Guatemala
We’ve arrived – Guatemala
Early breakfast at our Heathrow hotel so we would get to check in before nine and confirm we had had our jabs. Flight left on time and then we had an 8 hour flight to Washington. On the way we could see small icebergs off the coast of Greenland and sheets of sea ice as we reached the Northern Canadian coast. Two hours in Washington before the 4+ hour flight to Guatemala, arriving at 10.30pm or 4.30am Friday morning UK time, so our body was telling us we needed to sleep. Got through customs and met up with our guide and driver and had an hour’s drive along a steep windy road finishing in a cobbled street at the hotel. Finally in bed at midnight (or 6am UK time).
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Antigua
Woke up early ready for breakfast. We are at an altitude of 1500m and surrounded by three volcanoes so most of the days it’s been warm but cloudy. The Hotel is an historic property dating back to about 1620. There’s a picture of our room key, no electronic key cards here. The rooms are arranged around a series of courtyards enclosing gardens full of roses and colourful and scented plants. It was in one of these where we had our breakfast. We spent the morning wandering around some of the streets which we will be exploring more of this afternoon. There were lots of colourful characters trying to sell us their souvenirs. Found a nice shop selling chocolate so we had to sample a few flavours (rum and cardamom were the two we chose, but it was a tough decision). After lunch we met up with the rest of our tour group and guide for a walking tour of the city. Antigua was the capital of the Central Americas until it was devastated by an earthquake in 1773 at which time the capital was moved to what is now Guatemala city. Many of the places we were to visit were damaged and abandoned at that time. Just a few yards down the street from our hotel is the clock tower of Saint Catarina. This was built as an arch across the street to join two convents so that the nuns could pass across the road without being seen by the public. We passed by the ruined old cathedral which now is just a shell used for storage of the huge processional versions of the stations of the cross which are paraded through the streets on Good Friday. From here onto see the elaborately decorated church of La Merced and onto a tour of the remains of the convent of the Capuchins, seeing the chapel, nuns’ cells, laundry and a small museum. We saw the outside of the impressive buildings lining the main square including the newer cathedral which is now a parish church. We also visited a church which houses the tomb of now sainted Brother James who was responsible for the building of two early hospitals here. The first for the treatment of lepers and the second for people with TB which was the disease from which he died. We also saw the Franciscan monastery and the outdoor public laundry – just like the “Steamie”.
Lake Atitlan
An early start this morning, up at 5, breakfast at 6 and on the road for 7. A clearer start to the morning and we could almost see to the top of the volcano, but this changed as the drive went on and the road began to climb to over 2500 metres, the clouds came down to our level. We were travelling on the Pan American Highway, the same road that we had previously travelled on in various tours of central and South America, as well as California. The drive was interesting as we passed through agricultural land and also saw all the various roadside stalls. Our guide also gave us an introduction to local agriculture, history and social and political history. As the road descended (Atitlan is at about 1500 metres), the clouds cleared with blue skies and our first clear sight of the volcanoes encircling the lake. We stopped at a small town where we boarded a small boat for a trip across the lake to another small town called San Juan la Laguna. The lake looked deceptively calm but the water was a bit choppy so the experience was a bit like being on a rollercoaster while being sprayed with water. In the town we visited two women’s co-operatives. The first showed us a demonstration of preparing and dying cotton and weaving. The women receive 80% of the value of the goods they sell and the remainder goes to the co-operative. The second demonstration was an introduction to the medicinal plants used by the Mayan people and an opportunity to buy some of the preparations, creams, shampoos and soaps that they make. From her it was on to another demonstration of chocolate making and rum(from chocolate) making and an opportunity to taste and buy the final product (this time we resisted temptation). Another ride on the boat took us to the town of Santiago Atitlan where we had lunch (a very tasty local dish of chicken stew and an equally nice vegetarian alternative). A final boat ride took us back to our coach for a short drive to our hotel for the next two night on the shore of the lake at the town of Panajachel.
