Guatemala March-April 2016

After a successful and really fun "spring break" experience traveling to Mexico City last year, we decided that 2016 should take us a bit farther south!  We decided that Guatemala looked like a fun candidate.  To get through the wait until we could take our vacation, we both took an evening Spanish class via the local Parks and Recreation system.  The class strengthened Tim's confidence with his Spanish and gave Peggy some Spanish to work with!  We also practiced using an app called Duolingo.  It is quick, repetitive and kind of like a game.  Great for old brains!  Peggy can now understand about 30% of a conversation which should be helpful on our trip!  Try to keep up!  We covered Guatemala pretty well in our 11 days!

Day One:  Tuesday

Seattle to Los Angeles to Guatemala City

We opted to not waste a day, so we took the red eye.  Our flight out of Seattle was in the  late afternoon and we arrived at LAX with plenty of time to locate our gate and get some dinner. Delta airlines treated us well and we arrived in Guatemala City at about 5 in morning with enough sleep to navigate and locate our local's bus to the island of Flores--the gateway to the ruins of Tikal.  There was a heat wave on and baby it was hot and humid, and we were grateful for what AC the bus could kick out!  The bus ride was about 9 hours and we dozed as we watched the countryside change along the way.  When we arrived in the late evening, we were pounced on by the myriad of taxi drivers waiting at the terminal.  It was quite the gauntlet of really-fast, in-your-face-Spanish, pressure.  So glad Tim knew just what to do and we grabbed a Tuk-Tuk (took-took--basically a motorcycle with a passenger car in the back) driver to take us over the causeway to our lodgings. Once again Tim scored us a great hotel--with AC-- right on Lago (Lake) Peten Itza for about $40 per night.

After some wandering the streets of this pleasant island town with its pastel colored houses and quiet streets, we found a delightful outdoor restaurant down by the lake and enjoyed some really good food before stripping down and sleeping in front of the AC in our room!  Even the locals without AC were sleeping outside to catch a cooling breeze off the lake! Momma!

Day Two: Wednesday

Parque Natural Ixpanpajul

We had a wonderful bowl of fruit, yogurt and granola for breakfast at another lakeside restaurant. Tim arranged for us to be picked up at our hotel for our next day's adventure--a trip out to the nature preserve: Parque Natural Ixpanpajul.  The park covers an area of nine square kilometers of jungle with all of its wonders.  Tim had organized a canopy zip line ride, hiking on a jungle trail with suspension bridges up in the canopy and a horse back ride!  

Grounds around the lodge allowed for picnicking and camping. There were even hammocks hung in the pavilions!

The place was beautiful!  It was after the Easter holiday rush and we were their only patrons of the day, so our experiences were kind of special--a private tour!

With the temperature 100+ degrees, we were so pleased to see that we didn't have to hike out to the zip line.  We got a nice breezy ride on the back of a truck to our start point.  The jungle was beautiful and a bit cooler than the lodge.

 Although Tim had done this type of thing before, Peggy had not!  After getting our safety gear on, we climbed up into the tree canopy to our first platform and clipped in.  I have to tell you that the first step off and trusting that harness was a bit hard for me, but by the end I was doing the superman and having a great time!

Enjoy the video!

I don't know if it was the heat or the fact that we made a ton of noise ziplining, but we did not see any monkeys or other critters up in the canopy.  Gratefully one guide would go first down the line, so we didn't get any up-close-and-personal-view of spiders either! Yes!

Our next bit of fun was our hike through the jungle and into the canopy utilizing suspension bridges.  It was beautiful and we even found some wild orchids!  Once again, there wasn't anyone else around so we had the place to ourselves.  The hike took a bit more than an hour and included a stop at a lookout point to take in the astounding view from the top of the mountain...with hammocks to rest in the shade!  They just needed some cold beverages!

The video will give you a taste of where we spent our day! Ignore any fingers on the lens!

The red in the tree are orchids.

We finished our morning with some lunch at the lodge and decided that it would be cruel to drag the horses out in such heat; we opted out of the horse back riding.  We had a really fun day exploring, but we were hot and looking for some rest back in Flores.  After a short nap and as the day cooled off, we went out again and found a quaint plaza with a small church and government buildings and lots of great pastel painted buildings.  We found a great local textile seller and I got myself a great embroidered blouse!

