Finally made it!

Old May 28th, 2015, 01:05 PM
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Finally made it!

This was my first trip to Guatemala which had been on my bucket list for years and I finally made it in late Feb/early March. I found it to be totally different from several other Latin American countries that I have visited over the past seven years. Guatemala definitely has a vibe all its own due to the high percentage of indigenous population. When I look back I think of it as a tremendous explosion of color due to the wonderful woven textiles, fantastic art and colonial architecture.

First my friend and I flew up to Tikal after a quick overnight at Villa Toscana. This was a great place by GUA – clean, comfy, safe, reasonable rate, nice garden to eat dinner which was delivered in. Because you are only 3 or 4 minutes from the airport, it can be noisy with aircraft taking off and landing which does last late into the night. http://www.hostalvillatoscana.com/index_ing.php

5am taxi was on time and the hotel gave us breakfast to go. We flew up to Flores where the shuttle from Tikal Inn was waiting for us. We immediately went with our guide on a four hour tour of the park which was fascinating. Our guide was provided by the hotel and was knowledgeable about the different temples.

Wildlife sightings in the jungle were not very numerous and that surprised me. We did see a few spider and howler monkeys, several coatis, parrots, an agouti, oscillated turkeys and a gorgeous pair of violaceous trogons.

We also did the sunrise tour which was absolutely magical. We met at 4am since it takes about an hour to walk up to Temple IV. Sitting on the steps listening to the jungle awaken was pure bliss, even on a very misty morning. You could barely see the other temple rising out of the morning clouds, but I would do it again any day!

In hindsight, I would have spent two nights at Tikal Inn since the shuttle for the 7pm flight left the hotel at 3pm. Our flight was over two hours late, so we wasted the last half of the day. Our time would have been better utilized by staying over the second night and taking the early AM shuttle. http://www.tikalinnsunrise.com/

Although others have complained, we found the food at Tikal Inn to be very good, especially the broiled fish w/ garlic sauce. We had dinner at the first comedor on the left along the exit road and I can honestly say it was the worst meal of the trip. Mystery meat!

We spent one night in Antigua at Hotel Casa Antigua which was beautiful. Although we arrived late, they were waiting for us. This once private home has now been turned into a lovely hotel. Breakfast buffet was set up on the patio with tables in both the courtyard and patio. I found the staff very easy to deal with in reserving our room. Emails were answered quickly, but English speakers were only available via phone at certain hours. http://www.hotelcasa-antigua.com/

We met up with several other Americans and Canadians to go to Lake Atitlan before returning to Antigua to participate in five days of service projects via Friendship Force International. Along the way to Pana, we stopped in the small town of San Juan Comalapa to view the murals along the cemetery walls which show the history of the region, civil war, earthquakes and rebuilding of the town. This Kaqchikel town is known for its primitive artwork. One of the most famous artists, Oscar Peren, has his chicken bus painting displayed at the Smithsonian. Comalapa is a great place to stop off (and shop!) after a farm-to-table lunch at El Pedregal in Santa Apolonia. We also visited the small Mayan ruins site of Iximche which doesn’t compare to Tikal, but was a good introduction for those who didn’t go.

We spent four nights in Pana at Hotel Dos Mundos which is a quiet little oasis right off the main drag in Pana. http://hoteldosmundos.com/ Although Pana is busy, you could get away from street traffic and noise at this hotel. The pool was great and free WiFi was an added bonus. There were some issues with water in some of the rooms with very dark black water coming out of the showers and black sand in the toilets. It was fixed quickly, not sure exactly what caused it. Breakfast was just OK.

Some Guatemalan friends who were with us suggested going to Circus Bar for pizza and to listen to acoustic guitar music. Great pizza and good music! We enjoyed it so much that we went back again for lunch a few days later.

We stopped by Maya Traditions Healing Garden which was OK, but I doubt if I would go back again. The work the organization does with the Mayan families is remarkable and they have an excellent gift shop.

The Friday morning market in Solola is an experience not to be missed! I believe we were the only Caucasians there. This is definitely a market for the locals to do their weekly shopping and was fascinating. The colorful textiles, the food, the chicken buses and truck beds jammed with Mayan families made this quite different from other Central/South American markets I’ve visited. Although I didn’t buy anything, I enjoyed sitting on the wall by the chicken buses and taking photos and absorbing the street scene.

We had lunch one day at Hotel Atitlan which was the priciest meal of the trip – beautiful setting, gorgeous garden and good food. We also did the short hike at Atitlan Nature Reserve to see the waterfall, monkeys and coatis. I was surprised at how extremely dry and brown Guatemala is in February/March. I’ve spent a lot of time in Costa Rica in dry season where it is still very lush and green, so this was quite different.

