GUATEMALA ~ Land of the Quetzal Bird

Our first impression of Guatemala was that we were getting ripped off with high prices... The marina was $425 for a week, the paperwork for entry was $165, the fellow who took us on our one day tour wanted $300 (paid $250). Most cruisers bypass Guatemala, but Alice really wanted to stop since her son-in-law Rod had service his two year mission for the LDS Church here. Also, we were HERE, so why not see the country?

We were pleasantly surprised to find that our driver, Noe Urias, had brought a friend along for our excursion who spoke excellent English. Elias had studied in Belize and had lived in the U.S. for ten years, so he was extremely helpful. We left the marina at 6 AM for a LONG day of sightseeing. The hardest part of the entire trip was the miles we spent traversing a portion of the Pan American Highway. Where it is finished it is a nice four lane road, but every so often there were portions that were either in disrepair or under construction. It took about 3 1/2 hours to drive to the furthest destination- Chichicastenango, high in the mountains to the northwest. Here we saw the most colorful native market in the country. The children hawk their wares with dogged persistence, knowing enough English to press a hard bargain! La Iglesia de Santo Tomas has stood for hundreds of years, blending Catholicism with Mayan beliefs.

Working our way over to Lake Atitlan and the town of Panajachel, we were amazed at the farming being conducted on every available piece of land- small individual plots of every color of green created a pathwork quilt effect on the countryside. As we neared the lake we stopped for a photo op. Sadly, the sky was gray and overcast. Then we worked our way down to the shore and the town which turned out to be horridly commercialized. The natives were well-prepared for all the tourist traffic, of course. It would have been neat to go out on the lake, but then, we LIVE on the water... As we looked for a place to park, a gaggle of LDS missionaries spilled out a gate and onto the street!

Noe had agreed to take us three places for our price. Then Alice got on the internet and found the Mayan ruins of Iximche only a few miles off the Pan American Highway. So she begged to go there, too, even agreeing to skip Antigua if it took too much time. Interestingly, neither Noe nor Elias had ever been there! Still on the altiplano, the highlands, the area is covered with evergreen trees and is very cool this time of year. Some of the buildings have been excavated and are in fairly good shape. We were surprised to find people climbing and walking all over them. There was also a simple museum with a few artifacts and an interesting scale model of the entire community. This settlement has been dated at 1470 AD, not long before the Spaniards arrived.

It was late afternoon when we arrived at Antigua, a beautiful city reflecting the colonial period. It was awarded the rare title of a World Heritage city by UNESCO. We walked the lovely city park and took as many photos as possible in the fading light. Most everyone looked like turistas, save the people working the shops and cafes. Curiously, the photo of the ladies in their long aprons was shot here- not the typical Antigua dress which is western.

In the early light of morning we had seen several volcanoes, one spewing smoke. Our hope was to get photos going back, but by then it was dark. We did take some shots from the roof of the boat later, which are shown above. Guatemala is an interesting mixture of old and new, traditional and modern, rich and very poor. Please view the slideshow on the side bar by right clicking on the photo. You will want to slow down the slides to 8-10 seconds depending on how fast you read! Enjoy Guatemala!