After a quick "freshening up", we began our search for a dinner spot.  Again it was an outdoor venue with some really great food.  We met a young gal from the states who had been on the road for six months and was working as a waitress to earn some more travel money.  There were lots of young folks traveling alone and in small groups.  It was another great day and we continued to be grateful for scoring a AC in our room!

Day Three: Thursday

Tikal National Park

I have to say that I really have enjoyed my food choices thus far in Guatemala!  After another yummy breakfast of fruit, yogurt and granola at our favorite place with a lake view, we returned to our room to pack our small packs for the day's adventure.  After checking out of our room, we placed out bigger packs in hotel storage in the back and met up with our tour group for the ruins at Tikal, one of the Mayan civilization's greatest cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

Our tour group was large with a variety of people, so we had two tour guides: one in English and one in Spanish. Tim had fun chatting up some of the Spanish speaking passengers.  After a stop at the small local airport we headed to Tikal.  So excited!  These pyramids are different than what we have been seeing so far!  We donned some bug spray and sun screen and followed the guide into the jungle.  He took us onto some less traveled trails in hopes of seeing monkeys and the national bird--the quetzal.  It was really hot and the black howler monkeys in the trees were hot too!

They are hard to pick out, but spread out over the branches are very over heated black howler monkeys!

Tarzan swinging on his jungle vine!

Our first destination in the distance

Tikal was settled somewhere between 900 and 700 BC.  The ruins are spread over 222 square miles of jungle.  So before we got to the big temples, we got to stop and climb other smaller structures along the way.  I am sure our guide told us all of the names, but I can never get it all straight, just enjoy the pictures and know where we are!

Beautiful trees with orchids

The main path out to the pyramids, wide and sandy

The view from Tikal's Temple IV was used in Star Wars Episode IV as the site of the rebels' secret base.  Geek out a bit!

Temple IV, the approach was from the back, but we got to climb it!

Structures like this are all over the jungle, waiting to be uncovered.

Approaching Temple I and II. That is our guide with the hat.

Temple I  we were not allowed to climb

Temple  II had wooden scaffolding up the back to climb up onto the pyramid.

Were are standing on Temple II looking across the plaza to Temple I.   Christmas card shot!

Grass plaza in the middle between the two temples.

I am wearing my new embroidered blouse.

 Aside from the main pyramids you could climb all around the site and explore.  It was amazing that many of the rooms were super cool compared to the heat of the day.  They almost felt air conditioned.

Wildlife grabbing garbage out of the trash.  I think it is called a coati, but it acted a lot like a raccoon!

We aren't done yet, this site is huge! Heading over to temple V.  It also had some scaffolding to climb instead of going up the great stone steps.  It was certainly great to have rails!

We sat on the top for a while and enjoyed the view.  This was a great experience!

The trees were amazing.

You could spend days in this vast Mayan city that once harbored thousands of people.  Everywhere we walked you could tell that there was tons to still excavate and even many of the big sites are not yet completely uncovered.  It was amazing.  The pictures don't do it justice!

 When the day tour was done, they took us to this nice covered dining area for lunch.  We were greeted with cool washcloths and soapy water to clean up.  Another spectacular meal with great service.   

After lunch we exited the park and returned to Flores to organize ourselves for the night's bus trip to Guatemala City. We had heard that the local chicken fast food place--Pollo Campero-- was famous Guatemalan institution, so we took a chance and crossed over the causeway using a local Tuk Tuk and had our dinner there. It was kinda strange, the place had a fast food counter, but you got seated by a host and had your order taken by a waiter?  Maybe we ordered the wrong thing, but I did not care for it.  The fries tasted like they had been fried in fish oil.  No me gusto'.

We walked back over the causeway after our dinner since it turned out to not be too far from our hotel.  The evening was cooling down and we enjoyed walking along the lake front back to our hotel to get our bags.  We found another Tuk-Tuk to take us to the bus station and....it was soooo hot in the station!  Like a sauna.  We just laughed as we sat in a puddle of sweat for about two hours waiting on our bus.  This time Tim had booked tickets on a sleeper and it was pretty posh and so cold that wet sweat soaked clothes made you shiver the night away.  But we slept never-the-less!

Day Four: Friday

Guatamala City to Panajachel via Antigua

After an early morning arrival in Guatemala City we had a short ride to Antigua where we spent two hours in the main plaza waiting for our next ride.  We arrived in Antigua at about 6 am and we got to see the town come to life before boarding our collectivo to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan.  

