Pacific coast ¡Que calor!

My second weekend in Guatemala was my first trip to the beach, after I met a group of photographers who were going to Monterrico (a black sand volcanic beach, like the whole Pacific coast in Guatemala, I believe) to photograph birds. We arrived, got out of the car and just melted in the blissful heat. It´s amazing that you only need to drive 2 hours and you find yourself in a completely different climate. Most of central Guatemala is at quite a high altitude, up to over 4000m in some places. So we left Antigua, which is usually sunny but can be quite chilly, and arrived in the tropics! I met so many Guatemalans who had come from the capital city (and undoubtedly very stressful lives, like most cities) who were just loving it! Everybody had a huge grin plastered across their face, a drink in one hand and only positive words to say. More, please! I found myself commenting that in Europe we just don´t have the option of travelling for a couple of hours and arriving in such heat and therefore finding such a fabulous way to unwind. Well for me, anyway! I love the heat! As for the wildlife, we dutifully rose at 6am to get into the boat and spent a few hours drifting along a canal running horizontal to the seashore, snapping shots of herons in the cool early morning calm. I also witnessed a bundle of baby turtles being released into the sea. Their tiny black bodies were barely distinguishable against the black sand as they raced each other into the foamy waves.