Date: 22/01/2013 à 23/01/2013

Path: We follow the Panamerican west of Guatemala City, e tomamos o desvio na altura da cidade de Patzicia para uma estrada local que leva direto à Panajachel.

Lake Atitlan – Guatemala

Imagine an intense day. Less than 24 hours, wake up from our accommodation in fire station, take a boat and visited four pueblos around the gigantic and beautiful Lake Atitlan. Besides the scenery of the lake and the surrounding volcanoes, a cultura local também chama atenção e completa a experiência nesta jóia da Guatemala.

O Lago de Atitlán

We went to Guatemala City in the middle of the afternoon, after lunch and after a few hours on the road we were already in the town of Panajachel, main gateway for visitors of Lake Atitlán. After a tour of the city to look for somewhere to spend the night, just dropping in a somewhat unusual place: the Fire Department. Dormíssemos parking allowed in without much problem, and still could use their bathroom, ótimo negócio.

Hard road to get to Panajachel

But beautiful views accompany the road

Next day, would do an island tour. Tour companies offer a ride by speedboat, stopping at some people located in the vicinity of the island. There are several small towns that are scattered around the 126 km ² of Atitlán and offer a bit of Mayan culture still remaining to tourists. A day, recommended to visit between 3 or 4 two people, para que se possa curtir um pouco do visual e também conhecer o que as cidades tem a oferecer.

The volcano Atitlán lies next to the pond

The first view of the lake is stunning. First, by size, second by its beauty. No wonder it is considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Three volcanoes give a special charm to the landscape: o Atitlán, Tolimán and the San Pedro. Latter, say they have ceased their volcanic activity thousands of years ago, while the other two remain active, ainda que a última erupção do Atitlán tenha acontecido em 1853.

The first view of the volcano

View of the city of Santa Cruz la Laguna

The first stop was the village of Santa Cruz la Laguna. Small town, crescendo that seems to be fast in recent years. We had the impression that tourism is taking over the region and the village grows around it. We take a tuc tuc- (those same kind of India!) to climb to the center. After watching the local children playing in the playground, and pass the little church in the central square, climbed to the mirador for a panoramic view over the lake. Belo visual.

Ride-on tuc tuc

Children enjoying the playground in the square

Model photo embarrassed to

Many children still wear clothes typical day-to-day

Stop at the viewpoint of the city

The next was the village of San Marcos La Laguna, supposedly the best place for a swim in the lake. Not everyone who faced the icy water, since the temperature outside the water was not the most attractive. Who does not swam, went for a walk in the city. The place is WELL quiet and tourists aproveitam to relax in lodge à glass do Lago. We climbed the hill and on the way found a mixture of customs. Some ladies went with traditional clothes, while the younger has lavished brand clothes (of doubtful authenticity) e smartphones.

Rumo à San Marcos

Tradition and modernity

We followed the tour with our boatman, this time left us in San Juan, our stop longest and perhaps the most interesting. Again, a battalion of tuc-tucs esperam os viajantes que descem no píer. We decided to talk to one of them, we offered a tour throughout the city. E este foi muito interessante.

The TUC-tucs

We passed the coffee cooperative, where we learn a little about how this activity works in the region, famous for exporting this product to the rest of the world. We were able to show them a coffee and we conclude that, although good, are well over our Brazilian coffee!

Gabriel proving Guatemalan coffee

Another activity is strong in the city crafts. By streets, spread several murals of Juan Francisco Guzman, famous artist in the region. His paintings are true pieces of art, depicting the landscapes and local realities. In his gallery, vimos alguns gringos comprando vários para levar para casa.

Art in the streets is common in San Juan…

…and also galleries

We also had the opportunity to meet a cooperative crafts, where we chatted with a nice lady, that goes for years their experience to younger. The colors of the fabrics are drawn naturally, from leaves and fruit essences. O trabalho é bastante interessante.

Many colors in handicrafts

All colors from nature

How to color fabrics in a few steps

The last stop on the island was in San Pedro. Our time was very short, and we could not know more than the restaurant across the lake where we had lunch. The city seemed more tourist and Bell, being filled with restaurants and bars on Main Street. We had lunch and ran back to the boat, before the boatman decidisse in leaving for the same (and he really was about to do!).

Streets of San Pedro

San Pedro's big city on the lake

We left the Lake Atitlán delighted with its beauty and all that absorb the people around. It was our last day in Guatemala. Seguimos viagem rumo à desconhecida El Salvador.

