La Cuevita de las Urquizú is on 2a Calle Poniente, #9. A casserole style traditional Guatemala fare. you choose what you want, then they seat you inside. Highly recommend the Pepian de Pollo and the traditional Mayan Suban-Ik, which has port, beef, and a wonderful sauce.

Paulino's is always busy, as it is right off the road on the way from Guatemala City to Quetzaltenango. Terrific coffee, hot chocolate, breakfasts, smoked sausage/chorizo, you name it. Wait for breakfast until you get there!

wonderful hot chocolate from a recipe established over 100 years ago. Excruciatingly slow service by a uniformly disinterested wait-staff, but the chocolate and deserts are worth the wait.

One of the best examples of religious syncretism, i.e. the combination of Catholicism with Indigenous beliefs of the Maya in Chiapas. No cameras are allowed, and do not try and violate this, or you WILL spend the night in jail. Cofradías, or fraternities of church men oversee the sanctuary, which is usually covered in pine needles, burning copal-incense, and with rituals and healings taking place as overseen by shamanes. Includes the use of eggs, coke (seen as having healing properties) and others. A must see if you are in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, which is nearby.

Maya cuisine, just off the main square. Quite good selection of Maya fair, sometimes with the added entertainment of the proprietor and her mother arguing about the food... Two sites, one across the street from one another.

A women's cooperative for weaving and textiles in Quetzaltenango, or Xela. Individual weavers from surrounding towns sell their goods. Formed as a way for women to earn money for their families in the aftermath of the civil war that impacted the highland regions of Guatemala

near downtown, at the base of El Calvario church. Very clean, nice staff, and basic but cheap quarters.

excellent pollo al carbon, very friendly, and nice and clean. Right off the hwy, and who doesn't want to eat in a place called "Tactic?"

good cheap food, used by the locals. Right off the hwy, just before the entrance to Rio Hondo. Good carne asada, good recommendations from the staff, who are very friendly.

The home of Carlos Fonseca, the intellectual author behind the modern day Sandinista movement. The home has been turned into a modest museum, which chronicles his difficult childhood, his work with his Sandinista compañeros, and his early death just before the revolution overthrew the Somoza regime. Very much worth seeing.

In the Los Altos region of the state of Jalisco. It was the center of the Calles regimes attempt to shut down the Catholic Church. People still remember hiding priests and fighting against the Mexican Army. Many blonde, blue-eyed people, given the fact that French Armies under Maximilian stayed there for periods of time.

Three leather shops around Tlaquepaque, which you soon realize are owned by brothers from the same family. They serve tequila and membrillo ( the latter made from quince), which consumed in the right quantities, by the third store, means you end up buying SOMETHING. Excellent leather bags, quality jackets and boots. Well worth the price.

A great restaurant with Maya cuisine and wonderful atmosphere. I've taken large groups here, and the food is very good, reasonably priced, and has a good mix of dishes from the region. The wait staff and management are very friendly, and frequently there is good music by local musicians.

The grooves under the Congress street bridge are perfect for bats to roost, and it is the largest urban bat colony in the world. Just as the sun goes down, you can watch tens of thousands of bats swarm out from under the bridge as they come out for the night. An amazing sight! Then head to nearby downtown Austin on 6th street for some great food and music.

The only fresh water shark in the world in the lake. Climb both volcanoes, one of which is in the rain shadow of the other Concepción and Maderas, and definitely check out the glyphs with someone from the area. When I was there, there was an environmental youth group in town which gave tours.