We are excited to return to Antiqua in a few days and have some time to really look around and enjoy this place!

It was a really pleasant wait.  We even found a nice coffee shop that served the most delicious hot chocolate and a bowl of yogurt and fruit for our breakfast. All of our connections worked perfectly! We were on the last leg to Lake Atitlan!

Pana was a fun place to shop and enjoy lunch.  We enjoyed watching Real Madrid beat FC Barcelona with the locals while eating lunch on Santander Street.  It felt relaxing and layed back.

The LDS Church is right on Santander Street, however, it was General Conference and the place was locked up tight!

Another A+ on our accomodations!  It was a hostel with private room and bath run by a local Guatemalan family.  The gardens below were beautiful with turtles, parrots and a couple of really cute little ninas that were shy but who did wave and greet us.  Our room was upstairs. ($40)

 

Chairs outside the room were nice to sit in and read and enjoy the sunset.  We strolled down to the lake to see where we had to go the next day for our boat ride out to Santiago de Atitlan.

It's a big lake and those are the tiny boats we will be crossing in...  

It was another great day.  Tim thought it was hilarious to walk away when the sellers would descend on me!  I would stop and admire, especially the textiles, and the people would mob you, especially if you were buying anything.  My Spanish was very limited.  It was crazy.  I will have to find a way to even that score....somehow.  Goober.

Day Five: Saturday

Santiago Atitlan

It was a beautiful morning for a boat ride.  The water was quiet and peaceful.   An empresario latched onto us and insisted on showing us the way to our boat launch even though we already knew the way.  We knew he was going to ask for a small payment, but oh well, he needs to earn a quetzal or two.

I really was excited to do this, I guess this is what I look like when I am thinking?  ug!
Note that there were lifevests onboard!

They fill every seat on the boat!  We were hip to hip! Sort of a water collectivo!

The boat dropped us off at our hotel dock instead of in the town of Santiago.  We felt very special and it was kind of a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous  moment for us.  Tim picked another great hotel 

($ 60)  Our hotel was located across the bay from the town of Santiago Atitlan and directly between the volcanoes of San Pedro to the north and Atitlan to the south.

We were a little early for check-in, but we didn't mind much.  We explored the grounds.  It even had a pool and kyaks and an on-site dining room.

 

 It felt like a tropical paradise.  

(However, the mattress was the hardest thing we have ever slept on and we backpack!)

  It was market day in the town so we jumped on a tuk-tuk and spent several hours exploring the market.  The place is filled with vendors and Mayan women dressed in the town's spectacular purple costume.  The men wear interesting striped shorts some of the time, but more wear western dress.

Santiago Atitlan from the water

 You needed to ask before  taking a picture of the Mayans.  They were offended if you did not. So we didn't take a bunch.  The women's blouses had the most beautiful embroidery work and I still regret not buying one.  Before we knew it, the sun was going down and we needed to make our way back to the hotel.  We enjoyed dinner there.

Santiago at night

 Day Six:  Sunday

Santiago Atitlan

Santiago is a more traditional sort of place.  It is the main enclave of Guatemala's traditional Mayan people. Santiago suffered greatly during the civil war as the area was a hotbed of activity for guerrillas who established themselves in this strategic area.  The Guatemalan military established a base here and began systematically searching for guerrilla sympathizers, killing hundreds.  More recently, in 2005, Santiago made world news after a number of devastating mudslides.  There still lots of NGOs working in the area.

Yes, we had planned some down time in our crazy schedule and Tim chose it in the right spot!  We would have another night without travel! We paddled the lake in the hotel kayaks in the morning.

 As we paddled around we saw some folks net fishing from their wooden boats, people washing their clothes and a guy taking a bath in the lake.  We could see that there were properties for sale along the shore and we even found the local LDS chapel.  There were steps up from the lake to the church.  Just imagine how cool it would be to go to church in a boat! After our paddle we decided to explore Santiago some more! 

A nice white church built in 1549 still decorated from Easter

This sign was on the side of the church, evidently there was a problem with public urination.

Flowers everywhere!

There were some great murals in town depicting local life

Sunset behind the volcano

After exploring around town, we came back to our lodgings for a swim in the pool and some rest. It was a beautiful stay at Hotel Bambu on Lake Atitlan.  Tomorrow we will travel and explore a new place!

