We’ve been travelling around Mexico and Central America and most recently enjoyed Beguiling Belize. Then we headed south into Guatemala to experience some of Guatemala’s main sights. We were leaving the beaches of Belize behind, for the lakes and volcanoes of Guatemala.
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| Sunset over Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala |
We took a shuttle minibus to get across the border and it was an easy crossing. Soon, we were in the Republic of Guatemala, an area that dates back to 12,000 BC. It became the core of the Maya civilization, before being taken by the Spanish in the 16th century. It became independent in 1847, and is now a developing country with a population of around 17 million, and high levels of poverty and inequality, especially among the Maya peoples.
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| Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala |
Our destination was the third largest lake in Guatemala, Lake Petén Itzá, and its tiny island of Flores. Connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway across the lake, Flores is full of historic Spanish architecture, supports a population of around 45,000, and takes just 40 mins to stroll around.
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| Narrow cobbled street, Flores Island, Guatemala |
We arrived at night and struggled to our nearby hotel with our luggage, hampered by narrow footpaths, cobbled streets, moto-taxis (i.e. tuk tuks), and people. Then suddenly, the street-lights went out and we were in total darkness. Oops! We stopped, waited, and when vehicle lights showed the way, shuffled a bit further. Then just as we thought we must be nearly there; the lights went on.
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| Our dinky hotel on Flores Island, Guatemala |
And there was our dinky little hotel, looking quaint as they all do on this island, and sitting right on the lakefront. Our room was ‘interesting’ and had a wee balcony with a lake view. Unfortunately, returning from dinner that night, we found we had a disco bar on the rooftop above us, that played loud music until the wee hours. Hooboy! Earplugs saved the night.
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| Flores Island township, Guatemala |
The Flores area, once the capital of the Maya kingdom, is known as the second oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the Americas, and was the very last Maya city to fall to the Spanish in 1697. There are many Mayas still living in this area. However, they continue to face discrimination and lack the right to participate in decision-making regarding their cultural heritage.
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| High lake levels flooding Flores Island, Guatemala |
While we were there, the narrow promenade and road around the island was under water. It seems that Flores was undergoing a one-in-40-year rise in lake levels, and lake water had crept across the promenade and into many of the lakeside buildings. Apparently, it won’t go down again until April 2025.
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| Cooling feet in the high waters of Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala |
Notwithstanding the flooding, people were still enjoying sitting with their feet in the water or swimming in the lake. We had breakfast every morning at a place up the road and loved watching people and boats on the lake, while the lake breezes helped cool the humid and hot temperature.
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| Marg at our New Year’s Eve restaurant, Flores Island, Guatemala |
New Year’s Eve eventually came around, and we’d booked a night out at a restaurant recommended by our hotel. We arrived there to a wonderfully warm welcome. We were given the only table that was lakeside, and received great service in that busy restaurant. We had a lovely night, before wandering back to our hotel quite late.
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| New Year’s Eve fireworks around Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala |
On the way, we popped in to the organised New Year activities along the lakefront and watched people enjoying themselves with music and dancing. We arrived back at our hotel and quite exhausted, one of us went to bed and was instantly asleep. The other was sleepless in this noisy town, but was rewarded with seeing the fireworks display around the lake from our balcony, as the clock ticked into 2025.
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| Leigh at Tikal (UNESCO), Flores Petén, Guatemala |
While in Flores, we visited the Tikal National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site. It contains one of the largest urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It dates back to 2000 BC – 250 AD, making it one of the oldest and most influential Maya cities.
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| Huge pyramids tower over the jungle canopy, Tikal (UNESCO), Guatemala |
Now days, it covers over 576 km and is home to more than 3,000 structures, including huge pyramids and temples that are buried deep in the jungle. For some of the larger structures, wooden stairs are provided for sightseers, rather than climbing the actual stonework of the structure. We braved the hundreds of steps on one, and the view from the top was wonderful.
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| Driving conditions to Chichicastenango, Guatemala |
Leaving Flores, we flew south to end up in the town of Antigua. The next morning, we took a shuttle minibus from there, to the town of Chichicastenango, but it rained the whole way and looked miserable outside the shuttle. We noticed that this part of Guatemala, as with the northern part near Flores, had poor-looking villages, unfinished buildings, and roadside rubbish, spoiling the look of the green and lush jungle.
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| Maya Q’iche women, Chichicastenango, Guatemala |
Chichicastenango (or Chichi for short) is in Guatemala’s southern highlands which is home to many of Guatemala’s 22 indigenous peoples, and in particular, the Maya Q’iche people. The market at Chichi is a reflection of their culture, and is one of the most famous markets in Central America, often being called the Maya Market.
