Two weeks in Guatemala

End of two weeks in Guatemala. Time to think about what I want to remember and to select some photos.

Firstly Guatemala, in general, is not a dangerous country. I have to admit that I thought about going directly from Mexico to Costa Rica, due to alarmist advice from Mexican people. But eventually, I did the same as before crossing the US-Mexico border: I listened to what they told me but I crossed the border anyway. And I am happy I did it!

The country offered me first the spectacle of the Mayan site of Tikal in the north. Lost in the jungle, the ancient city erects its pyramids above the canopy. The vast site is mostly still covered by virgin forest and only the most important remains have been unearthed. And another UNESCO World Heritage Site that I can check! Nature-wise it is the kingdom of monkeys, insects and animals of all kinds, even one that I am not able to identify. I had the chance to join Tikal: I learned that 24 hours after my departure from Tulum (on the Caribbean coast of Mexico) a hurricane would have prevented me from joining the Northern Guatemala through Belize.

After Tikal, I went to live five days at the heart of a local community, Pinpin, in Western Guatemala. There, Nico and Elsa welcomed me and allowed to live this unique experience. If you missed an episode, you can see all the photos and read the last post on Pinpin.

Then still remained three steps. Despite an undercast weather, Lake Atitlán unveiled volcanoes that surround it. I could climb Volcán San Pedro and had the chance to have a small window in the clouds once arrived up there, just to reward a more than early wake-up and an ascent of 1,500 meters. I left the lake under showers and ended up completely packed for the worst chicken-bus ride in contemporary history!

Antigua. Another beautiful colonial city. Another World Heritage site. I am almost ashamed to say that I tend to get used to those place. I still was impressed by the volcanoes that surround it (some in activity!). I will mostly remember my host, Cesar, and my reunion with Anne, the German traveler with whom I already spent time in Merida and Tulum, in Mexico.

Finally, the last step was the city of Guatemala (Ciudad de Guatemala in Spanish). Let's be honest: it's very ugly, polluted, and soulless. The city dethrones the ones of Chihuahua and Acapulco at the top of my list of places I didn't like. And the beautiful interior of the cathedral cannot make you forget the rest of the city. Safety seems pretty low also. Downtown, most buildings have barbed wire between the ground floor and first floor. In the suburb, the houses are entrenched behind high walls themselves surmounted by barbed wire or an electric fence (if not both). You'd think the city is under siege, ready to battle hordes of looters, rapists, and thugs. Not very attractive. Fortunately, I was very well received by Axel who made me forget the gloomy side of this ghost town after sunset.

Those fifteen days were pretty busy. And so was my stomach. I tasted the Guatemalan cuisine with the same pleasure as his Mexican counterpart. Plantain appeared, rice and beans are still there, but chile gradually disappears. We always eat as much corn tortillas. To my delight, the coffee is much better than in Mexico. I tasted caldos, the broths of vegetable stock with chicken or beef. I also tasted (and enjoyed, I admit) the revolcado, this soup with lots of small pieces of pig's head: tongue, cheeks, snout, eyes, etc.. But the best of the best is atole, a hot drink made from sweet rice flour. A treat!

As a reminder, you will find portraits of people encountered in the portrait gallery in the Photos page.