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Guatemala: Monterrico

The lovely beachside infinity pool at Dos Mundos
The lovely beachside infinity pool at Dos Mundos

This should be a quick one, because this part of our trip has absolutely nothing to do with travelling. For Christmas this year, we've unashamedly jumped off the traveller bandwagon and booked into a life of five-star luxury in Monterrico, where we're spending five blissful days in a traveller-free bubble on the Pacific coast of Guatemala. As a result we've done precious little, and it's been wonderful, because sometimes even the most world-weary, road-hardened travellers have to hang up their boots for a while and take it easy, particularly when those travellers are starting to get on a bit.

The sun setting into the infinity pool that overlooks the Pacific Ocean
The sun setting into the infinity pool that overlooks the Pacific Ocean
The lovely chalet where we spent Christmas
The lovely chalet where we spent Christmas
Looking north along the black sands of Monterrico beach
Looking north along the black sands of Monterrico beach
The piña coladas at Dos Mundos are served in cheerful pineapples
The piña coladas at Dos Mundos are served in cheerful pineapples
We even built our own snowman to celebrate the festive season
We even built our own snowman to celebrate the festive season

Turtles and Mangroves

Peta enjoying a drink in Johnny's Place in town
Peta enjoying a drink in Johnny's Place in town

It hasn't all been lazing about, though. To our credit, we did manage to get off our sun loungers long enough to walk into Monterrico village, which is about 15 minutes' walk along the beach from Dos Mundos (or a much easier ten minutes' walk along the main road if you opt for the less scenic route). Monterrico itself is functional rather than beautiful, with a few shops and restaurants and a rabid collection of licensed tour guides who jump on new arrivals and try to sell them tours of the nearby mangroves, or get them to sponsor a turtle in the nearby turtle sanctuary. Instead, Monterrico is all about the beach, and the hotels look out over the black sand, some of them basic, some of them slightly nicer, but none quite as luxurious as Dos Mundos.

One of our sponsored turtles weaving towards the sea
One of our sponsored turtles weaving towards the sea
The pretty mangroves of Monterrico
The pretty mangroves of Monterrico