Second Sneak Peak: Guatemala... still collecting stories

Well, I have been on chicken buses for days now, going from town to town almost non-stop. I have not had the time to even select pictures, leave alone post my notes. I am really tired, but it all has been worth the effort. A small summary will do for now, while I put myself together.

Tip of the day: Just like I am a Tico, from Costa Rica, people here are referred as Chapin, from Guatemala.

Guatemala is a country of contrasts, from the mountains in the western regions to the low lands in the east. The most obvious are the mix of cultures and the natural settings.

Some Maya indigenous live in the cities together with the ladinos, and most of them come down from their villages in the mountains to make a living selling their Telas and foods. Then there are the Garifunas, a group of people with African mixed roots. They speak their own language, and have a distinctive way of live, typical of the Caribbean populations, but in a unique way, also typical of the different Caribbean groups around the Central American region.

The Cuchumatanes mountains - the tallest mountain chain in Central America - are very cold and covered with pine trees. An 8-to-12-hour crazy bus ride gets you to the hot and humid regions of the Caribbean and Peten, where Tikal is, in a flatter area covered by forests with a totally different type of vegetation. The views from the bus window are dramatic going from one region to the next.

All the places I visited include the colonial town of Antigua; the second largest Guatemalan city of Xela; the farmland Mayan villages of Zunil, Almolonga, and San Andres Xeluc; the commercial towns of Chichicastenango, Santa Cruz de Quiche, and Huehuetenango; the traditional (and some of them very isolated) villages of Todos los Santos, Nebaj, Cocop, and Acul along the Cuchumatanes Mountains; beautiful natural settings in Coban, Lanquin, Semuc Champey, Rio Dulce, Siete Altares and Flores; the Garifuna region of Livingston in the Caribbean; the ancient Mayan city of Tikal.

In Guatemala I learned a lot about the Mayan culture, history and food, as well as some aspects of the way of life of many Mayan groups, and the 36-year civil war. I also "tried" to weave, and although I didn't finish a project, I did get the idea of how this beautiful art is done, unique in Guatemala. I also partied in Antigua, Xela, and Huehuetenango with some good Guatemalan friends, international volunteers, and "die Deutsche" and the Dutch whom I am very greatful to for taking me around and showing me how it is done the Chapin and the Chapin-wanna-be ways.

Next is Belize. From what I have read and heard from other travelers, Belize has the second largest coral reef in the world, a vibrant Garifuna lifestyle, and Mayan villages and ruins. I should be able to find the time to write and post pictures while I am there. That would be nice, wouldn't it?