THE PACIFIC COAST - Guatemala - page 307

To get to Tilapa, take one of the hourly buses leaving from Coatepeque. It's about a
1.5-hour drive from Retalhuleu, if you're driving. Take the Pacific Coast Highway (CA-2)
west past Coatepeque and head south at the turnoff just past the town of Las Palmas.
The reserve is accessible on its eastern flank from Champerico along a dirt road heading
west 25 kilometers to the village of El Manchón. There is one daily bus leaving for Retal-
huleu at 5 A.M. and making the return journey to El Manchón at 3 P.M.
Outfitter Reuxtreme (tel. [phone] or 5205-1132, www.reuxtreme.com ) runs trips to
the reserve for kayaking along the tranquil mangrove swamps and lagoons on this side of
the park, where there is also a wide sandy beach.
Return to HIGHLIGHTS
SOUTH OF RETALHULEU
Champerico
Built as a shipping port during the late-19th-century coffee boom, this old port features a
uniquely dilapidated wooden pier. The beaches here are not all that enticing, though there
aresomebetteronesnearby.Liningthebeachintheareaadjacenttothepierareavarietyof
cheap eateries serving mostly seafood. The old pier is worth a look and you can still walk
on it for an out-of-this-century experience. Sportfishing outfitters and tourism authorities
are trying to restore some of this town's old glory and infrastructure as a place from which
to run deep-sea fishing trips. A new marina was built partially with Dutch capital.
A fun day trip from Retalhuleu is a 55-kilometer mountain-bike ride along old railroad
tracks and wooden bridges. Reuxtreme (tel. [phone] or 5205-1132,
www.reuxtreme.com , [e-mail]) runs the trips, costing $30 per person and in-
cluding all gear. It also does surfing lessons here.
For accommodations and food, your best bet is Hotel Posada del Mar (tel. [phone],
along the highway into town at Km. 222, $25 d), where the comfortable rooms have air-
conditioningandcableTV.Thereisarestaurantservingmostlyseafooddishesalongwitha
swimmingpool.Alternatively,there'sthe Hotel Montelimar (2aCalleandAvenidaCoate-
peque, tel. [phone], $13 d), where the wooden bar outshines the small, dark rooms.
Playa El Tulate
A much better bet for hitting the beach near Retalhuleu is El Tulate, about an hour from
town.Thebeachisn'tascleanastheoneatTilapa,butthere'satleastoneserviceablehotel
here. The rooms at Playa Paraíso (tel. [phone], $40 d) have big, cushy beds, ceiling
fan, thatch roof, and a porch with bamboo furniture. There are two swimming pools and a
restaurant.