The Great Traveler

We arrived in Chicicastenango early afternoon on Thursday. The largest outdoor market in Central America had become quite a tourist destination and some claim the experience was thus watered down from its natural heritage. This may be true, but it is still worth a visit. The vendors were numerous and the hustle and bustle of the place became extensive as the afternoon wore on. Jade, which is heavily mined in Guatemala, was found on numerous vendors as jewelry products. Handmade crafts were everywhere as well. If I had one complaint about the place, it was that many of the little shops on the street sold a lot of the same things. The variety wasn’t as much as I would have liked. Nevertheless, we purchased some fantastic handmade scarves, a hand carved wood figurine of the quetzal - the national bird of Guatemala, and a pair of jade earrings.

The bus then took us to Punajachel, which is a town on Lago de Atitlan. The small, but wealthy town had some of the most beautiful scenery I had seen everywhere. We ate dinner as we watched the sun go down over the lake. While the sleepy town probably would not have been able to keep our interest for more than another few hours, the lake is a pristine sight.

That night, I ended up getting sick through complete fault of my own. Unfortunately, this cut our trip short, and we headed back to the US the next day. While I would have loved to see more of Guatemala, I can already attest to the friendliness of the people and the country’s growth since the end of the civil war. While still a poor country, the infrastructure was much better than I anticipated. Antigua is an incredible old city and would be a great place to spend time learning Spanish one day, and Volcano Pacaya is without a doubt once of the best experiences I’ve had in my life.