Planning a Trip to Guatemala

Panajachel was great! We timed our visit just right to see the Festival for Saint Francis of Assisi, which was one of the most impressive fireworks displays I have ever seen, mostly for its enthusiasm and uniqueness. You can take a boat trip to all the different towns around the lake. It is lots of fun, beautiful scenery and each town is unique. You get the best rate for the boat trip at the door of the boat on the docks. So don't bother with the travel agencies on the main street. What is good with the travel agencies though, is they arrange a mini bus to take you to the Chichicastenango markets, keep your bags on the bus while you wander the markets for a few hours and then drive you on to Antigua. This is a great way to do it if you are on a time limit. Otherwise, the local buses will be a lot cheaper. We stayed at Mario's Casa (maybe not that name but similar.) There was a beautiful flowery courtyard and the rooms were nice, but the shared shower was a little iffy. The owner however was one of the friendliest people we have ever met. Even though we don't speak Spanish and he didn't speak English we seemed to understant each other easily. We thought the festival was over and came back but it turned out it was still leading up to the finale, he explained this to us and told us we could make it if we ran, and then he waited up for us so he could lock the door when we came in. Really went out of his way to be nice to us so definitly stay there. If I remember the name properly I will re-post it.

Tikal is best seen as a day trip from Flores... it is a huge site... the ultimate Mayan bastion... so keep good time to see it.... and if you are short of time, consider hitching a ride in one of the mini-van tours that carry visitors who dont want to walk... that saves a lot of time inside, and the price is often negotiable...

Don't forget a warm jacket when you go to Antigua. It could be cold beyond your imagination in Antigua! Going on a finca tour on horseback is wonderful. I recommend Parramos, check out "posada de mi abuelo" on the internet. It's a wonderful place and its food is the best in guatemala!

Sundays are the best for the market. It is a massive, colorful extravaganza around the cathedral in the center of town. The variety of woven goods, pottery and embroidered goods is wonderous. Mayan women bring masses of flowers and take up positions on the steep stairs leading up to a cathedral. It makes for a perfect "Kodak" moment BUT you must use a telephoto lens: if they notice you taking photos, they hide their faces and that really ruins the moment. For lunch or dinner there is very nice hotel directly behind the cathedral. It has a large courtyard garden and the food is good.

If you are itnerested in learning Spanish, this is the place to do it. There are many schools and they will arrange home stays for you so you can practice your Spanish even when not in school. The ONLY drawback is that there are so many foreigners doing the same thing, you could find yourself lapsing into English with them while hanging out in this beautiful city. Also, always carry your camera. Photo opportunities abound everywhere and Guatemalans love to pose.

Photographers take note!!! Guatemalans are very colorful people and they do not mind posing for pictures, but expect to give them a dollar or so for doing so. Also, be aware that someone started a rumor that is making it very difficult to take pictures of kids whose parents are not around. Just as we tell our kids not to get in cars with strangers, many Guatemalans tell their children not to pose for pictures because, so the rumor goes, the pictures are used to "market" kids to foreign parents and once a "sale" is made, the photographer comes back and abducts the child. It sounds pretty ridiculous, but apparently it strikes enough of a chord with Guatemalan families to cause alarm. Considering how many abducted children in the US disappear without a trace (should we do a TV show about this? Just kidding!), the Guatemalan parents precautions might not be entirely out of place. So, if you want to take pictures of kids, ask where their parents are and if they are anywhere close by, ask the parents. Otherwise, it is perhaps better to just let the moment go. I did however, convince two girls in very colorful costume to pose, but only after I gave them some money. One looked straight at the camera but she did not smile (perhaps because she did not want to look too cute and abductable. The second one kept her face in profile and she also did not smile while I took the picture. However, when I was done, they smiled and waved goodbye. They had been sent to the local market to sell some fresh produce from their land and they went back to tending business. A couple of days later I saw a mother with two daughters,a truly colorful picture opportunity. I asked the mother and she agreed. I took some superb pictures of the two girls and then of the girls with their mother. She was selling home-woven shawls and I bought some as souvenirs. It was a good transaction and a good memory.

Visa is widely accepted as oposed to American Express

It's good place to stop before going to Belize, because it's cheaper. There isn't a lot to see in Melchor, but can stop at the Yaxha ruin's on the way to Melchor (if you are coming from Poptún or Flores). The view from the pyramids to the lake is beautiful. Melchor is a very little town, it is a good place to see how Guatemaltecs really live.
If you stop there, you have to sleep (or drink something) at Rio Mopan Lodge (on the way to Belize, after the bridge and before the customs, take on the right). The Hotel owner Marco Gross and his wife Inma will give you a lot of very good tips and advises!!
see:
http://www.tikaltravel.com/

Flores functions as a hub not only for the ultimate Mayan site of Tikal but also for border crossings into Mexico... you take a coach or hitch a ride to one of the border towns... be warned that the towns are on a river route that serves as the border in this area and is expectedly not that organised... for one, you may cross the border on boat under the assurance of the local boatmen only to find that the visa stamping police post is closed ... so you are already in Mexico as an illegal visitor...

If you are interested in taking a look around a coffee farm on a horseback, you should go to Parramos. Type in Posada de me abuelito, Guatemala on Google. You will find some information about this german country farmhouse converted to a BB. Get a weekend package that includes bed, brekky and horse riding for Q.300 or something(apprx. $40) Take a chicken bus to Chichicastenango at Antigua bus terminal and get off in Parramos it cost like 3 Q's p/p. Then get a local taxi to the hotel...it takes around 5 minutes from town center. I loved everything about this place - its coffee(fresh coffee from the owner's finca), its food(authentic guatemalan), its atmosphere(green, fresh, cool and quiet), unforgettable horse riding(though it hurt my unprepared arse bit too much) and the hospitality of the hotel owner couple! Bet you'll have a great time.

Bring a flashlight for the sunrise tour, eat breakfast at their restaurant (best pina and plantains ever), and watch for soldier ants!

se llama chichicastenango, no chicastellanos!!!!!!

Market days are Thursdays and Sundays. If you are pressed for time a good way to visit the markets is via a tourist mini bus from Panajachel or Antigua. They cost between $10 and $15, pick you up, drop you for a couple hours at the markets, (you can leave your bags on the bus) and then drop you at the next city. Really worked well for us as that time, we only had a week in Guatemala and being able to leave our bags was huge because otherwise we would have had to have lugged them around the markets.

Trippin - a great hostel - cheap, nice people San Pedro is a great place - nice, friendly and open people. Good Food in most of the restaurants Buddha Bar - has good food and a good place to hang out