We chartered a boat one day to visit San Juan la Laguna and its various art galleries and weaving cooperatives. When reading about the atmosphere of the different villages, I liked what I read about San Juan’s atmosphere compared to the others. I loved the Asociacion de Mujers en Colores Botanico where we had a demo of natural tinting techniques of their very high quality goods. We stopped in Santiago for lunch and to see Maximon, but my overall memory of Santiago will be the extremely aggressive female vendors at the dock. I honestly thought they were going to jump in our boat to get one last sale!

The Sunday Chichi market was fun – so many beautiful items for sale. Visiting the church and colorful cemetery with the shaman ceremony was quite interesting, although the crowds can be a bit overwhelming at times in the market.

Returning to Antigua, we spent a week at Posada San Sebastian a few blocks off Central Parque. We had all 8 rooms in the hotel and owner, Luis, told us it was our home away from home. This is a very funky, small hotel filled with extensive art collections that Luis has found in his travels. There’s a wonderful rooftop terrace, perfect for drinks in the evening and a nice courtyard with a fountain. If someone is looking for a luxurious, five star hotel this isn’t it, but for those independent, adventurous travelers, this is a fun place to stay. http://www.posadasansebastian.com/

In Antigua we enjoyed meals at Rincon Tipico, El Faro, Fusion, Sabe Rico, El Portal and Dona Luisa.

During the week we spent most of our time in villages outside of Antigua where we visited several locally run non-profit organizations that our Guatemalan friends recommended for us. We were not searching for NGO’s run by American and Canadian expats (which often have wonderful support from friends, family and churches back home), but we wanted to see the work organized at the local level. Our friends got us lists of needed items prior to our departure and we all arrived with extra suitcases stuffed with items to donate to a prenatal center, special needs school, community library, a school for deaf children, animal rescue center and a home for the elderly where many were rescued from living in the dump. The work each of these groups does to assist those in need was simply amazing. Everyone who visited came back with high regards for the dedication of these organizations.

Going out to El Pilar to view hummingbirds was a total waste of time. One report I had read said there were over 700 feeders on the property, but there were 7, most of them empty and dirty with very few hummingbirds around - disappointing.

Since we were there during Lent, we also were able to visit the Jocotenango church for the Friday night velacion service which preceded the children’s procession on Saturday and the Jocotenango procession on Sunday. Watching families design and create the alfombras (carpets) with colored sawdust, flowers, fruits and veggies was so interesting and unique.

I dealt with Ismar Lopez at Antigua Tours (owned by Elizabeth Bell) and can highly recommend them for any hotel, flight, package or transportation needs. They are extremely quick to respond and have a Magic Jack number for phone calls. We had tried dealing with another well known travel agency with dismal results before finding Antigua Tours. http://antiguatours.net/ We also had Elizabeth present her slide show “Antigua: Behind the Walls” combined with dinner at Fusion and then took her morning walking tour the next day.

Would I return to Guatemala? I probably would if it was another service type project, but I don’t know if I would go for a vacation. My vacations tend to focus on photographing nature and wildlife with stays at eco-lodges and I didn’t find the tourism infrastructure in Guatemala (other than Antigua) to be on the same scale as other Central American destinations. Wildlife sightings were not nearly as common as Costa Rica destinations which I think has really spoiled me for future trips, but I didn’t come close to exploring the entire country. But, Guatemala offers a unique blend of indigenous culture, history, colonial architecture and Mayan ruins that you don’t find in many other countries. It was definitely a great introduction to a new destination!
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Old May 28th, 2015, 02:53 PM
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Colibri, thanks for posting this. I found your trip report really interesting. I think Costa Rica has probably spoiled me too, but it's fun hearing about other countries. I'm surprised to hear it wasn't lush and green. Sounds like you did get in a few good animal sightings.
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Old May 28th, 2015, 11:19 PM
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This is a great report - thanks so much for taking the time to share with us.

It's all about priorities, isn't it? I keep returning to Guatemala over and over, often with blue water time in either Belize or Honduras. My travel priorities contemporary indigenous culture, ancient Maya culture, great/cheap Spanish immersion programs, flyfishing, snorkeling, and scuba diving. We started a scholarship and social aid project on the lake with a group of local friends so that's a big draw, too. Not really tempted by Costa Rica because it doesn't tick my boxes. I think part of my 'problem' is that I live in such a special part of the world (the Columbia River Gorge right on the line between the Cascade Range's temperate rain forest and the desert to the east) that it takes more than just a gorgeous environment and wildlife to get me to leave home.

In the past nearly all of our visits to Guatemala have been during the summer months when everything is sparkly and green, even in low lying areas like Tikal. In March/April 2013 I spent 3+ weeks on Lake Atitlán and it wasn't dry and brown like those same months this year - I was surprised, too. I'll be back in the fall - curious to see if it will have greened up by then.

