Beautiful Guatemala

Dec 31, 2024

4 min read

I’m not sure what about Guatemala feels so different from Belize or Mexico, but from the start it felt so comfortable, inviting and calming to me.

Fun facts about Guatemala:

Population 20 Million
The biggest city in entire central America is Guatemala City
Exports: bananas, coffee, sugar cane, milk, cheese, beef, etc.
Garifunas: people of mayan and african decent who live in Belize and Guatemala
Quetzal: national bird with great significance in the Mayan world, also on their money!
33% of the entire country is protected as national parks!

Tikal

After an easy crossing into Guatemala by foot we hopped on a bus and headed to our first stop - breakfast! Tasty traditional breakfast with scrambled eggs, refried beans, cheese, tortillas, and plantains. Next up were the amazing ruins of Tikal, a Mayan historic site. Here some of the most important facts about Tikal:

Was inhabited from 800 BC to 900 AD
Over 60’000 buildings are part of the Tikal site, however, this represents only 15% of the entire city as only the middle and higher classes lived inside the city walls.
There are about 2200 Jaguars in the Tikal park, as well as monkeys, armadillos, snakes, tapirs, etc.
1848 is when Tikal was rediscovered
The tallest temple of the Mayan realm is in Tikal!
Mayans made a model out of limestone - to scale - to plan out the entire city of Tikal. This city took over 1700 years to build (according to the model)

Flores

Flores is a small little town in the northern part of the country on the shore of lake Peten Itza. We had a short afternoon to discover, grab some dinner, and get ready for an early departure the next morning. It was a bit overcast so we decided not to jump in the lake but had a great time walking around seeing all the colorful doors and cute little restaurants and shops.

Rio Dulce

Rio Dulce is a little town on lake Izabal, very close to Flores. Here we stayed at a fun lodge in the middle of the jungle. Unfortunately, I had caught a pretty nasty head cold that was spreading through the group so I took the time at the jungle lodge to get some rest as the others ventured out on a few different adventures. What I didn’t want to miss out on, was a boat ride and visit to a women’s cooperative where we had a great time learning how to make coconut ceviche. The cooperative has been around since 2004 and is able to employ about 12 women. They have different little classes you can take, are a running restaurant for the locals, and also have a little lodge they rent out. It is an excellent way for the women to gain autonomy, have some income, and help their children go to college.

Antigua

Wow oh wow. Antigua is absolutely gorgeous! I am so happy we got to spend a good chunk of time here. The view of the various active and inactive volcanoes are absolutely stunning, the buildings are gorgeous, and the colorful wardrobe is amazing to see.

From here I got to do a day hike on the Pacaya volcano, visit the museum of Guatemalan art, taste some local street food, support some local artists, and just enjoy browsing the city and taking it all in. I was pretty bummed I couldn’t do the big volcano hike to Acatenango due to still having a bunch of pressure in my head from being sick. The pics that some of my friends took were absolutely amazing. Experiencing a volcanic eruption and being able to see the glowing lava is definitely something I want to come back and see!

Lake Atitlan

After a few days in Antigua we packed a small bag for a 2 night adventure at Lake Atitlan. First stop along the lake was Panajachel. We arrived in the late afternoon and really only had time for our group dinner. After a relaxing night in a private room (woop! What a treat!) we caught the 8 am boat to a little oasis called La Casa del Mundo where we had a tasty breakfast and a relaxing morning swinging in hammocks, and enjoying some tasty beverages.

The next stop was at San Juan de Laguna where we visited a number of interesting cooperatives followed by a homestay at a local family’s house! The homestay was super interesting. The family my roommate Michaela and I were at were super friendly and cooked us a tasty dinner. We then spent some time talking to them, getting to know each other, and learning more about their lives. Later on Jose (the dad) Michaela and I took an evening stroll through town, went down to the lake, and learned even more about the town’s history. Like how the water level has receded drastically in the last 60 years, how the Mayan language is still a huge part of their lives, and how tourism has helped the town become more connected to the world and provide better opportunities for the families and kids living there.

Here are the cooperatives we visited:

Bees: learned about the different types of bees and various honey products
Herbs: met one of the town's curaderas and the various plants they use for medicinal purposes
Textiles: saw how the textiles are hand made and colored
Chocolate: had a quick demonstration of the chocolate making process followed by a chocolate schnapps tasting

Christmas in Antigua

On christmas eve, after a nice breakfast at the homestay, we headed back to Antigua. Our christmas eve was filled with meandering around town, taking a salsa lesson, and having a nice dinner followed by salsa dancing with locals! It was so much fun! Christmas day a few of us walked up to one of the viewpoints for a nice view followed by brunch and margaritas at a rooftop spot with even more great volcano views!