Guatemala - 3 weeks in...

and it's been an interesting few weeks.

Our first stop was in Flores/Peten mainly as a base to visit Tikal, which is one of the largest archaeological sites of the pre-Colombian Maya civilisation. It dates back to 400BC although they think the population reached its peak around 800AD. The monuments were amazing and completely different to others we have visited, and the site covers around 16 sq km.

From Flores we headed south and based ourselves in the town of Morales. There wasn't anything to see there so we had a trip to the coast and Puerto Barrios. After a very nice lunch by the sea, we went for a walk down to the port and saw all of these - coming soon to a Pina Colada near you :-)

Next, we went west and up into the rainforest to the town of Coban. From here we did a day trip to Semuc Champey, known for its turquoise pools. It was only 75km but took 3 hours to get there, with the last 20km taking 2 hours. At one point Mark commented that it must be a road because river beds don't have signposts. 

We did the hike up to El Mirador (the lookout), 700m above the pools, on wet, slippery limestone steps. My legs were like jelly by the time we got back down, but the view was worth it.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to swim in the pools as the weather was closing in and it was still a long drive back to town.

From Coban it was time to head to the capital, Guatemala City. We stayed in the historic centre so it was easy to walk around and see all the old buildings, such as the National Palace of Culture

the Metropolitan Cathedral 

and many more

We even went to the train museum which was worth the 20p entrance fee just to see the relief map of the country showing all the volcanoes in a line

The city didn't have the same vibe as other places we had visited in this country or Mexico, so we were quite happy to move on to our next destination - Antigua Guatemala. Mark has already posted a blog showing the puffing volcano and mentioned the 5.6 magnitude earthquake we also experienced. Here is the view of it the next morning:

The town was founded in 1543 and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are many old and beautiful buildings as well as quite a few ruins due to the number of earthquakes the area has experienced over the centuries, especially as it is surrounded by volcanoes.

Over the last week, we have volunteered with the World Central Kitchen helping prepare food for the people affected the Fuego's recent eruption. Not only was it for a good cause, it gave us other people to talk to :-) 

Tomorrow we head further west to Lake Atitlan.