Now for the BEACH! we set out from Antigua in a pleasant 24, but as we drove closer to the coast it was 35 degrees. The ride here is nice and with very few of the dreaded tope. You pay a 5Q toll to cross the bridge over the canal in the mangroves to get access to Monterrico, which is a small town on the coast.
There are quite a few restaurants and small hotels. They put out mosquito coils in a beer bottle at your feet to keep you from getting bitten. One restaurant even has a resident pelican. There is of course lots of seafood here.
The sand is black and very fine. The ocean is like bathwater it is so warm. The coast of Guatemala is straight without bays and there is only open ocean in front of you. This makes for s spectacular sunset.
There is a turtle-breading center near our hotel where they hatch the eggs that they rescue from the beach and they breed turtles too. Each night you can release 1-day-old turtles into the sea.
The return route to Antigua required a 25 minute “ ferry” trip thru the mangroves to connect us back to the road.