Gallivanting in Guatemala: Casa Mima

So this is my last travelogue for my trip to Guatemala and Honduras last winter. The day before I left, I was in Guatemala City, and I checked out this last museum of the trip, the Casa MIMA. MIMA stands for Museo Internacional de Movimentos Artisticos (International Museum of Artistic Movements). It was located in downtown Guatemala City, and was a walking distance from my hotel.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Palacio Nacional de la Cultura

Whenever I find myself in a city, I see whether there's a square. Most Latin American cities have them. And most of the time, the Presidential Palace is located there. Guatemala City is no different. The majestic Palacio Nacional de la Cultura is sitting on the north side of the Central Plaza. And sure enough, they offer tours of the place.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Catedral Primada Metropolitana de Santiago

So I finally arrived in Guatemala City. This is my last leg in my trip, and so I got there on January 26, two nights before I headed back to the United States on January 28. That gave me a lot of time to see the city, in case I wanted to.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Zaculeu

I remember the time when I was still planning this trip to Guatemala, that I wanted to go to Huehuetenango and see Zaculeu. I don't know, but I've seen pictures of it before, and I thought that it would be cool to visit a Mayan place that is sort of off the beaten path, and not usually seen by many. I figured, I'd get bragging rights that way. I could say that I have been to Mayan sites that are not just Tikal or Copan.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: The Trek to Acul

I went to Nebaj to get off the beaten path, and to sample some interesting trekking opportunities in a corner of Guatemala that is usually not explored. I am referring to the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes. This is the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America. The day before, I headed to the offices of Guias Ixiles to arrange a hike for the following day. I am glad that I did that, as the following pictures will show.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Nebaj

After spending two nights in Chichicastenango, I headed for another town yet again. I wanted to get off the beaten path, and so I decided to go to Nebaj. This little town is hidden in the Cuchumatanes mountains, and is hard to get to. It is not surprising that when I got there, I immediately got the feeling that I was the only foreigner in town.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Q'umarkaj

While I was in Chichicastenango, I visited another Mayan site that was relatively close by. I figured being in Guatemala is a good excuse to increase one's count of Mayan sites, so I went to another one. I went to a site called by many names, but let me pick and choose one of them: Q'umarkaj. The reason why there are so many names is because there isn't a standard way of spelling the name. Add to that the fact that there's a Nahuatl name for the site as well, Utatlan.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Chichicastenango

After spending three days in Antigua, I decided that it was time to move on. I did my laundry in Antigua, I recuperated from a sore body in Antigua, and I exercised my camera in Antigua. So after a fun-filled three days, I decided to change the scenery yet again. This time, I decided to head to Chichicastenango.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Antigua

After visiting several sites in Antigua, it was time to move along. I spent a total of three nights here, in a hostel where dorm beds cost 7 USD per night, with an awesome breakfast. So, it was time to move on, but not without taking photographs of the town. After all, this was an awesome and quite historical town, with every street lined with cobblestones. The buildings are just oozing with history left and right.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Santa Clara Church and Convent

I visited so many religious and historical ruins while in Antigua. It was just crazy. Eventually, one gets church fatigue, and the itch to move on slowly climbs up and reaches a threshold. The Church and Convent of Santa Clara was the last religious site I visited in Antigua, before I moved on to another town.

Gallivanting in Guatemala and Honduras: Food on the Road

I have reached roughly the mid-point of my travel blogs relating to Guatemala and Honduras. As a little intermezzo, I am blogging about food I had while I was on the road. And as you will notice, ((re)fried) beans are featured heavily in Guatelaman and Honduran cuisine. It is heavily featured that at some point, I actually got sick of it, and gave in when I saw a McDonald's. But, let's not talk about that for the moment.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: La Merced Church

There is no end to the churches and monasteries in Antigua. The Church and Convent of La Merced was located just about a 5 minutes walk from my hostel, and I decided to visit it while I was there.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Catedral de San José

One of the best ruins that I stumbled upon in Antigua was this cathedral. Looks can be deceptive here. It stands at the eastern side of the central plaza, and its whitewashed facade serves as a meeting point for lovers, day and night. During the night, the facade is illuminated, creating this eerie view.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Church and Convent of the Capuchins

Antigua is known for its plenty of destroyed churches and convents, in various states of disrepair. Some have been restored, such as the one for the Society of Jesus, while others have been simply preserved while at the same time, re-using the space that it occupied, such as the one for Santo Domingo. The current one I am blogging about, the Church and Convent of the Capuchins, is of the latter type. It has been destroyed during the earthquake, but now it is preserved as an archaeological site. In my opinion, this has been the best ruins so far.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo

Antigua has plenty of archaeological ruins waiting for travelers to see, discover, and meander in. I previously showed the Old School of the Society of Jesus, which I believe is the only restored site in Antigua. Everything else is sitting in ruins, and some are well-maintained and preserved, while others are just waiting for erosion to finally engulf them into oblivion. The Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo (Church and Convent of Santo Domingo) however, is one of the well-maintained ones. In fact, they built a hotel around it!

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Antiguo Colegio de la Compañía de Jesús

After having an adventure-filled leg in Semuc Champey and Lanquín, I headed south. Antigua Guatemala was my next destination. This old city was actually Guatemala's former capital, until an earthquake destroyed it in 1773. This natural disaster was the catalyst to moving the capital from Antigua, to its present location in Guatemala City. The result is that Antigua is now a time-warped old city, with cobblestoned streets, and full of large buildings that now sit in ruins. It is quite a marvelous sight. For my first entry from Antigua, I am blogging about the Antiguo Colegio de la Compañía de Jesús.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Grutas de Lanquín

After heading to Semuc Champey, my body was already tired and beaten up. That trail was quite difficult, and the ride at the back of the pick-up truck was very bouncy as well. But we didn't stop yet. There's still the caves in nearby Lanquín to visit. And that was our last activity for that day.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Semuc Champey

After spending some time in the blissfully quiet island of Flores, I headed south, and my destination is the town of Cobán, which is the capital of the department of Alta Verapaz. I decided I would stay here for 2 nights, as this is the adventure capital of the country. Plenty of hiking, trekking, and caving opportunities exist here.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Tikal

I spent two nights in Flores. After a grueling bus ride that pretty much took half of a day, I arrived in the island late at night. This was going to be my base in order to visit perhaps Guatemala's best-known sight: Tikal National Park.

Gallivanting in Guatemala: Isla de Flores

After spending two nights in Honduras and a brief afternoon in Esquipulas, I decided to go to Flores. This is a town located on an island in the Lago Peten Itza. This town is also the capital of the province of El Peten, Guatemala's largest and northernmost province. I went to Flores and spent two nights here, as this was my base to see perhaps Guatemala's most famous Mayan ruins: Tikal National Park. But, this post is not about that, but about the island itself.