Day Seven: Monday

Santiago to Quetzaltenango (Xela)

The hotel ordered a boat to pick us up so we didn't have to go into town.  Turns out, it may have been more comfortable if we had gone into town.  When the boat arrived it was basically full and we had to squeeze in.  Tim ended up in the bow of the ship.  The water on the lake this time was NOT smooth and he got some wicked bruises from the chop!

Waiting on the dock for our ride

Tim waiting for his &%#$ whoopin!

Quetzaltenango is the country's second-largest city. Its original K'iche name is Xelaju and that has been shortened to Xela (shayla).  It is very cosmopolitan and no stranger to earthquakes. It is at the crossroads for trade and transport along the Pan-American Highway between the highlands and the agriculturally rich Pacific seems to keep it prosperous.

 I feel like a broken record but wow, my sweetie has picked a great variety of nice accommodations for us to stay in.  This one is an old villa transformed into a hotel.  It was a little pricey ($80), but full of great character.  Our windows even had wooden "security" shutters. 

Oh, and the bed wasn't a brick!

 We settled into our room and went to look around the city.

That is a Boy Scout office!

 Adrenalina Tours was going to handle our hike the next day and Tim needed to check that everything was paid for.  Their offices were in this great old walk through building that also housed pubs and shops.  Once our business was taken care of, we were off!

Like most of Guatemala's urban centers, Xela is built around a central park.  This one is shaded with nice trees, some monuments and flower beds.  The down side was that every time you stood still someone would approach to sell you something.  It was a bit tough to just sit and people watch!

Parque Centroamerica

You can see Santa Maria Volcano in the distance.

We found a nice burrito place run by an ex-pat just off the main square. Yummy and a ton of food!  Our late lunch set us up for dinner also.  

Day Eight: Tuesday

Chicabal Lagoon

Guatemala is full of active and extinct volcanoes.  Tim kind of wanted to climb one, but me, not so much.  Instead we opted to climb up and descend into Chicabal Lagoon.  The lagoon was formed inside an extinct caldera.  It is a sacred religious space of the local peoples.  Catholics and Mayan alike come here to make sacrifices of flowers, food and sometimes chickens to insure safe travels (often to the US), better health, or prosperity in a new venture.

Adrenalina Tours picked us up bright and early for our hike.  There was another young couple from Scotland that joined our tour.  The first half of the hike was basically straight up through fields of potatoes and other vegetables.  

We got a reprieve from the climb as we entered the park.  These buildings were a kind of rest stop for those going on up to the lagoon.  There was a fee that our tour guide handled.

When we got to the top we got some views of the lagoon below and the volcanoes above.

That which looks like a cloud is actually the volcano erupting!

I cannot remember the count of the stairs down, but it was over one hundred!  I must admit that I was glad to be going down, but almost simultaneously thought about climbing out again!

This Lagoon is considered sacred by the locals so to swim in it would be kind of like swimming in the baptismal font at church.  In pencil someone wrote con ropa (no swimming with clothes).  There was a grassy spot around the sign, so we stopped for some lunch that we had packed in.

We  hiked around the lake while our guide told us about the significance of each space.

Our guide took us out another way instead of by the stairs.  It was less steep, but took longer.  The views were awesome as we descended to our pick-up point. We walked right through a village and got a good peek at how people live.

Our adventure is going by too quickly! Only a couple of days left and we have to go back to our ordinary lives!  After returning to Xela, we clean up and go looking for a dinner spot which we find just a few blocks from the hotel. 

Day Nine: Thursday

Chichicastenango

We are big fans of outdoor markets and Chichi has one of the best!  In addition to the crowds of vendors and buyers there is a dizzy array of good-quality textiles, pottery, fabrics, masks, gourds and nativity scenes!  Yes this is where I bought a few for family!  We arrived in Chichi mid morning on market day as per Tim's plan!  Sweet! 

Deeper into the market you get to where the locals shop for food.  What beautiful colors.  People come and purchase what they need twice a week, often getting lunch from a vendor.  These stalls are family run.  Tim and I climbed up some stairs and just people watched.  Towards the end of the day bored little kids were set loose to run a bit as elders cleaned up the goods.  We even said hi to some Sister Missionaries!  They were English speaking and surprised to be greeted in English!

After the market we explored the rest of Chichi.

