Somehow I forgot to post an overnight trip I took with two friends out to the beach at Monterrico. I've heard of this place ever since my first trip here, because everybody goes to Monterrico to release the turtles. Somehow I got the idea it was a long way and over the mountains, so I didn't want to go. Really.

But a Guatemalan friend I work with wanted to get away for two days, and a traveling friend wanted to see the beach before she left Guatemala, so off we went on a weekday.

I loved Monterrico. It's my ideal laid-back place with some consciousness about the environment (on which their economy depends) and with black-sand beaches which otherwise look just like the California coast where I grew up, except the first time the water hit my feet I was shocked with its warmth. How to have everything!

We stayed at one of the cheaper hotels, with a second-story balcony terrace looking out at the ocean, and hammocks to hang out it. Hammocks are a feature of all Monterrico hotels and houses, which I'd never seen in Guate before. Conveys something about the cultural climate. Most houses have rooms on each side, and a central "court" area under the thatched roof where the hammocks hang and where the people eat and hang out most of the time.   Perfect for catching a sea breeze in this hot weather.   I love that.