Blogs from Verapaz Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 20

Caldo de Calzado I'm finally starting a special section I've been thinking about doing since I began this trip. The section will be devoted to my discovery of this country's cuisine. Since my trip is pretty low budget you can bet that most of the stuff I'm writing about will be too. But food (and drink) are the things I'm likely to splurge on too. My other weakness is for the weird stuff. If I've never seen it, tasted it or even heard of it, you can bet I'll be ordering some if I can afford it. The title comes from a translation error I made one day while reading a sign. Caldo is a traditional kind of soup here. It's made with either chicken or beef (usually chicken) in broth with cilanto, rice and ... read more

Spent a couple of nights in a jungle lodge and went to the water both days. Everyone just loved it!... read more

So, we've been hanging out in Lanquin, at this place called El Retiro for the last few days. It is one of these places you encounter every once in a while when travelling: located in a slightly out of the way place, in an idyllic setting where some gringo came years ago, discovered he didn't want to leave, and decided to open a hostal/guest house/retreat. There is usually one particular attraction in the area that has been a tourist draw for ages, and often little else of note. But the hostal/guest house/retreat ends up becoming a destination in itself. See, at this type of place, they provide everything you could possibly need within the grounds of the establishment. There will be a restaurant serving breakfast and lunch, coffee and tea, beers and sodas, licuados and milk ... read more

After spending Monday recovering from dragging ourselves up and down the volcano, we set off yesterday morning for the Biotopo de Quetzal. A hair-raising two hours careening around corners on the best paved road in Guatemala had us on the outskirts of Guate city, where we had to disembark for reasons of an urgent biological nature. So noon found us standing by the side of the highway in the scorching sun trying to get one of the endless stream of buses to stop and take us the rest of the way into the center. Eventually, some kind bus driver took pity on us, and a few Quetzals from us, and we found ourselves in the heart of the city. The last time I was here, the group I was walking with took a turn off of ... read more

Heading straight for Tikal in one trip seemed a little excessive. We took a bus trip to Coban, a town of some 40,000 people in the southern highlands. The area is reputed to have some of the best scenery in all of Guatemala. After 5hrs coach journey from Antigua I was tired and had a headache from drinking too little water during the day, the bus dropped us off at the bottom of a steep hill. At the top of the steep hill was where we needed to be. After struggling up the hilll in the dust and heat, I sat by the cathederal with the baggage whilst Sharon looked for a hotel. Sharon found Hotel La Paz, she choose it by ensuring that we wouldn't have to walk up or down any steep hills from ... read more