Time to return to Tanajura

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Date: 21/01/2013 à 23/01/2013

Following the road, Our next stop was Antigua point, Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 1979, and recognized by visitors for its charming Spanish Renaissance architecture in the middle of a valley surrounded by volcanoes like volcano volcano of fire and water. Its historical value is enormous for the country, since the first half of the sixteenth century became the capital of the kingdom of Guatemala, embracing the whole current Central American continental, with the exception of Panama. Full-blown, the city was victim of an earthquake in the year 1773, which led to a break in their growth process. Due to the severe earthquakes that followed, destruiram and much of the city, it was decided that the capital would need to be rebuilt in a safer place. A 40km dali surgiu a cidade da Guatemala, it became the capital of the country, enquanto Antígua foi reconstruída mantendo seu charme colonial apesar de ter perdido sua importância política.

Arrived it was night, after catching Gustav in hospital around 18:30 and pass the Subway for a snack still in Guatemala City. The road was good, but due to the time, traffic out of the city was intense, and so it took a little longer to flow. It was a mountain with lots of curves and hills sloping down well and so, ramps had to be lost if the brake, something we had not seen before. At the entrance of the city there were several hostels, but as we were already engaged SAVER MODE, we went after other options and ended up finding the center of a huge space tourist police and insurance, where to our surprise, had other “campers”, including a couple who had stayed in the same campsite we, wool in Mexico (Guanajuato)! Soon after mounting tents, we talked for hours with 3 American couples, (one was from Alaska and working with oil company, knew and deeply admired Petrobras). It was a nice conversation where we talk about the differences between car travel and backpacking (they were all car), about the future roadmap and post-trip!

Tanajura no pátio da Polícia Turística.

The next day, we were walking around town and soon saw a McDonalds, a colonial style house, with a huge garden that eventually convincing us to eat there on one of the nights! We visited the ruins of the Convent Mercedarios, church Our Lady of Mercy, which was destroyed by earthquake in the sixteenth century and rebuilt 50 anos depois.

The Mc Donalds cozier, does not seem fast food!

Igreja Our Lady of Mercy

As ruins of the Convent of Mercy

Inside the ruins

Exploring the ruins

Source within the ruins

One of the many crafts Antigua

With a few minutes' walk up the hill, arrived at Cerro de la Cruz, where we had an amazing view of the city surrounded by mountains and volcanoes!

View from Cerro

Bruno enjoying the view

The cross on the mountain

Along the way we passed a very traditional restaurant, with musicians playing xylophone (instrument that the Guatemalan claim to be the inventors), and had a flawless garden. Despite the left side of the menu is tempting, the right side of the impossible, hahaha!

Photo on the restaurant terrace

Carriage amid the garden

Top view of the garden

We ended up eating num restaurant called La pitch, indicated by the guide. We walked to the back of the grocery, where there was a large table, we share with you a couple of tourists and a guy who seemed to be local. The food is chamava “Pepi chicken”, a stew with plenty of spice that the nice lady served us! As in many places throughout the Americas, could not miss the “avocado” (avocado) to accompany!!!

Street with the arch in the background

Walk the streets with colonial style buildings

Hunger sated, we left the restaurant, and walk the streets visited a gallery of super cool photos in which the models are local people! Some photos were taken almost 20 years old, and today some of the people who work in the stores are in photographs! Eventually can recognize the face of the vendors in photos, because some are old photos, result of a friendship between the photographer and some places that lasts for more than 2 generations! We sat in the main square, for nearly two hours, where we were observing the habits of tourists! The vast majority were couples, de todas as idades e diferentes lugares do globo.

Tourists walking through the main square of Antigua

Bruno and Gabriel talking about the architecture of the city

André seeking a restaurant for lunch

Gustavo having fun on the square

Beside the square is the palace of “Captains General”, former seat of government when Antigua was still the capital of all Central America, from Chiapas to Costa Rica! When we were out of the square, find Paul and Andrea, Brazilian couple mining super good people, that despite the elegance, resolveram face Central America by 22 day backpack! After almost 2 hours of talk time, with the sun having already fired, fomos ao encontro da Tanajura e retornamos para Guatemala city.

Picture with Paul and Andrea, no por do sol.

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Date: 17/01/2013 à 21/01/2013

A Fronteira Belize-Guatemala

We went to Belmopan, em Belize, Rumo à Tikal, To Guatemala, not give 17 January, Thursday. Unfortunately, arrived at the Park of Tikal in the day and we only had a few hours to visit the majestic Mayan ruins. The next day we had to leave early towards the Guatemalan capital, a journey that would last all day, because the NAND (Leonardo) had a scheduled flight out of Ciudad de Guatemala to visit her mother. Passing through the entrance of the park had to pay the entrance fee salt for foreigners, of , worth for two days spent in the park, even we can only spend part of a there. We parked the car and have fled to the forest, under a light drizzle, where the trails (well signposted, by sinal) levavam às várias ruínas.

