The capital of Guatemala was a real disappointment for both of us. Except for the central square, all the streets in the historic center were full of trash, dust, homeless people and other things that I decided not to photograph… the hotel and the restaurants were so dirty that we thought this has to be some joke! So we decided to leave quickly, only after visiting the local railway museum.
Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala, a former capital of Guatemala, is a colonial town with narrow streets and nice spanish buildings. It is, actually, the nicest man-made thing we saw in Guatemala.
Lake Atitlan
Lake Atitlan was our next objective. It is surrounded by 2 volcanos and few villages inhabited by indigenous maya people. They speak a different language and wear distinctive clothing.
Fuentes Georginas
Fuentes Georginas, located next to the town of Zunil, is a place with thermal waters, plus restaurands and lodging. A 10km mountain road takes the traveller from the main road to this place, offering very spectacular views. One thing that we noticed is that every area suitable for agriculture was used, even when high on the mountain. And people were everywhere working the land.
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
Immediately after the border, EVERYTHING CHANGED. In Mexico there was a dry/warm climate, flat land and an average of 2-300m altitude. But as we passed to Guatemala, after riding for about 500m, something unseen (by us) appeared: the road strartet climbing aggresively (we got to 2800m after less than 20km), and there was a jungle with some plants with HUGE leaves, bigger than ourselves. We made no pictures at that point, since it was kinda dark… plus no mood for art, since the bike was overheating every 10 minutes, as the radiator fan was dead.
The first city was Quetzaltenango, Guatemala’s second most important city so we decided to spend one day here. But even with a positive thinking, there is not much to see/do. The buidings were all covered with a thick layer of dust, no trees, no grass, almost no parks, and the “historic center” had an appaling look. But mechanics were good, so we were able to adapt a Yamaha radiator fan. Ours has been broken down for two days.
