds were lovely and they allowed visitors to tour it. Maybe someday in the future we’ll stay here!

Here comes the rain! We did get rained on a little bit, since we are still in the middle of the rainy season in Central America. It was also kind of chilly since we were at a higher elevation than San Salvador.

The Snyder guys. It was fun to get a chance to do something as a family. We’ve been pretty busy this summer so it was a nice change of pace.

This was the view from the street in front of our hotel.

The kiddos with a beautiful view of Antigua behind them. I’m so glad that our kids get to have new experiences like this. They had lots to say about our trip. Ian’s comment : ” I like Guacamala” (Guatemala + guacamole I think), and Tori’s comment: “This is the third country I’ve been to and I’m only 5!”

We really enjoyed our time in Guatemala and we are hoping to go back sometime in the future to see some more of the sights. After we wrapped up in Antigua, we got in the car for a loooonnnnggg ride through windy mountain roads back to El Salvador. But along the way we had to stop at Taco Bell and get a taste of North America!  You know, since we don’t have tortillas and beans where we live????