Iglesia Santo Tomas was built around 1540 and is the site of syncretic Catholic-Mayan rituals both inside and out.  We took a tour of the inside of the church.  There is the usual Catholic priest, pews, cross, etc., you expect to find in a church, but,  up the middle isle of the pews there are Mayan sacrifice altars and a witch doctor on the side.  Frankly, I was creeped out.  Some may see it as a blending of religions, me, I don't get it.

On the edge of the market is the "church"

Flowers and items needed for sacrifice sold on the steps.

Our hotel was fantastic, complete with fireplace and our own butler.  After a day of walking and exploring this highland town of central Guatemala is was nice to come back to this quiet oasis.

Rooms were around the outside with a beautiful courtyard in the middle.  The hotel had a dining room for guests and we ate all of our meals there.  We were given the impression that tourists were not welcome in the town at night.

Day Ten: Friday

Antigua (for reals this time!)

La Antigua means "the old Guatemala" and this is in fact what it is.  Antigua was the former capital of Guatemala and was destroyed by earthquakes in 1773.  Rather than rebuild, the country's aristocracy opted for a fresh start in the neighboring Valley of the Hermitage, the current site of Guatemala City.  So, by decree, the city and its inhabitants moved on, but some stayed behind, choosing to live among the ruins.  The city's colonial architecture was maintained by them, as there were no plans to rebuild, and its ruined churches and convents remained just that -- ruins.  Today, Antigua is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It has brightly colored homes and cobblestone streets and tons of churches--many in ruins.  

La Merced church

Arco de Santa Catalina; volcano in the background

We found a nice quiet courtyard for our lunch.

Entrance to our hotel.

Our room had a crazy set up but it was comfortable!

We paid to go inside one of the larger churches to see what it looked like.

This sweet girl was named Darcy.  She sat and talked to us, so I bought a necklace from her. We even had a young boy shine our boots.  He did a great job; made them look like new!  

 As mentioned earlier, after the earthquakes destroyed things, the government left and the buildings stayed as they were.  We were walking past this destroyed church and spied a guy inside sweeping up leaves.  We asked if we could enter, paid a quetzal or two and enjoyed a look around.  The walls were massive!

Folks still use this laundry for washing clothes.

Yes the volcano erupts regularly!

Chicken bus!  We never did ride on one of these! Next time!

Day Eleven: Saturday (and Sunday)

Guatemala City to NY to Seattle

After a good night's rest in Antigua, our driver picked us up bright and early and drove us to Guatemala City and gave us a tour before dropping us at the airport to begin the trip home.  We walked around Parque Central or Plaza de la Constitucion which had a typical Catholic church and government buildings surrounding it.

The presidential palace was closed to visitors on the day we visited.  That was disappointing.

We did tour the Catedral Metropolitana.  It has survived two earthquakes, a testament to its sturdy  neo-classical construction.The pillars on the church facade are adorned with the names of many of Guatemala's disappeared, etched into the stone as a testament to the desire for justice, whether in this life or the next.  Inside, many of the altars and paintings adorning the church were brought here  when the capital moved from Antigua.

 Next our driver took us to a park that had a huge relief map of Guatemala.  It was kind of amazing to see how the mountains rise straight up.  It was fun to retrace all the places we had been from a bird's eye view.  We had covered some real estate!  There were several platforms that you could climb up to get the perspective.

An Eiffel inspired tower and the National Armory

 We asked our driver to take us to see the Guatemala City Temple.  It was in the poshest section of the city.  It looked like an expensive southern California resort area.  The driver made a point of informing us of the "millions" that it cost to build the temple.  When Tim jumped out to take the picture, there was a newly married couple just emerging for their pictures out in front.

 Before dropping us at the airport to await out flight, our driver took us to a nice open cafeteria sort of place in a very modern part of town for dinner.  We took a chance and had salads--we had missed them so!

The best price for our return trip went via NYC with a layover.  It made for a long trip but now I can say I have been in New York!  Crazy!  We got back to Seattle on Sunday and picked up our car from Katie and Zac in Puyallup, and drove the hour plus home.  The upside was practically free parking and getting to see the kids!

Once again I am impressed by the people who live in Guatemala.  They do not beg for what they do not have, they work and smile and do the best they know how.  I was particularly impacted by the native peoples who have hard lives compared to me, but still smile and find time to create beauty and color in their lives.  I am humbled.  I should be happier and make better use of what I have been given!

We are always exhausted after our adventures.  We absolutely love them.  Hope you got a taste of what we experienced.  We are ready to start planning the next one!  Crazy empty nesters!