Thanks again for posting!
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Old May 29th, 2015, 11:21 AM
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Thanks, VG and Hopefulist - it was a great first time experience and really showed me how very different these small Central Americans countries can be. We're heading off to Honduras in a few weeks to meet up with some other Fodorites so it will be interesting to compare both of these new bucket list destinations.
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Old May 29th, 2015, 12:18 PM
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Honduras feels completely different than Guatemala to me, and varies so much from place to place; Roatán is like a different planet from Copán Ruinas, for example. Let us know if you need ideas! Happy trails!
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Old May 29th, 2015, 12:31 PM
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I look forward to hearing what you think. Are you going to make it to Roatan?
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Old May 29th, 2015, 02:47 PM
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I think RAC recently went to Honduras and really enjoyed it - Pico Bonito I think.
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Old May 29th, 2015, 07:07 PM
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Looking forward to exploring Copan (Yat B'alam hotel), Rio Santiago Nature Lodge (loads of hummingbirds!) and Pico Bonito Lodge. RAC has been to Pico Bonito twice, but isn't meeting up with us on this trip.

We are skipping Roatan this time since my sister's dogsitting limit won't extend that long - lol! But planning on a day of snorkeling while at PB. Cannot wait to see the hummers at Rio Santiago. That really disappointed me in Guatemala since El Pilar was touted as one of the best places to see them.

I was really amazed to see how few postings there are for both the Guatemala and Honduras forums. I haven't been active on the CR forum for a while.
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Old May 30th, 2015, 02:19 AM
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Yes, and not much more for Belize; since my interests don't include Costa Rica or resort-style travel in Mexico, sometimes I go weeks without looking closer at anything on the Fodor's Mexico & Central America forum.

Every now and then someone asks questions about the countries I enjoy most or a a nice travelogue crops up, though - thanks again for taking the time to post!!
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Old Jun 2nd, 2015, 07:00 AM
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That sounds like something you'll really enjoy, col. Hope it's a great trip. Where do you think the best birding you've ever done has been?
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Old Jun 2nd, 2015, 07:17 PM
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For sure, Costa Rica has been the best birding for me, VG. There are so many different lodges that cater to birders and CR has the various elevations bringing in such a great variety. Since I focus on hummingbirds I would say Savegre/Paraiso del Quetzal; Rancho Naturalista, Bosque de Paz and Nature's Pavilion are all great places.

I wish I would have had longer in Guatemala - I know there are hummingbird spots there, but I just didn't have time to find them!
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Old Jun 3rd, 2015, 09:09 AM
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Thanks, col - my husband is always interested in great spots, so I love getting your birding advice. Are these all at higher elevations?
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Old Jun 3rd, 2015, 04:32 PM
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Savegre/PdQ is the highest, followed by Bosque de Paz, Rancho N., then Nature's P. which is been open 2-3 years and is near Selva Verde, so lowlands. Oh, and I forgot about Cataratas del Toro!
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Old Jun 10th, 2015, 05:36 PM
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A few photos to share from my trip earlier this spring

https://picasaweb.google.com/vcvance1956/Tikal

https://picasaweb.google.com/vcvance...eAtitlanChichi

https://picasaweb.google.com/vcvance1956/Antigua
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Old Jun 10th, 2015, 09:21 PM
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Thanks for sharing these photos! I thought of you today, colibri, when my husband and I sat on our deck watching hummingbirds.
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Old Jun 11th, 2015, 02:15 AM
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You're welcome, hopefulist! Your region enjoys a wonderful variety of hummers, some of which we get in the Gulf South in winter. I'm off next week to one of the best hummingbird lodges in Central America and can't wait!
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Old Jun 11th, 2015, 07:13 AM
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Thanks for posting these, col - your photos are beautiful. I love all the colors and the beautiful clothes - even the men have such elaborate clothing!
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Old Jun 11th, 2015, 02:10 PM
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Thanks, VG - the men in Solola have wonderful outfits, but you don't see that in every village. Guatemala truly is an explosion of color and sometimes, it's just overwhelming to your senses!
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Old Jun 14th, 2015, 07:28 AM
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Great TR and pics, colibri, thanks for sharing. I love the colors of Guatemala, this is one place high on my list.

"one of the best hummingbird lodges in Central America"....where is this place? which lodge?

CR was our favorite, too, a place where we want to go back and explore other areas. Belize was wonderful too, and we'll visit Honduras next year. Can't wait
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Old Jul 6th, 2015, 11:12 AM
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Hi XYZ99 - sorry for the delay, been in Honduras the past two weeks with some other Fodorites! Glad you enjoyed the trip report and photos - there is not much info on Guatemala on the Fodor's forum.

Rio Santiago Nature Lodge (in Honduras) is one of the top places for hummingbird viewing in Central America. We spotted 12 species in one day with hundreds of them visiting the lush grounds and well over 100 feeders. The Lodge at Pico Bonito also had lots of brown violet ears, white necked jacobins and violet sabrewings.

Hope this helps!
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