Disclaimer: Prices in Guatemala

When traveling, we are always careful with our money.  In undeveloped countries, people will try to squeeze more out of you than an item is worth.  In Guatemala you need to be especially careful.  During our time in Guatemala we experienced more foul play with prices than any other place in Central America.  In Guatemala they charge foreigners much more than locals.  It is an unspoken policy across the country to charge even twice as much for a service.  It is our personal belief that this is wrong.  If you go to Guatemala and you are going to take a bus or colectivo, or you are going to purchase something, make sure to ask people how much it will cost before you are buying.  Ask many locals to see what price they would be paying.  If you get on a bus, ask your neighbors how much they are paying.  Make sure you have small enough bills to pay exact, because if you are needing change, don't expect to get it back.

Lake Atitlan

In the southwest of Guatemala is a beautiful lake called Atitlan.  To get to the lake, you take a bus to the hills above, take another bus down into the lakeside towns, and hop on a boat to the town of your choice.  The main transportation around the lake is by boat.  Transportation by road is unfeasible due to the lengthy amount of time it takes to drive around the lake.

The towns along the lake are nestled on the steep slopes of the adjacent mountains.  One of the most popular towns is Panajachel.  This town is fairly touristic, but is a good base location for adventuring around the lake.  From Panajachel, you can even walk along part of the lake to visit some of the other towns.

The mountains around the lake are volcanic.  Four volcanos: Atitlan, Santiago, San Pedro, and Cerro de Oro line the southwestern shore of the lake.  At sunset, these volcanoes look beautiful with the setting sun behind them.

The villages around the town have winding streets filled with pottery and textile shops.  The textiles are beautiful and very affordable.  We spent a whole day just visiting these shops.  The blankets, table runners, and clothing are beautifully colored.  At one shop, a mother and daughter pair dressed me in the traditional clothing of the Mayan women of the lake.  With a large shirt, wrap-around skirt, and tight waist belt.  This experience alone convinced us to buy a couple of items from them.  At another shop, we found a beautiful blanket for our bed.

While in Panajachel, we stayed with a Couchsurfing host.  For most of the time, we were alone at his house, since he had left to visit a friend on the other side of the lake.  Our time at the house was interesting.  His dogs were starving since he had left very little food for them.  His kitten would sneak in the house at night and keep us awake.  And on the last night we were staying there, we arrived after dark to find a padlock on the gate.  Fortunately, we were able to clime the wall into the house and get our backpacks.

Semuc Champey

Semuc Champey is a beautiful series of terraces located in north eastern Guatemala.  The river suddenly goes subterranean and disappears for a few hundred meters.

On top of the huge rock slab that the river dives under, are beautiful terraces of clear water.  Water coming from forest streams has created these limestone terraces in the rock above the river.  You can wade and swim in these clean, warm pools.  If you sit on the edge and rest your feet in the water, small fish nibble at the dead skin on your feet.  Considering the price that some people pay to have this done in urban settings, this is very cool.

For a birds eye view, you can take a hike up the mountain to an overlook above the terraces.  The view of the blue waters is spectacular.

Mayan Ruins

There are many very interesting Mayan Ruins in the south of Mexico and throughout Guatemala.  They vary in their architectural styles.  Some are enormous cities, and others are smaller.  Some are very well preserved, and others are mostly rubble.  Here are a few of them.

In the Yucatan peninsula, there are two major ruins.  One is on the coast - Tulum.  This is not one of the most impressive ruins, but it is located along the beautiful Caribbean coast.  While at the ruins, you can even go down to the beach and swim.

The largest ruin in the Yucatan is Chichinitza.  The main attraction at this ruins is the large central pyramid.

Outside the city of Oaxaca, there are two very different ruins.  Mitla is just north of the city of Oaxaca and is a very simple ruins.  All the buildings in Mitla are quite small, but they are elaborate and still have much of their original paint. 

The passageways in Mayan ruins are always quite low, but in Mitla they are especially low.

 The other ruin in Oaxaca is Monte Alban.  This ruin is on a hill just above the city.  These ruins are in worse condition than the ones at Mitla.  The pyramids are much larger here, and the city was much larger, but most of the constructions are now overgrown with grass and trees.

One of the nicest ruins is in Palenque.  When you get into Chiapas and northern Guatemala, the ruins start to change.  The pyramids become much taller and skinnier.  Palenque was once a very powerful city, so the buildings there are very impressive.

The ruin which is most difficult to reach is Calakmul.  Calakmul was only just recently discovered.  This ruin is many, many kilometers away from any main road, and is buried in the jungle.  The pyramids at Calakmul are very large, even reaching above the tall forest canopy.  The area that the city spanned was also very large.  To walk from pyramid to pyramid takes quite some time.  This city was also very powerful and had a fierce rivalry with the Mayan city Tikal - which is in north eastern Guatemala. 

When you climb to the top of Calakmul's tall pyramids, you can look out over the jungle for what seems like hundreds of kilometers and not see any sign of civilization.

Finally, there is Tikal.  Tikal has a similar architecture to Palenque - tall, skinny pyramids.  This is an expensive ruin to visit, but is well worth it.  The city of Tikal was enormous, and the ruins here are fairly well preserved.

One of our favorite stories of Tikal occured while walking between two areas of the city.  We were walking alone on a dirt path deep in the jungle when Javi was bit by something.  He let out a yelp, which caused me to stop and ask what was wrong.  This was a bad thing to do, because when I stopped, dozens of fierce biting ants crawled up my pants and began to bite me.  I began to run through the forest cursing, screaming, and tearing off my pants.  Javier had no idea what was happening, and began to question my sanity as I disrobed.  I had to brush the ants off and even kill some which were holding on tight to my skin.  To this day, this is one of Javier's favorite stories to tell people. 

Caye Caulker

Caye Caulker is a beautiful island only a short boat ride off the coast of Belize City.  When we arrived, we were greeted by a friendly man eager to help us find accommodations.  We got to ride around the island on his tricycle, while we looked for the cheapest place to stay.

Caye Caulker was previously only one island, but now this island is split into two sections.  If you ask how the island was split, many people will tell you that it was caused by a hurricane in 1961, but the reality is that this divide in the island was man made. 

The most popular hangout on the island is right on this divide, at the Lazy Lizard bar.  People gather on the small beach at the divide, have drinks, and swim.  This island has a lot of character.  As you walk around, you will find people selling lots of interesting things.  There is one man on the island who makes delicious home made tamales.  During our time there, our favorite salesman was a very vocal man with intense desire to sell "Sea weed and oysters - natural aphrodisiacs!"

Cascades of Mexico

There are many waterfalls in Mexico.  Some are tall, some are wide, but all are spectacular.  Here are a few.

El Chiflon - Comitan

Las Nubes - Comitan

Agua Azul - Palenque