Country Info
- Guatemala
- Capital
- Quetzal (GTQ)
- Currency
- 12,974,361
- Population
- GT
- Country Code
Guatemala Slideshow
Travel Blogs from Guatemala
I LOVE CHICKEN BUSES
This is a top pick! ... doors. Chicken Buses rule the road. Forget the 18 wheelers, move aside all because here comes the colorful speed demon of Guatemala. I love sitting on the outer edge of a seat and holding onto it so that I donīt fly into anyone but ...
Flores and the Money Man
This is a top pick! ... machine and pulled out about ten cards and said take which one is yours, ahhh the double edged sword of the convenience of Guatemala. And, of course, there was no money in my account. Money Man managed to clear out my account in one day ...
Holy Smokes
This is a top pick! ... ve witnessed over the past few weeks. The community effort required to pull off these events is remarkable. I am confident I will return to Guatemala throughout the years, but I doubt Iīll ever participate in a ...
My Climb Up "Indian Nose"
This is a top pick! Donīt blame me for the name. In Spanish it is La Nariz de Indigina (sp?) but there was also another name at the entrance to the park which I forget and nobody recognized that name. At least there was no caricature included with this ...
Episode 19: Casa Guatemala Orphanage
This is a top pick! Paid to Play Episode 19: the one where the author visits an orphanage in Guatemala just before Christmas and donates food and supplies on behalf of Gap Adventures. One morning, I woke to find an e-mail in my in-box that said the company I am working ...
Episode 2: The One Where I Learn My New Job
This is a top pick! ... Honduras. Ahhhh....the real deal. Roatan does not disappoint. After visiting the ruins in Copan, we finished in Antigua Guatemala. Most of you know that traveling like this is not the way I do things on my own so I constantly ...
The Ancient Mayan City of Tikal
This is a top pick! I spent the whole day at the ancient Mayan city of Tikal. It is one of the world's most impressive archaeological sights. The city is huge and it is unbelievable that only 15% of of the ruins has actually been dug out and restored. Everywhere you walk, ...
The Beach
This is a top pick! ... from the mainland a short distance. To get here, we had to take water taxis through narrow channels of mangroves. This is Guatemala's most popular beach but only really comes alive during the weekends. Unfortunately for me, some salad I ate with my lunch ...
My brain hurts
This is a top pick! My first week of Spanish school is behind me now and I learned one thing. I need a second week of Spanish school. So Iīll be in Xela for another week, minimum, to keep studying and practicing. Tomorrow, Iīm going to move in with a different family so I ...
Finca Tatin was Awesome
This is a top pick! ... abound, fabulous food and absolute tranquility. This was the first time I got into a bathing suite since arriving in Guatemala:) There is also, AkīTenamit www.aktenamit.org, a fabulous NGO that fits all my requirements of "a good ...
Antiguedad
This is a top pick! I knew what I was going to do that day on my first day in Antigua. I was going to spend time at the market. And I pretty much spent all day there shopping. I needed to buy a few things, but I knew that there would be cheap souvenirs there anyway. And ...
Back to school.
This is a top pick! ... first proper sentence. Most gringos come to Xela either to attend a Spanish language school or to do volunteer work, and although it's Guatemala's second city there isn't actually much to do or see in the city itself. It's a place to study, drink ...
Episode 5: The One about Roasting Marshmallows
This is a top pick! PAID TO PLAY EPISOE 5: The one where the author climbs an active volcano for the sole purpose of roasting marshmallows over red hot, molten lava. This is one of the dummer things the Guatemalan government allows tourists to do; climb ...
Ahh! You Want a Bribe?
This is a top pick! ... we help a corrupt customs guy, especially when we're near the end of our trip and are basically broke! On the Guatemala side of the border things changed. The road went from being fairly well kept to majorly bumpy with massive (I mean ...
Why am I always cold?!?!
This is a top pick! ... sheīs a law student here, and is very politically aware, which is great. We chatted for a while about the current political regime in Guatemala, and about the past. We also did so much work with verbs! I learned more in two hours than I did in six weeks ...
Yet ANOTHER bus ride...
This is a top pick! ... one place with the most lovely woman (Celas Maya) and we all decided to do four days of classes. So Iīm in Guatemala until Saturday at least! The school is great...the proceeds go to support local indigenous students who otherwise would not be able to ...
Guatemalan Reflections
This is a top pick! ... Guatemala and use the colonial town of Antigua as a home base to do their travels. Armed robbery of buses is a very real thing in Guatemala. A trip, letīs say from Antigua on a shuttle bus to Rio Dulce costs $37.00 US. Many people prefer to do this for ...
Xela
This is a top pick! ... crossed by land. We go from relatively modern and reasonably well organised Mexico, to much more chaotic, and noticeably poorer Guatemala, by simply walking across a bridge over the Suchiate river. We walk through the Guatemalan town of Tecun Uman, and ...
Loving Guatemala!
This is a top pick! ... here in your lifetime, you are missing out on a great experience. After leaving the finca, I took an overnight bus to Guatemala city. A girl I met at the finca told me Ļdonīt even think about stepping outside the bus terminal without getting right ...
Flores, Tikal and Rio Dulce
This is a top pick! ... half hence we started from Mexico and worked our way south and around. We were quite looking forward to seeing Antigua again and Guatemala is generally a pretty cool place to go. From Belize, we made our way over the land border to Guatemala but on ...
It's a Funa life
This is a top pick! This was entirely a travel day to get to Guatemala. I discovered that being as south as I was, going to Guatemala was best by boat. I also discovered that there was an easier way to get to/from Belize City instead of going through Dangriga. If you cross ...
What Happens When You Pee
This is a top pick! ... like crazzy. Iīm sitting in my seat thinking "god when am I going to be able to pee during this 10 hour trip to Guatemala City", when all the men and little boys from the bus leave, line up against some woods and pee. Oh my god, there ...
Elena
This is a top pick! One of my favorite pictures that I didnīt take was of Elena. Elena is the 6 year old daughter of the family I stayed with for 1.5 days. She immediately took to me, sitting up close and rattling off how to use the remote. She was the ...
Volcan Pacaya
This is a top pick! ... now everyone is escorted by a guide and the heavily armed tourist police. In fact, come to think of it, everything in Guatemala is guarded by men with machine guns or shotguns ... this includes the more obvious like banks but also hardware stores and ...
Poco a Poco = Little by Little
This is a top pick! ... the Big Guy upstairs ... that I left Japan just one week before the big earthquake. As for now, I am in Guatemala. I lived here for six months after college so it feels wonderful to be back. The colors, architecture and people are ...
Crossing another border
This is a top pick! Today I left Belize and entered Guatemala. Back to speaking spanish again. It is an AMAZING country ... amazingly cheap too. I went to the ATM machine for the first time and had no problems. I was so happy it worked, I took out $100 Quetzales, grabbed my ...
San Pedro Week 2: My Ventures with a Toilet
This is a top pick! So, looking back to week one, I realize I knew nothing about true food poisoning. Week one was great, I had no problem, ate, drank, explored, slept, ate, drank. Week two was spent in a toilet bowl. I started my classes on a ...