Conner Gorry - Explorers Guide Guatemala: A Great Destination

A COMPLETE GUIDE

GUATEMALA

Volcn Lancandn from the lookout above Laguna Chicabal

FIRST EDITION

Great Destinations

Conner Gorry

Copyright 2009 by Conner Gorry

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any way by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages.

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ISBN: 978-1-58157-104-2

Interior photos by the author unless otherwise specified
Book design by Bodenweber Design
Page composition by Chelsea Cloeter
Maps by Mapping Specialists Ltd., Madison, WI, The Countryman Press

Published by The Countryman Press, P.O. Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091

Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10110

Printed in the United States of America

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Recommended by National Geographic Traveler and Travel + Leisure magazines

A crisp and critical approach, for travelers who want to live like locals.

USA Today

Great Destinations guidebooks are known for their comprehensive, critical coverage of regions of extraordinary cultural interest and natural beauty. Each title in this series is continuously updated with each printing to ensure accurate and timely information. All the books contain more than one hundred photographs and maps.

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GLACIER NATIONAL PARK & THE CANADIAN ROCKIES

GUATEMALA

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The authors in this series are professional travel writers who have lived for many years in the regions they describe. Honest and painstakingly critical, full of information only a local can provide, Great Destinations guidebooks give you all the practical knowledge you need to enjoy the best of each region.

MAPS

I had a rocking good time researching and writing this book thanks in no small part to contributions made by friends old and new. In Guatemala, Im indebted to many people for their help and hospitality, insight and good cheer, especially Lucrecia Ardn and Ricardo Lobo in Guatemala City; Lorena Castillo and her partner at Nitun Lodge, Bernie Mittelstaedt (to whom Im forever indebted for introducing us to pimienta gorda and saving me at Yaxh); and Manuel Villamar of Tikal Connection and his team of crackerjack guides. In Antigua, John Rexer was a font of local knowledge, as were Ryan Stimmel and the rest of the gang at Old Town Outfitters. Don Filiberto and Franklin Voorhes of As Green As It Gets in San Miguel Escobar are an inspiration; thank you. Im also grateful to Ana San Sebastin of Hotel Islaverde, Gerardo Contreras and family of Ram Tzul, Flavia Cueva of Hacienda San Lucas, and Howard Rosenzweig of Casa de Caf in Copn. My buddy and colleague Lucas Vidgen provided valuable Xela information. Last but certainly not least, Id like to give a heartfelt thanks to La Familia Fogarty for providing me a home away from home in Pana.

On the road, travel partner Caitlin Gorry made an invaluable contribution, in addition to providing some of the images that enliven these pages. Speaking of which, Im deeply indebted to Phil Suarez for the use of his photos and to Erick Ginard for his fantastic illustrations. Moral support was provided by Sandra and Carolyn Gorry and Alexandra DItaliawhen I go back to Guatemala, I hope its with them. Traveling with Joel Surez was as exciting and enlightening as living with him, and for this, as ever, Im blessed and thankful. I dedicate this book to the memory of Javier Surez Rods (19942008) and Adalys Vzquez Ramrez (19632009), who will live in our hearts forever.

In our modern GPS and jumbo-jet world, getting off the beaten path is fast becoming an oxymoron. Today adventure travel is less about going farther and more about going deeper, about crossing cultural rather than geographic frontiers to awaken discovery. Guatemala, with the second largest indigenous population in the Americas, is just the place to forge such revelatory, rewarding experiences. Whats more, this is one of those rare destinations where ancient indigenous culture survives in a visible, accessible way: In Guatemala you can roam the glorious ruins of great cities one day and sip chocolate, take a sweat bath, or buy a blouse woven on a backstrap loom the nextjust like the Maya have been doing for centuries.

But its not just the continuity of Maya traditions that ignites the imagination of contemporary explorers, drawing them here like mosquitoes to a vein. In addition to being extraordinarily cheap, Guatemala is also inordinately beautiful, with landscapes and adventures so varied and breathtaking, a single trip is not enough to soak it all in. Theres Tikal, of course, that legendary Mayan city hemmed in by jungle where monkeys still howl, and Lake Atitln, famously and without hyperbole declared the most beautiful lake in the world. These must-see sites are storied stops on the so-called Gringo Trail, along with Antigua, a charming colonial city with a sophisticated worldliness and spectacular volcano backdrop. Speaking of volcanoes, Guatemala has more per square mile than any other country on earthactive, dormant, and extinctand the smoking cones on the horizon, ribbons of live lava, and sensational summit views are the backbone of the countrys singular beauty. While travelers wont be in any danger of sudden eruptions or oncoming lava, volcanic activity can impact a trip in the form of heady hikes, relaxing hot springs and natural steam baths, and phenomenal photo ops. Year-round whitewater rafting and deep-sea fishing, world-class caving, mountain biking along untrammeled singletrack, kayaking, horseback riding, and other adrenaline-inducing pursuits are further reason to get up close and personal with Guatemalas great outdoors.