This morning we woke up bright and early again to visit the Mayan ruins in Iximche. We stopped for breakfast at a restaurant, Chichoy. The breakfast and coffee was incredible. We learned a ton about the history of the Mayans, and the traditions of the current Mayan people. Hugo, our tour guide, showed us the different structures within the village, which was abandoned in the early 1500s when the Spaniards invaded the village. We even had the opportunity to see a real Mayan healing ceremony. 

Next a group of us continued on to a ziplining tour over Lake Atitlan. We hiked about 30 minutes up the mountain Panajachel. Along the way we fed monkeys bananas. Groups in the past have done this, but this year, they had added 3 new zip lines which were longer and more extreme. There were seven zip lines that each of us rode down. No fatalities, but Paige did get stuck on the first line and had to have help to get the rest of the way across. It is difficult to put into words the experience of being so far above the ground with beautiful mountains and clear water. It was an amazing experience. After ziplining we had a late lunch at a local restaurant in Panajachel. It was wonderful.

Another group of us went to the Choco Museo and learned how to make different types of Mayan, Guatemalan and Spanish chocolate. We found out that the Mayans used to use Cacao beans as currency to trade with! We made our own molds of dark chocolate. Son deliciosos.