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Quetzals the Hard Way – Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 8 February 2012
Spotting quetzals during our time at Ranchito del Quetzal was eerily easy. All we had to do was get out of bed at first light and stumble down to the restaurant where as many as 10 quetzals at a time dutifully came out to greet us. However, our next attempt to see these technicolor birds, at Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve, was much harder work right from the get-go. Getting to Chelemhá First there was the matter of getting to the privately owned and run Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve, a 400 acre (172 hectare) chunk of land in the Yalijux Mountains in the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala.
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Quetzals the Easy Way – Biotopo de Quetzal, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 6 February 2012
The quetzal is Guatemala’s national bird and their money is named after it. It’s also one of the most impossible looking species on the planet. The bird has iridescent feathers that change from bright green to dark blue to nearly black as the light shifts. Its overall color scheme includes an eye-popping mix of neon green, red, blue, yellow and white. The feathers on its tiny head are like a fluffy mohawk. Strange finger-like feathers seem to wrap around from its back toward the front of its chest as if to hug the bird.
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So Much More Than Semana Santa – Antigua, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 1 February 2012
Antigua, Guatemala is best known as the town that hosts one of the world’s biggest and most colorful religious festivals. Holy week, or Semana Santa in Spanish, is celebrated with elaborately made and profoundly temporary street carpets called alfombras and lots of somber and elaborate processions in which hundreds of the devout carry enormous floats (called andas) through the cobble stone streets all in an effort recreate the persecution, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In a word, Semana Santa in Antigua is epic and you should experience it if you can.
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Mayan Moats – Laguna Petexbatún & Aguateca Archaeological Site, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 30 January 2012
As if visiting archaeological sites wasn’t enough of an adventure, there are a handful (like Yaxchilan in Mexico) that are best accessed by boat which adds a thrill before you even get there. Aguateca Archaeological Site by boat It’s got the word “agua” right in the name and, in some ways, the roughly two hour boat ride that you have to take from the town of Sayaxche out to the Aguateca archaeological site was the best part of our visit to this once powerful Mayan city which dates back to 300 BC.
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Stelae! – Dos Pilas & El Ciebal Archaeological Sites, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 25 January 2012
It can’t be avoided. If you want to get to the town of Sayaxche in the Peten region of northern Guatemala (and points beyond) you have to get on a low-tech little ferry and cross the Rio La Pasión. That includes horse-drawn carts, 18 wheelers and us. Rio La Pasión is a pretty grand name for a fairly ho-hum waterway and an even more forgettable town. Honestly, Sayaxché is pretty shitty but it’s the gateway to some very nice Mayan archaeological sites. Dos Pilas The Dos Pilas site dates back to AD 629.
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Take the Long Way Home: Trekking to El Mirador – Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 22 December 2011
So far so good. Despite what we’d heard, the two day trek to the El Mirador arcaheological site in Guatemala hadn’t been as hard or as hot as we’d feared and our “rest day” at the site itself was pure pleasure (except for the part about getting peed on by spider monkeys). However, things were about to change.
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A Site for Sore Feet: Trekking to El Mirador – Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 19 December 2011
A “rest day” at El Mirador doesn’t include much rest. That’s because almost everything about what remains of the Mayan city now called El Mirador in the Peten region of Guatemala is spectacular–from the jungle trek in (and the resulting spectacularly sore feet) to the cultural, artistic and architectural importance of the area that’s been called the cradle of Mayan civilization.
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Getting Organized and Getting In: Trekking to El Mirador – Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 13 December 2011
Of the nearly 60 archaeological sites that we’ve visited during the Trans-Americas Journey none is as cloaked in mystery or as hard to trek in to as El Mirador in the jungles of the Peten region in northern Guatemala. We’ll get into the intriguing details of El Mirador in our next post (for now, suffice to say, El Mirador was a massive city which is older than Tikal, is home to the largest known Mayan pyramid, by volume, and is still reluctantly giving up game-changing secrets).
