After our Río Dulce boat ride, we walked up to the beautiful San Felipe Castle in Guatemala. If I had known that there was a real Spaniard castle from the 1500’s just a few hours from where I grew up, I would have gone as a child. My parents thought it was just a fort with one room, but as you can see from the video tour, there were lots of rooms, complete with a kitchen and dining room, bedrooms, a chapel, a courtyard, and a dungeon. There were many towers to look out over the river.
Video Tour of the San Felipe Castle
The day that we toured the castle was sunny with clear blue skies. Although it was sweltering hot, the beauty of the castle was a delight. I have always loved castles, and this was no exception. I found myself going in and out of various rooms and corridors, losing myself in the time period of the colonization of Guatemala by the Spaniards.
Inside the castle was a large kitchen complete with fireplace to cook whatever wild fowl the hunters found in the river. The area was also lush with banana and coconut trees, so those foods must have been incorporated into their diet as well. I love the look of the Spaniard yellowish-stone walls both inside and outside the castle.
I walked both upstairs and downstairs in this castle, as there were many rooms. It wasn’t just a functional fort for soldiers. It was a fully livable home for that time period, with plenty of space for servants. There was a barracks for soldiers, and the fact that there was a dungeon for enemies with individual cells for solitary confinement was creepy.
Cannons decorate the outside of this castle, not only on the top of the castle, but on the grass at the base of the castle, facing out toward the river. Since the castle is situated on the Río Dulce River, it is protected on three sides by the water itself, and the top of the castle gives a commanding view of the area to prevent any attacks.
I love the picture of my family taken at the San Felipe Castle:
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Tags: adventure, castles, family, Guatemala, medieval, travel
Gorgeous photos and views. I love to go to old castles and forts and imagine the lives that have passed through there.
I have always loved castles! I’ve seen quite a few castles in England. It’s fun to imagine what life would have been like in that bygone era.
Looks like you guys just had a TOTAL blast!
We did! Castles are wonderful!
Looks like a beautiful trip!!! Love your photos!
My husband took nearly 1,000 photos, and he’s a great amateur photographer!
That looks like so much fun! We love touring places like that. Educational AND fun.
Educational and fun is the perfect combination for homeschoolers!
That is just too cool! I love history and think it would be so awesome to visit somewhere like that. You have a lovely family!
Thank you! History really does come alive when you visit places like this.
How fun and educational to visit a castle! I have visited a few, but I hope to take my children some day!
Castles are awesome.
I just put it together that this is where you lived as a child and where your parents were missionaries! Oh the new memories mixing with the old.
Glad you were able to make this new memory of visiting the castle.
Yes, this entire trip was very nostalgic to me!
I loved going to this old fort. As the neck of the river narrows there you can just imagine ships trying to make a run for it past the fort. Good pics. Thanks!
My family loved it, too. I liked the view from the top. Glad I was able to take you on a trip down memory lane!