Guatemala by born2travel.it

excerpt from

01.01.2013 Antigua (GUATEMALA)

[Stefy]: "We land in the capital: Guatemala City. Many glimpses reminded me of the Philippine town of Cebu. The very kind Claudia accompanies us to Antigua and along the way I notice a small family that, sitting in a circle, prays in a park; women in extremely colourful clothes smile at me; little girls with big jet-black eyes play hiding under their mothers' skirts. What a feeling of peace!

Unfortunately, on arriving in Antigua we discover that the people of the "Hotel Dionisio" have not honoured our booking, and we find ourselves on the evening of the first of January, after 14 hours of flight, without a hotel! We like the unexpected! After 2 hours of searching, here we are in a very spartan little guesthouse and shortly afterwards already out and about with Claudia among craft markets, colonial lanes and festive cheer!"

02.01.2013 Antigua (GUATEMALA)

Antigua… with its colonial cobbled alleys with pastel-coloured walls… This city on the slopes of no fewer than three volcanoes (Agua, Fuego and Acatenango) was the capital of Guatemala until 1773, the year it was razed to the ground by a devastating earthquake.

03.01.2013 Chichicastenango (GUATEMALA)

Chichi, as the locals call it, truly captivated us! Its colours, its noises, its people, its history, the magical air you breathe while sitting on the steps of St. Thomas and watching the "quiche" recite their religious rituals burning copal resin, or while walking among the colourful tombs of the "Cemeterio General".

Women in multicoloured clothes with long raven hair crowd the lanes selling everything, and we are spellbound admiring the everyday life that flows before our eyes like a gripping documentary.

In the afternoon we reach Panajachel, guests of Sandra and her lovely family!

04.01.2013 Panajachel (GUATEMALA)

"Pana", as the locals call it, is a quiet little town on the shores of Lake Atitlan; today we set off to discover its "pueblos".

San Juan la Laguna. A little village of textile artisans; we wander aimlessly, slipping into its intimacy, enchanted by the peace that is felt everywhere.

[Stefy]: "After twenty minutes of sailing we are in San Pedro la Laguna and a long but pleasant climb leads us into the centre of the little pueblo. Markets of colourful fruit and vegetables, or of second-hand clothes, sell to nostalgic hippies.

Santiago de Atitlan. Inside the cathedral about thirty women kneel before the altar reciting the rosary amid prayers and evocative songs.

Following the Lonely Planet we set off in search of "Maximon", a puppet born of old Maya beliefs, much venerated here."

05.01.2013 Panajachel (GUATEMALA)

It is already time to go. After a lavish breakfast of pancakes prepared by the sweet Sandra, we set off for Guatemala City; from there it will be all one adventure until Ahuachapan. Through a long series of coincidences we find ourselves aboard an old taxi, pampered by Ricoberto and his wife Liliana, who for 100 dollars (never paid so much!), drive us, through a thousand adventures, to the border with El Salvador.

The 120 km separating the dangerous Guatemalan capital from the Villa Nueva border are rather stormy… First we stop in a queue because they are resurfacing the road, and here, when that happens, the local roads authority solves the problem simply by closing both directions for two hours! Suffocating heat and various worries, given that at 17.00 the border was closing and from then on it was all anyone's guess! Finally we set off again, but shortly afterwards we hear a whistle coming from outside… Ricoberto slows down, then the hazard lights… it is as we feared… we have a flat tyre… We get out immediately (luckily he had a spare wheel… never seen a wheel in such a bad state…) and set to work, also because a pick-up had stopped with us with three rather unsettling men watching us like sharks… Liliana was already trembling with fear… and to think she lives in the most dangerous area of Guate

mala City.

There in the distance is the border. The two leave us because they cannot go any further and, amid a thousand recommendations, we say goodbye to them while being set upon by a thousand money changers, taxi drivers and various scoundrels. But a guardian angel comes to our aid: Daniel, a Spanish religious who has lived in Central America for 15 years and who helps us reach our final destination. We are exhausted!

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