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Tikal Basecamp #2 – Flores, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 5 December 2011
In a recent post we told you about some of the best places to stay and eat in chilled out El Remate which, along with Flores, is one of two main basecamps for travelers headed to the thoroughly awesome Tikal National Park and Archaeological Site.
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Tikal Basecamp #1 – El Remate, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 1 December 2011
If you want to visit Tikal National Park and archaeological site (and you do) there are two basecamp options for travelers: Flores or El Remate. We spent time in both towns. We’ll tell you all about Flores in our next post. For now, we’re focusing on El Remate on Lake Peten Itza which we believe is emerging as the better of the two options. El Remate is a chill, lakeside village near the Biotopo Cerro Cauhi which has a growing list of budget and mid-range accommodations and a few solid economical eating options.
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Beyond Tikal – Uaxactun Archaeological Site, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 28 November 2011
There are plenty of great reasons why Tikal archaeological site gets so much attention (and thousands of visitors). However, Tikal is not the only former Mayan civilization in Guatemala’s Peten region that’s worth your time. About 15 miles (23 km) along a good dirt road beyond Tikal lies Uaxactun. Inhabited from the Middle Pre-Classic period through the Classic Period, Uaxactun thrived from 500 AD to 900 AD and was the longest lasting Mayan city in the Peten region of Guatemala. While Uaxactun and Tikal may have been neighbors they were not friends.
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If We Had to Pick a Favorite – Tikal National Park Archaeological Site, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 21 November 2011
When Eric visited the remains of the vast and powerful Pre-Columbian Mayan city of Tikal in Northern Guatemala in 1993 he quickly dubbed it his favorite Mayan archaeological site. Eighteen years later we have now visited more than 50 other Mayan sites, including Tikal for a second time. Though we love most of the Mayan sites we’ve visited Eric says that Tikal, which was Guatemala’s first national park (designated in 1955), is still his favorite.
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Survivor Mayan Style – Yaxha Archaeological Site, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 10 November 2011
Little known fact: Eric sent in a video application to be on the very first season of Survivor. That obviously didn’t pan out and, in hindsight, that was for the best. What does that little confession have to do with Yaxha, the remains of a pre-Columbian Mayan city in Guatemala? Quite a lot, actually.
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Guapo Guatemala – Chiabal, Laguna Magdalena & Chajul, Sierra de las Cuchumatanes
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 8 November 2011
North of Huehuetenango the Sierra de las Cuchumatanes mountains, the highest non-volcanic range in Central America, rise into the sky. This spectacular bit of Guatemala is home to high altitude plateaus, tiny windswept villages and a naturally infinity-edged lake that almost no one visits.The Cuchumatanes are also home to two new community tourism guest houses that get you into the terrain and into the culture. Chiabal The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it village of Chiabal is perched on a wide, sheep-speckled plateau at nearly 11,000 feet.
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Drunken Horse Racing – Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 2 November 2011
Though we missed the world famous annual drunken horse racing in Todos Santos local guide Rigoberto Pablo Cruz (rigoguiadeturismo@yahoo (dot) com, good English spoken) knew that locals in a nearby town were putting on a smaller race so we jumped in the truck and drove about an hour out of Todos Santos, climbing up to more than 11,000 feet (3,352 meters) into the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes mountains. A soft dirt straight-away about an eighth of a mile long had been cleared through the center of the tiny, dusty town where, weirdly, there was a porta-potty in front of nearly every house.
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Party Town – Todos Santos, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 31 October 2011
Todos Santos Cuchumatán (commonly called just Todos Santos) is a stronghold of some of the most spectacular traditional dress in Guatemala and living Mayan customs like using a small sweat lodge called a chuj. It’s also a town that likes to party. Their annual free-for-all drunken horse race, held on November 1, typically involves dozens of riders all of whom are too drunk to walk let alone ride a horse down a muddy road at break neck speed. A picture from this insanity is on the cover of the 2007 Lonely Planet guide to Guatemala.
