Revisiting Guatemala

My brother Charles and I have driven through Guatemala twice, and he had driven there many other times. I enjoyed, very much, traveling by car, stopping at roadside markets and seeing the people who live along the Pan-American Highway. 

For our planned February 2015 trip, however, his wife, Jean, was in favor of a tour. So we booked an 11-day tour with Gate 1 Travel (Fort Washington, PA; 800/682-3333, www.gate1travel.com) for about $1,500 per person. I paid an extra single supplement. 

Getting started

We actually arrived in Guatemala on Feb. 14, one day early, to visit friends who run a mission in Chimaltenango. We had flown on American Airlines from Dallas to Guatemala City, about a 3-hour flight. (Both cities are in the Central time zone.) 

We stayed overnight at Hotel Barceló, a large hotel that was very comfortable, with a heated swimming pool and all the usual luxuries.

The next day, Sunday, we visited the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia y Etnologia, a museum offering an excellent overview of Mayan culture and history. We also went downtown to see Guatemala City’s cathedral and plaza.

On Monday, our tour began with a flight to Flores, near Tikal. After meeting our guide and the other travelers, we visited Yaxhá’s Mayan ruins, some of which are situated on an island. We stayed three nights in the Flores-Tikal area at a lovely resort on a lake.

After Yaxhá, we visited Tikal for a full day. Tikal’s Mayan ruins were fascinating, but it was also an excellent place to see bird, animal and plant life. 

Next we visited Flores, which was interesting for its Spanish-colonial architecture, and toured Petencito Zoo, located on a nearby island. Usually, zoos would not be of much interest for me, but this one had the local animals that you would not normally see, like the ocelot and jaguar. 

Also of interest were the birds that could be seen in shallow waters, like jacanas and purple gallinules. 

The wildlife and plant life added another dimension to the tour, including the boa constrictor we saw at Yaxhá, the pileated woodpeckers at our hotel and a bat falcon in Tikal. 

A 2-hour drive the next day took us to the Rio Dulce, where our group boarded two boats that traveled from Lake Izabal to the Caribbean. We arrived at the seaport of Livingston, where we ate lunch before continuing, on choppy water, across the Caribbean to a resort near Puerto Barrios.

On our way to Copán, Honduras, the next stop on our itinerary, we visited Quiriguá, a Mayan ruin. My brother and I had visited Tikal and Quiriguá previously, but in the intervening 14 years the infrastructure at both sites had been much improved, with the addition of visitors’ centers, refreshment stands, restrooms and other amenities. 

At both Tikal and Yaxhá, wooden steps now provide access up the pyramids. Formerly, at Tikal, the only way up was to climb the ancient Mayan steps. 

Into the highlands

At Copán, Honduras, not far from Guatemala’s border, we arrived in the evening in time to walk around the little town. 

I had visited Copán’s ruins before and, again, I found the infrastructure had improved. The scarlet macaws were a delight — not caged but acclimated to being fed on platforms. 

I took the first half of the tour at the ruins, skipping the more strenuous second half to visit the excellent on-site museum. I had missed it on my earlier visit and had been told it was worth seeing. I wasn’t disappointed. Artifacts are preserved in pristine condition. Architecturally, it is the best museum I have seen in Central America.

We continued on to the Central Highlands, where we visited the market town of Chichicastenango. It was Sunday and the market was set up with acres of stalls. 

In the highlands the women still wear the traditional dress and still weave using back strap looms. I found “Chichi” to be the best place to shop for native crafts. 

The two churches in town had burning incense and Mayan altars set up, illustrating the blend of Mayan beliefs with Christian. 

We spent two nights at a resort on Lake Atitlán and took a boat across the lake to the town of Santiago Atitlán. Dormant volcanoes ring the lake, with one active one puffing farther south. 

Our final day was spent touring Antigua, founded by the Spanish in 1543. Though subject to earthquakes and subsequent destruction, Antigua has preserved much of its colonial architecture. 

The details

All of our hotels were good quality, with restaurants to supply the meals not furnished by the tour. Guatemala has a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. I’m not a gourmet, but I found the food delicious. I ate only chicken and vegetables, with the exception of delicious seafood in Livingston.

Gate 1 used a van for the 14 travelers in our group. Our luggage was transported on top. A pleasant surprise on this tour was the many boat rides that were included. 

Although I had been to Guatemala before, I enjoyed seeing the ruins and towns I hadn’t seen before and learning more about the country’s history and customs through our guide’s commentary.