Signaling in Tikal National Park

It was getting dark and we needed to run to see as much as possible. We walk through 20 minutes between jungle trails when, finally, we got to the first center ruins: feel, the evening already and no one there, foi de que nós tínhamos acabado de descobrir o centro arqueológico.

Temple I em Tikal

Ruins of Tikal

The pristine jungle around the buildings gives the impression that since his abandonment of the ruins are there, while resisting. We climbed the tallest buildings in order to get a better sense of the area and we could see, above the treetops, other tall buildings that arose amidst the greenery. Moreover, it was possible to see the steam rising from the vegetation due to high humidity in the region. Film. We were jumping from center to center until the time when the park closed and we had to return the car, já de noite.

Steam rising amid the greenery

The city of Tikal is one of the most important Mayan centers of their civilization, with its construction being started a few hundred years before Christ, and its peak being reached between the years 500 and 800 after Christ. At this time centered much of the economics and politics of the Mayan region and also found evidence of interaction with other important “metropolises” America of his time, as Teotihuacan, no centro do que hoje é o México.

We amid the ruins

We wanted to camp there in the parking lot of the park it, but the guards have left. So we went behind the parking lots of the few hotels that exist within the area of ​​the national park and one of them cleared the space for us to sleep! We dined in the restaurant of this hotel and went to sleep because the next day would wake early for another full day of travel. Despite the tropical region, overnight until it made a chill, reaching 13 degrees!

Another day trip

The next day, as scheduled, spend all the time traveling towards the capital and arrived in the early evening. Nandes would like to get the very early flight the next day, no sleep hostel The Spanish, very close to the airport, which offered transfer at the time of your flight. One good thing about Guatemala is that most hostels included in the accommodation price a hearty breakfast each morning, up beans! Well, the Nandes left early for the airport and we were taking breakfast tasty breakfast. Over coffee met two ladies that U.S. had known for a long time on a volunteer in Tibet and were now meeting again for a trip in Central America!

The two ladies who met in the hostel

Gustavo a while since he was not feeling well, always coughing and fever. Therewith, soon after breakfast we take you to the hospital to see what was happening. We went to the hospital , associated with the health insurance we have, was one of the best Ciudad de Guatemala and then stop already started some tests to check what happened. After some time the result came: he had pneumonia! All were surprised, he even, because I was not feeling so bad. The doctor's suggestion was for him to come home and rest, taking the medication. However, after 7 months down the road the closest thing to a home that we have is Tanajura! So the doctor decided to admit him in the hospital for 2 noites para ele ficar acomodado melhor e poder se recuperar mais rapidamente.

Gustavo hosting first class in the Guatemalan capital

Of course we do not want this to anyone, but it is no exaggeration to say that hospital facilities were one of the best housing for which some of us went on the trip: Cable TV, internet, rich and varied menu with meals, overlooking a well maintained Japanese garden, food and drinks between meals comfortable and air-conditioned room. With Gustavo already installed and recovering, What about us (Bruno, Andre e Gabriel) we seek a hostel closest to the center to stay. We ended up finding hostel The Coperacha, after searching the internet for references. The animated Luciano (Austrian who manages the hostel) welcomed us and we have already closed the next 3 we would spend nights in the Guatemalan capital there. The atmosphere was pleasant, limp and, again, possuía um café-da-manhã delicioso.

Hostel La Sala do Coperacha

The same hostel the couple was staying and Ricardo Renilza, who were also long-term travelers like us, but in their case the trip was the world! They have now returned to Brazil, but your blog (In the blog world) is still in the air with their experiences. We spent the rest of the night chatting with them, exchanging experiences and funny stories, até a hora de dormir.

Nós na central parça Guatemala City

On the following morning, returned to the hospital to check on Gustav, who was feeling well but should stay one more day in hospital to recover better. We left the hospital and went for a ride through the city center. All without rushing, because we would expect the Nandes back a few days later also in Ciudad de Guatemala. Therewith, just using the time to relax and get some rest too, unlike the usual run we have almost daily on Shipping. Luckily the structure of our hostel It helped enough, even had a room with musical instruments!

Equipe do Hostel La Coperacha

After 2 nights in hospital, Gustavo was released by the doctor and was feeling much better, just needed to continue taking prescribed medications. There was still one day to go back Nandes, so we went to the nearby town of Antigua, antiga capital da Guatemala, but that's a story for another post ;).

For more photos, click here!

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