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| Traditional women’s clothing for sale, Chichi Market, Guatemala |
Walking around the market (in the rain), we saw local produce, and traditional handcrafts including the huipil blouses that Indigenous women wear. The market surrounds an interesting church, and the stairs to the church were being prepared for a ceremony of some sort, that unfortunately for us, was to be held after we left.
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| I’m sure we walked past here before! |
We had 4 hours at the market while we left our luggage in the minibus. However, after our market visit, we reckon you need 1 hour of sightseeing and 3 hours to find your way out of the labyrinth. It is so large and vibrant and easy to get lost in.
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| Street in Chichicastenango, Guatemala |
As well as the market, we took a walk around town. It was filled with narrow shops on narrow streets with narrow footpaths. The footpaths were so narrow, that you had to step off it to let someone get past you, only to be tooted at by the heavy moto-taxi, motorbike, ute, and chicken-bus traffic.
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| Lake Atitlán and two of its three volcanoes, Guatemala |
After fortifying ourselves at a local café, we were back on the minibus heading further south to Lake Atitlán, the deepest lake in Central America and considered one of the most spectacular in the Americas. It formed in a crater created by an eruption 85,000 years ago and is still surrounded by three volcanoes.
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| The busy wee town of Panajachel, Guatemala |
Our minibus dropped us right at our hotel which turned out to be a very slapdash type of place. We were in Panajachel, one of the many towns around the lake. It is home to around 11,000 people, many who are of Maya origin who have preserved their traditions and customs.
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| The lakefront in Panajachel, Guatemala |
The rain had stopped by now, and so we walked down to the lake for a look around. It is an attractive lake, and there was so much activity around the lakeshore, such as boats, souvenirs sellers, restaurants, and hotels. We found a restaurant for dinner that hovered above the lake. The floor moved as we walked across to our table, giving us a wee start. But the view was wonderful.
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| Marg leaving the boat wharf, San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala |
The next day, we went out in a small ferry boat to visit San Pedro La Laguna, another of the many small villages around the lake. We got off our boat at San Pedro, walked up the colourful boardwalk, then found a moto-taxi to take us to a lookout over the lake. After enjoying the view, we went down to the tiny township.
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| View from our restaurant of San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala |
With a population of around 9,000, this little place packs a punch. It regularly gets boatloads of tourists and so has a lovely vibrancy. After walking around for a while, we stopped at a modern restaurant with a balcony overlooking the water, and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. They had a wonderful salsa and while Marg ate only a little of it, Leigh ate a lot.
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| No other gringos on the little Panajachel ferries, Lake Atitlán, Guatemala |
Finding our way back to the right dock, we boarded the ferry back to Panajachel. As seems to be the norm for us, we were the only gringos on the boat. This means we always get lots of stares, which for us creates a ‘hello’ moment followed by attempts at conversation.
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| Antigua (UNESCO), Guatemala |
Late that afternoon, we were again on the shuttle bus and heading to the town of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its historic architecture and monuments. We arrived to find it a really quaint and attractive town, with low-rise colourful buildings, cobbled streets, and large Spanish Baroque structures.
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| San José Cathedral Antigua (UNESCO), Guatemala |
With around 500 years of history, Antigua wears its mantle of Guatemala’s ex-capital, with pride. The city is lovely, vibrant, colourful and magical. We loved it...or at least Marg did. Leigh had become quite ill; we think because of the water used to wash the salsa vegetables we’d eaten in San Pedro. We were actually both ill, but in proportion to what we’d eaten – Marg a little and Leigh a lot!
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| Burger King, Antigua (UNESCO), Guatemala |
Fortunately, we were in a beautiful AirBnB with everything we needed. But it laid Leigh low for 48 hours. So Marg had to find food for one – not a problem in Guatemala which has all of the main American food chains such as Burger King, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, etc. In Antigua, these had very low-key signage and were required to be in keeping with the rest of the town.
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| Antigua (UNESCO), Guatemala |
Our time in Guatemala was drawing to a close and Antigua was a great place to finish in. We’ve enjoyed Guatemala, and it’s been quite easy to get around. But Leigh was still feeling low, so we were steeling ourselves to move on at 3:30 am the next morning for a 7-hour shuttle bus trip to Honduras. That story is in the next blog.
This post is the seventh in a series that tells the story of our travel in Mexico and Central America. The first post in the series can be found here.