The heart of the Mayan World
On December 2013 I took a trip to El Salvador as my graduation present. For those of you who don’t know, I was born in El Salvador. While in El Salvador, I took advantage of this trip and took a road trip to Guatemala which is about three hours from San Salvador. Guatemala has been one of my favorite places I’ve been to; it is so close to home, so full of culture and history, so full of humble, hard-working people, full of beautiful places, full of diversity, and the list just goes on. It is also one of the most affordable places to visit; it also has many active volcanoes, many colonial cities, and quite possibly the world’s most beautiful lakes. Like I say the list just goes on…
Our first stop on our road trip was Rio Dulce located between the department of Izabal. It is part of a lake and river system that has become a very popular destination. Also, if you are very familiar with Spanish music you have probably heard of Ricardo Arjona. He was born in Guatemala and one of his song’s music video was filmed here and other places I will mention later.
At the entrance to the river there is a small Spanish colonial fort, the Castillo de San Felipe de Lara, built to stop pirates entering the lake from the Caribbean. Back then this part of Central America was an important shipping staging point. If you want you can take a tour of the Castillo and learn about some of the Guatemala history, you can also take a boat ride, have a barbecue, there are also vendors selling handcrafts in the park, and there is also a pool with a restaurant.
We arrived at our hotel which was right on the shore of Lake Petѐn Itzá it was one of the most beautiful views I ever had. Lake Petѐn Itzá, the second largest lake in Guatemala, is located in the northern Peten Department. The city of Flores, the capital of el Peten, lies on an island near its southern shore.
We next day was rise and shine; we were heading to Tikal National Park. Tikal is the ruins of a Mayan ancient city found in the rainforest of Guatemala in northern Peten. The Park is approximately 125,000 acres with approximately 3,000 structures including temples, palaces, ceremonial platforms, plazas, etc. The park is rich with tropical plants and wildlife. You can find a variety of bird species, monkeys, jaguars, pumas. Temple III and IV are some of the most popular temples.
At night, we headed to the old part of the city of Flores. The city is located on an island in Lake Petѐn Itzá so you have water views from all over town. We walked around the town and admired the colonial architecture. You can spend the evenings dining or drinking cocktails on a lakeside patio at one of the town’s restaurant as this small city comes to live at night. You can also take a stroll by a lakeside where you will find food street vendors, also walk into little artisans tiendas.
The next day on our way back to El Salvador, we stopped at a finca de campo Ixobel which is a ecofriendly campground and hotel. We had a homemade delicious Guatemala breakfast which includes: eggs, beans, and a delicious fresh papaya juice. After breakfast, we took a quick tour around the finca. The finca has natural springs where you can take a swim, they also offer horseback rides, and you can also rent a cabin. After our tour and some relaxing time we hit the road back to El Salvador.
These are just some of the beautiful places I visited in my short time in Guatemala but there are just so many other places to see like Lake Atlitan, Antigua Guatemala, Volcan Pacaya, Semuc Champey, Chichicastenango Market, Quetzaltenango, and many other. Guatemala is such a beautiful country full of diversity and culture and definitely worth visiting. Unfortunately, some times we get so brainwashed by the media with all the news we see on TV on regards to countries like Guatemala and simply decide these countries are not worth visiting. I’m not saying it is not necessarily true but safety hazards can be avoided by taking precaution while abroad. There is more to life than your usual 9-5 job, there is more to life than just work, work, work, so take a break from your busy life and open your mind up to the world and go out, explore because there is just so much to see and learn from this beautiful place we call Earth.