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Surviving the Festival of Santo Tomás – Chichicastenango, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 26 October 2011
Chichicastenango, a mountain town about 90 miles northeast of Guatemala City and a popular day trip from Lake Atitlan, is famous for its weekly market. Vendors come from miles around to hawk everything from potatoes to ponchos to a huge array of local crafts from around the region. A substantial number of tourists come from even further afield to snap pictures and sometimes buy. We showed up in Chichicastenango (which everyone shortens to just Chichi) in time to experience the massive market and witness the culmination of the town’s annual Festival of Santo Tomás.
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The Villages of Lake Atitlán – San Pedro & Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 24 October 2011
During our time in Panajachel (aka Pana), the biggest town on Lake Atitlán, we took a day to visit two smaller lakeside villages, traveling in long, narrow, wooden boats called lanchas. San Pedro la Laguna For 25Q per person (about US$3) we got a 45 minute ride across the lake to San Pedro la Laguna, where we had a lovely breakfast at a restaurant right on the lakeshore, complete with French Press coffee. A wander around San Pedro revealed a nice backpacker buzz with fewer travelers than Pana but a tempting array of coffee bars and Spanish schools and budget hotels.
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Lake Life – Panajachel, Lago de Atitlán, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 21 October 2011
Lago de Atitlán is one of the “must dos” for travelers in Guatemala. This super deep, volcano-ringed lake (itself a flooded volcanic crater) is the deepest lake in Central America (max depth is more than 1,000′). The surrounding area has been called the Switzerland of Guatemala and author Adlous Huxley called the lake “too much of a good thing.” While we wouldn’t go that far, Lake Atitlán is a lovely place and it’s easy to get into the laid back lake life.
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Volcano Trekking – Santiaguito Volcano, Xela, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 19 October 2011
Instead of sitting around Quetzaltenango (aka Xela) with frozen toes we decided to head to a much warmer location–like up one of the active volcanoes that surround the town. There are a lot of guides and tour companies in Xela, but we signed up for an overnight trek to watch steam, ash, firey hot rocks and molten lava spew out of Santiaguito volcano with a volunteer-driven/not-for-profit company called Quetzal Trekkers. They have offices in Guatemala and Nicaragua and their profits are used to support local programs for children.
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Sacred Spaces – Xela (Quetzaltenango) & Laguna Chicabal, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 17 October 2011
The drive along highway CA 1 (aka, the Pan American Highway) out of Guatemala City through the mountains toward Quetzaltenango (aka Xela) takes you through the town of Hupalupa. At 10,334 feet (3,150 meters), this spot is marked as the highest point on the Pan American Highway. Also known as Xela About 3,000 feet lower lies Quetzaltenango which, thankfully, everyone calls Xela (pronounced Shell ah). Xela has become a base for two pursuits: learning Spanish and scrambling up volcanoes including the still-active Santiaguito.
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Troubled but Trying – Guatemala City, Guatemala
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 5 October 2011
Despite warnings to the contrary, we crossed the border into Guatemala with no shenanigans. In fact, there were signs all over the border post denouncing corruption and promoting honest enforcement of official regulations. Another pleasant surprise? Lots of road construction and the bits that were done were in great shape. Still, we wouldn’t put Guatemala City on the top of anyone’s travel list.
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The Chicken Buses of Guatemala
Blog: Brilliant Tips Travel Blog - 24 September 2011
From its colorful markets and bougainvillea-covered walls to its pastel colored colonial buildings, Guatemala is arguably one of the most colorful countries in the world. One of the first things I noticed upon arriving in Guatemala, were the intensely hued buses. Known as “chicken buses,” these old, retired American school buses arrive in Guatemala in [...]
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The hidden treasures of northern Huehuetenango: Laguna Brava
Blog: Nono in Guatemala - 15 September 2011
Two yearsago, I had planned a trip to hike to the Laguna Brava o Laguna Yolnajab butnever went. So when I realized it was close to the Posada where we were stayingI knew I had to go.
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The hidden treasures of northern Huehuetenango: Mayan Painting & Hoyo Cimarron
Blog: Nono in Guatemala - 15 September 2011
AroundFinca Chacula there are many beautiful places to discover than not many peoplehave to the opportunity to see while visiting Guatemala.
