I had the opportunity of spending about two weeks in Guatemala and visiting various parts of the country. It was the trip of a lifetime and I was able to experience the tourist side of the county and gain familiarity with every day life of a Guatemalan. I don’t believe many Americans are fortunate enough to really see the everyday life of the Guatemalan people and I cannot thank Cara and David enough for this experience. Without my “tour guides” I could not have had such a unique and eye opening experience.
The first stop of my trip was Lake Atitlan, which is a major tourist destination in Guatemala. The lake is beautiful, clean, and is surrounded by mountains and volcanos. This place is truly a paradise and you don’t have to look far to find Americans on vacation. The little towns on the lake are only accessible by boat due to the huge surrounding mountains, which gives this place a unique and relaxing atmosphere. This vacation destination rivals those of Costa Rica and Mexico and I have already recommended the lake to many friends for future vacations.
Thereafter we made the trip to Chiantla in the department of Huehuetenango. This is Cara’s Peace Corps site and I was privileged to observe her daily life and the daily lives of many of her friends within the town of Chiantla. The town is filled with small locally owned stores offering fresh food and supplies for daily living. Despite myself being an obvious outsider I was greeted with a smile everywhere I went. While staying with Cara I was able to attend an English class and communicate with her students. The class was a blast and those attending including myself had a great time attempting to communicate with each other. I could tell they were excited to meet me as much as I was excited to find out more about them. I am a beginner Spanish speaker as they were beginner English speakers so lack of language made conversation fun and interesting. I could tell Cara had a strong relationship with the people of her class, they respected her and appreciated her presence.
Climbing the Santa Maria Volcano was remarkable experience. The hike was 8.5 hours total and we spent about an hour at the top eating and taking in the view. From the top, the second largest city in Guatemala, Xela was clearly visible as well as a group of active volcanoes. It was a very difficult but rewarding adventure.
In the latter part of my trip I visited the ancient Mayan city of Tikal. This was truly an amazing experience to be in the middle of the rain forest and see the tremendous Mayan temples. Climbing to the top of the temples was an adventure in itself. Temple 5 has a ladder that you must climb to go up 150 feet. Once at the top of the temples there is a view of the rain forest above the canopy, which is breathtaking. The most amazing part is that hundreds of temples still must be excavated and are covered with earth and huge trees. The park is unique in that it is huge; at one point I walked for 1.5 hour without seeing another person only animals and rain forest. The tours are truly worth it and give you a good history of the Mayan people. I took a sunrise tour in which you work up at 4:30 am and walked through the rain forest in complete darkness. I have never been somewhere it is so dark you cannot see your hand in front of your face. The sounds of rain forest in the night are something I will not forget.
These are just the highlights of my trip and a true recount would be much longer. The county in beautiful and a very affordable trip for Americans. I believe the country’s tourism is not well known or advertised and this results in the lack of knowledge that Americans have for the country and what it has to offer. This for sure will not be last trip to Central America and look forward to improving my Spanish and getting to know the region.
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