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Published: July 28th 2008
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We arrived in Guatemala City expecting to see a horrible expanse of a place with dirty streets and dodgy people everywhere. This is the picture that builds in your head when 100% of people tell you you should leave for another destination straight away. Our experience was totally the opposite and coming from San Salvador (the dodgiest city in the world) Guatemala City seemed quite charming. We did have quite a lot of bother trying to find a bus to Antigua (we decided to move on straight away anyway) but that was more down to us having the out of date guide book than anything else and the locals were helpful enough.
Antigua is a gorgeous town. Cobbled streets crisscross their way through colonial buildings, churches and plazas. The back drop of Volcano Pacaya is almost as spectacular as the trek up to it which was our first activity. The walk up to the volcano was quite easy although steep in parts. Everyone managed apart from a fat American girl who lasted about 20 yards before hiring a small horse who once burdened with her colossal frame looked like he wouldn’t last much longer. When we arrived at the top
of the hill opposite the main peak the view was incredible - it looked like the end of the world, so dark and gloomy with lava still spewing out of the side. That would be as close as you could go in any safety conscious country but hey we were in Guatemala and so allowed to climb over razor sharp cooled rock produced by the lava and walk right up to where the lava was spewing out. We braved a few seconds close enough to toast marshmallows on sticks in the heat. In short it was amazing. On the way back I had a sing along to ‘Wind of Change’ by the Scorpions with 3 German lads in the minibus - good times.
We left most of our stuff in Antigua and headed off to Lake Atitlan, which we discovered was very busy, or at least the surrounding towns were. We arrived in San Marcos to find all but the worst accommodation was booked so we braved one night and decided to move to the more ‘happening’ San Pedro. Where San Marcos is all about relaxation (if you can find a place to stay), San Pedro is all about
the partying - we didn’t do too much but I did find myself dressed in a pink leotard in the middle of nowhere with a lot people having a good time until the police came and chucked us all out - If I had a pound…….
Guatemala is very proud of its coffee and rightly so. There doesn’t seem to be any big companies mass producing it, just local farmers and people who can sell their beans to the processors. Anyway all you need to know is that it’s cheap and it tastes great. While we’re on the subject of food they call themselves the Green bellies because of all the avocados they eat so if you’re into to your savory pears get a trip to Guatemala booked.
We took a horse ride or gallop around the plantations which was great, just Charlotte, me and the guide. The horse took us slowly up to the top of the hill above San Pedro where the views of the lake were stunning and then my noble steed legged it with me on it and wouldn’t slow down for anything. I finally managed to get him to slow down enough to
see Charlotte come charging down the road but there was no sign of the guide at all. We didn’t know where we were or where we were supposed to be going but the horses seemed intent on taking us up a path to the edge of a cliff and we had fun playing cowboys along the way.
From San Pedro we took a boat to Panajachel, just staying for the night before getting up early to shop at the infamous Chichicastenango (Chi Chi) market. This is a good place to practice your bargaining skills and also if you like to see middle-aged Americans getting ripped off for all they’re worth I would advise going as well! There’s not much to say about the market other than its big and full of everything you find at all the other markets in Guatemala. If your one of those lucky people who we gave a present to when we got back, chances are it’s from there.
When we arrived back to Antigua there was a stinky cyclist in our dorm, sleeping right next to Char's bed! He was cycling from Texas to Patagonia and then on to Buenos Aires - a
fair old way. As it turns out the reason he stank of wet dog/smelly cheese, was because he decided not to wash any part of his body for the whole trip so he wouldn't miss showers when he was on the road - we also didn't see him change his clothes for the three days we were there which can't have helped. After two nights holding our breath he came in and informed us that our dorm was being fumigated and we all had to leave. We queried this at the reception desk and they kept telling us to wait for a while. The cyclist in the meantime packed up his bike and left informing us all that this is a regular occurrence in Central America. None of us had ever heard of it happening before but we accepted what he said until, after he left, the girls from reception said the room was fine and ripped his bed apart and put incense candles all over. “Oh I bet it’s a regular occurrence for you my friend - try having a shower and see what happens!!”
It had been a while since we’d visited some ruins so we took
a minibus to Copan just inside Honduras. The ruins there were pretty cool but are rightfully overshadowed by Tikal (see below) and other ruin sites in Mexico - luckily we saw them in the right order. They are worth seeing though and it was quiet when we were there which is always a good thing. There’s a few nature trails and a bird sanctuary around as well which are well worth a look.
Because the journey from Antigua to Copan had been so trouble free, we decided to go it alone for our onward journey to Flores and Tikal. Of course the journey was a nightmare, when we finally caught the bus to Flores we were surrounded by illegal immigrants on their way to Mexico and then on to the States. That was quite good fun although there was a lot of mumbling followed by belly laughs going on at our expense. I was convinced they were going to try and rob us for all we were worth which isn’t like me at all normally. Turns out they were fine and even helped us get a taxi in Flores.
Flores is a strange place, one of those towns
that's there because of the tourist trade but still looks poor. It has really nice views over the water but becomes a ghost town during the day when everyone leaves before sunrise to visit Tikal. Of course, the reason we visited was the same as everyone else to see the largest Mayan ruin site. As we were nearing the end of our trip and having seen such amazing things you can become hard to impress but Tikal was immense, the whole place is hidden by jungle with much of it yet to be excavated. It’s only when you reach the top of one of the main towers that you can see above the canopy and appreciate what it might once have been. We sat undisturbed for 20mins looking over the jungle canopy watching Toucans flying by seeing nothing else in any direction short of the 2 other towers that peak above it - good times. Check out the video of the Howler Monkeys which roared around the place - apparently they only do it during the rainy season so we were lucky to have experienced it. I think I’ve gone on enough now so suffice to say Tikal is well
worth a look if you’re in that region and you
don’t need a guide despite what they might tell you.
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