Special places in Honduras and Guatemala
We were successful public television bidders on a 3-night stay in Honduras. And since we were going that far, we thought, ‘Why not add some time in Guatemala?’ We took our trip Aug. 14-25, 2007.
Our hotel in Honduras, The Lodge at Pico Bonito (AP 710, La Ceiba, Atlantida, CP 31101, Honduras, Central America; phone, in U.S., 888/428-0221), is advertised as the country’s first of the group Small Luxury Hotels of the World (212/953-2064, www.slh.com) and lives up to this billing.
Raised wooden walkways join the main lodge to the restaurant, swimming pool and terraced bar. In the secluded, individual cabins, fans kept the rooms cool. For two people, the rate for a standard cabin was $180 per night, including breakfast.
Cradled between the Caribbean and the Nombre de Dios Mountains, with Pico Bonito Mountain soaring 8,000 feet above the jungle floor, the lodge’s surrounding 200 acres feature a stunning blend of exotic plants and fruit trees. The grounds look like a museum.
We hiked a variety of trails throughout the property. The hotel had two observation towers, which we climbed. We also visited nearby waterfalls and went to the butterfly farm and the serpentarium (snake farm).
The lodge was truly a delightful place with excellent service. It is located about 20 minutes from Golosón International Airport, and they’ll pick you up free of charge.
The Guatemala portion of our trip and all air connections between San Francisco and Central America were set up by a travel agency that used Avanti Destinations (851 SW Sixth Ave., Ste. 900, Portland, OR 97204; 800/422-5053, www.avantidestinations.com). The cost of this 8-day portion was $1,711 for two, and our airfare with American Airlines totaled $1,280.
Our guides were supplied by Clark Tours, the ground operator in Guatemala, and they were excellent.
After flying from Honduras, we stayed at the Marriott in Guatemala City. This was to be our home on two other nights of the trip, which consisted of a variety of one-night stands.
The Marriott is also called the “baby hotel,” because it caters to folks adopting youngsters in Guatemala. It’s a joy to see people walking around the lobby with their new additions. We tried to remember if we looked so excited with our own newborns.
Chichicastenango was about a 4-hour van ride from Guatemala City. It is claimed to have the most colorful and picturesque open-air market in the country, and we suspect this is true. Hundreds of Indians from the surrounding countryside gather to barter their goods and products. The 400-year-old Church of Santo Tomas is another gathering point for many activities.
We overnighted at the Mayan Inn Hotel, opened in 1932 by the founder of Clark Tours. Each of the 30 rooms is within close distance of a central patio where a marimba group performs in the evening — quite charming.
After a 2-hour van ride, we arrived just in time to catch a motor launch crossing Lake Atitlan to the picturesque Indian village of Santiago Atitlán, one of 12 lakeshore villages.
We stayed overnight at the Atitlan Hotel (6 calle 6-38 zona 9 Local 6, Guatemala City, Guatemala, C.A.; phone [502] 2360 8405), one of the more exotic places we’ve stayed. The decor is in the Spanish colonial hacienda style that was favored by the Guatemalan plantation owners of the 18th century.
A fantasia of ornate gardens, caged colorful exotic birds and hand-carved wooden furniture makes this place truly unique. We had all this plus a stunning view of the volcanoes around the lake from our room.
A new, quite interesting national park was a 10-minute walk from the hotel, and it even offered zip-line activities. If we had more time, we would have “flown” over the treetops.
Antigua, founded by the Spaniards in 1543, today is a beautiful blend of ruins, restored colonial buildings and new buildings in colonial style. Our accommodations were at Casa Santo Domingo Hotel (3a Calle Oriente No. 28 “A,” Antigua, Guatemala, C.A.; phone 502 7820 1222, www.casasantodomingo.com.gt), a former convent. It outshone even the Atitlan Hotel.
At sundown everything was illuminated by candlelight, and we felt as if we were in a magical place. One room, prepared for couples to have special dinners (romantic, most likely), had candles covering the entire floor except for a walkway for servers to enter the room. The front desk told us that they light about 2,000 candles daily.
Also on the grounds was the Museums Promenade, including museums on Archaeology, Pre-Columbian Art, Modern Glass, Handicrafts and Pharmacy, all free for hotel guests. Parts of the original convent are also accessible and quite impressive.
After an overnight stay at the Marriott, we took an early-morning flight to Flores to go back in time, visiting Tikal National Park. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this is the site of reportedly the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Maya civilization.
A guide showed us all the complexes and temples, and we had opportunity to climb to the top of some of them. This practice will eventually be stopped because of the heavy tourist influx. A few towers already have wooden walkways for those wanting to climb.
We stayed overnight in Flores — an opportunity to see Guatemalan life in a small, worn-at-the-elbows place.
The next day it was back to the Marriott for a final overnight. Another benefit of this hotel is that American Airlines has a facility there where you can check in for your flight the day prior, allowing you to avoid one of the lines at the airport when heading home.
JACK & ANNE DINI
Livermore, CA