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Articles Tagged ‘guatemala’

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Let’s Get Wild

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

I went to Tikal, Guatemala after Lake Atitlan and had a fantastic couple of days exploring the Mayan ruins and surrounding jungle.  I flew from Guatemala City to Flores early one morning and did the return flight the following day in the late afternoon.  Numerous people suggested staying overnight in the park rather than Flores area which is about one hour away and they were absolutely right.  Most of the visitors to the park come by bus and they are only there from 9-10 AM until 3 PM.  By staying in the park for a night, you get to explore after the crowds leave the first day and before they arrive the next.  I also found that the crowds follow the normal herd mentality and the park is quite quiet outside of the central plaza during the peak hours. 

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Posted in Central America, Travel | 1 Comment »

Short-Changing La Antigua

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

I never got to write about La Antigua Guatemala.  Quickly, it is a very nice colonial city which used to be the capitol of Guatemala before being moved to Guatemala City maybe twenty-five kilometers away.  I felt fortunate to be in Antigua when there were few tourists.  It is obvious that there are times of the year when it is over-run with gringos.  I didn’t have the place to myself, but I found that if I got up early, the streets were pretty empty and during the day I found many of the streets away from the center to be quiet.  I took many photos (which I’m not sharing on the blog due to time constraints) of the old cathedrals and convents as well as the rehabilitated homes.  Antigua suffers from earthquakes which leveled the place in the 1770s and 1970s.  In general, Guatemala is always ripe for a major earthquake or volcanic eruption.  The ruins in Antigua were a lot of fun to explore often reminding me of the ransacked abbey ruins in England.  Antigua also has a lot of nice restaurants.  I would say Antigua is a great place for a 2-3 day visit and you can do so at a very reasonable price.  After visiting Lake Atitlan, I spent a night in the luxurious Hotel Casa Santo Domingo which is a former convent.  They built the hotel around the ruins preserving them quite nicely.  This was a fabulous treat and I would highly recommend it to others when they are offering good off-season prices and you don’t mind spending a lot more than the average hotel charges.  I paid $100 for one night for a room that would probably be $300 in the States, but I assume it is pricier during any high season period.  I could write a lot about La Antigua – it is much better than I am detailing – but you can read plenty about this well-trodden location via many books and websites.

Posted in Central America, Travel | 1 Comment »