Chichicastenango Market
A leisurely start this morning , up at 6.30 to have breakfast at 7 ready to leave at 9. Clear blue skies and already very warm. A 2h drive took us to Chichicastenango to see the market. We stopped to take yet more photographs looking down on the lake and the volcanoes. The road was a winding mountain road taking us back higher up. We thought it might become cloudy and cool, but we were lucky and it stayed hot and sunny all day. A pleasant drive and we could even see a currently active volcano sending a huge cloud of smoke high up into the sky. The market was full of stalls lining the street and was a mixture of tourist souvenirs and all the things the local people would need (just like the Barras in Glasgow). We passed through the fruit and vegetable market which was housed in what would be an indoor basketball court during the week. Then it was on to the very old church of Saint Thomas. The steps were full of people selling flowers and burning incense. There is a mixture of Catholic and Mayan traditional religion even within the church itself. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived they set about converting the native people to Christianity and destroying their culture and traditions. Amongst other things they set fire to all the written records of the Maya, except for three books which have survived to today. One of these was found a couple of hundred years ago hidden behind the altar in this church. After this we had some free time to explore the market further, but some of us took a different route towards the cemetery. Just at the entrance to the cemetery we saw another aspect of the market as people had brought in the cattle and pigs to sell. The cemetery itself was full of very colourful family graves and it was very pleasant to walk around. Some of the memorials were very personal, one youngster must have been a great fan of Spider-Man as this was painted on his grave. There were also areas where people were burning incense and performing rituals to commemorate their relatives buried there. We retraced our steps past the church to a restaurant in the market for lunch (another chicken stew with a green tomato sauce). Then another 2 hour drive back along the way we had come.
Flight to Flores
A very leisurely morning as today we fly on to our next destination and what should be the highlight of the Guatemala portion of the holiday. Once we had sorted out our luggage we were restricted as to what we could take on the flight. This meant that our two cases will be remaining behind for us waiting for our return to Guatemala City in two days time. Then the rest of the morning was spent in the shade by the side of the hotel pool. It’s another hot sunny day today. At midday we left for a 4 hour drive back along winding mountain roads, getting some superb views and our last sight of the Lake. Our destination was the airport at Guatemala city for an hour flight on a small plane to Flores. A slight hiccough when the check in people couldn’t find the booking for our group, a bit of a wait while our guide phoned London and all was sorted. Not many pictures today as it was all travelling.
Tikal
When we arrived last night the temperature at 8pm was about 23 degrees and it was about the same this morning. Our flight yesterday had taken us away from the volcanoes in the highlands and we are now in the lowlands at about 150 ft above sea level in the jungle. Our view from our room’s balcony is of a small lake with a resident crocodile which we haven’t seen yet, but he comes when bread is thrown into the water to attract the fish. We heard the howler monkeys and the sound of the jungle last night. An early breakfast at 7 am and a 2 hour journey to the Tikal National Park, the site of the remains of the largest ancient Mayan city. We spent 4-5 hours walking through the park seeing the archeological sites and the wildlife. We saw colourful turkeys, a toucan, various birds, spider and howler monkeys, a snake and a coati (a raccoon-like mammal). However the main reason for being here was to see the ancient city – a collection of ceremonial pyramids, palaces, ball courts, and a legislative assembly. One of the final visits was to the lost world which was the last area to be excavated. We climbed a couple of the pyramids, the last of which gave us the classical view of the largest pyramids rising above the trees and jungle all around. We had a late lunch at 3pm after a lift in a high class vehicle and then it was the drive back to the hotel. Currently writing this with a special Mayan tea which is an infusion of allspice leaves, lemongrass, hibiscus flowers, ginger and peppermint with honey to sweeten it.
Yaxha
An early breakfast (no sighting of the crocodile, but did see some turtles) and in the coach at 8.30. A 2h drive with the last 20 minutes along a rough track. Our destination was another National park which housed another ancient Maya site. This is a less visited site and we had the place largely to ourselves. Only about 10% of it has been excavated. It was an important civic and ceremonial site. Walking through the forest we watched the monkeys – a mother teaching her young one how to climb the tree. One of the highlights was the view from the top of one of the pyramids giving views across a vast area of jungle and a couple of nearby Lakes, After another chicken lunch, we returned to the town Of Flores for a short tour. This is a very picturesque place situated on an island in the lake we passed by yesterday. It is also the location of the airport and now was time for our flight back to Guatemala City, flying on the same aircraft as we had the other day.
San Jose – Up at 5am to get our 8am flight to Costa Rica.
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