Back Home to Guatemala 

Calle Santander in Panajachel was waking up with shops opening and setting up to display their colorful wares outside, the many restaurants and cafes cleaning up, sweeping the sidewalk in preparation for another day. The air was fresh, and the sun had begun to disperse the early morning shadows. We sat at our favorite bistro table on the street side at Posada de Los Volcanos. It is a small twelve room boutique hotel that serves a substantial breakfast to hotel guests and a small open air four bistro table café serving the best fresh coffee in town. And that is some statement to make as Guatemala is famous for its outstanding coffee. The lovely young woman behind the tiny bar seemed to put her full capability into handling her coffee machine to produce the best result and it was always presented with a whimsical design in the frothy milk on top. A few tables are in the courtyard that is covered with ivy and flowering plants wound around a small waterfall. But we remained at our table by the street as the locals passed by on their way to work. Most greeted us with a smile or stopped for a friendly chat. I felt at home here where the locals make you feel you belong. Life is special in Panajachel where tourists are sparse, but still very welcome. The name of the town derives from the  “Kaqchikel” language and means “place of Matanos, the white sapote fruit tree that is so prevalent here.  

It probably sounds strange for me, as a Dutchman, who carries dual American and Dutch nationality, to refer to Guatemala as home. However, over the last twenty-plus years I have been back to this amazing country on an almost annual basis except during Covid. And last month, we returned again at our favorite time of the year. This time, we stayed at the spectacular Lake Atitlan once more and in the colonial city of Antigua. Just short of three hours flying from Miami, there is almost no comparison one can make between the two countries. A stunning and very different landscape awaits the visitor. Thirty-seven volcanoes dominate the mountainous vistas from all angles, three of them active with the occasional rumble, clouds, and molten lava spewing out. Over 1,000 people had to evacuate in May of 2023 when Volcan de Fuego erupted, and just a couple of weeks ago, the same volcano erupted with fiery fire and light shows. But the worst in recent history was five years earlier when an eruption claimed 160 lives, and in between, in the year 2021, the Pacaya volcano erupted but luckily without casualties. Elevations in the country range from sea level to over 12,000 feet, with six distinctly different climate variants. Officially, this Central American country has a tropical climate with a dry season from November to April and a rainy season from May to October. The average temperature around the year in Guatemala is 76 degrees Fahrenheit, and rainfall of 85 inches a year. That said, I have personally experienced much lower and much higher temperatures in various parts of the country. There is Tikal National Park in the Peten rainforest area of northern Guatemala, located about 50 miles from the border with Belize and Mexico that offers one of the largest archeological sites of the Mayan civilization.  

It was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1971. Mayan temples rise to over 150 feet hidden deep in the jungle that is rumored to still give sanctuary to the nocturnal jaguar. The Pacific Coast and Caribbean Sea are as far removed from each other and the Tikal rainforest as imaginable in this small country that encompasses just over 42,000 square miles. The southern coast features volcanic black beaches and is a paradise for fishing, while the Caribbean Sea has spectacular snow-white sandy beaches and sparkling turquoise waters bordered by swaying palm trees. The mountains of the Sierra Madre are home to the spectacular Lake Atitlan, a fifty square-mile lake surrounded by volcanoes, coffee plantations, and numerous stunning and colorful small villages lining the shoreline, some of them only reachable by boat. This is where we stayed in the main town of Panajachel, a fast-growing area that caters mainly to tourists. Guatemala offers a strange contrast of being one of the poorest countries of the world but at the same time being recognized as the main economy of Central America and a higher middle-income country. Flying into the capital, Guatemala City, with approximately 1.3 million inhabitants the mix of poverty, high-end luxury, and crime is palatable. As a matter of fact, certain areas of the city are considered too dangerous for tourists to travel through. I have stayed at excellent hotels in the city and eaten in fine restaurants, but if one can continue directly to Lake Atitlan, it certainly is advisable. The choice of roads to travel is limited as four lanes of travel can often become eight lanes of traffic by Guatemalans and therefore is strongly recommended not to travel on public transport consisting of so-called “Chicken-buses. These are converted old American school buses repainted in bright colors that race each other to be first at the next stop to pick up more passengers, although people and livestock already have overloaded the bus to dangerous levels. Renting a car is also not advisable, so I strongly suggest reserving professional transportation services. Uber is available from the airport but is reputed to be quite unreliable. All that said about the crazy traffic, I must add that drivers are patient with each other, and despite the treacherous driving conditions, there seems to be no road rage or honking of car horns. We have known our driver for years, and the company he works for has just bought a brand-new Hyundai van. A sign of some prosperity that is evident from so many expensive late-model vehicles we noticed for the first time. Gilberto, our driver, suggested we take the secondary road through the mountains to avoid much of the heavy traffic and police roadblocks. There are warnings about crime on the Guatemalan roads, but personally I have never witnessed anything alarming. The police are seen frequently and have always been extremely friendly and helpful. Our trip through the mountains took us along endless scenic winding narrow roads through much of the agricultural landscape that provides most of the income outside the tourist areas. At one point we reached just over 12,000 feet on the road close to the point where one can see the Pacific Ocean in the distance on one side and the Caribbean Sea on the other.  

Over the next three days, we strolled around town, tried coffee everywhere, always returning to Posada de Los Volcanoes, ate giant gambas with garlic, and chatted with the locals.  

After a particularly long, friendly bargaining session with an indigenous woman on the street, who could have been 50 or 85 years old, over a shawl my wife had to have, the agreement on the money we wanted to part with was made. When the deal was sealed, we ended up giving her the amount she originally asked for simply because she was so entertaining and endearing. She was so surprised and grateful that over the next two days when we ran into her hawking her wares, she smiled widely and greeted us as if we were her best friends. 

We had previously stayed for a night at the Posada de Don Rodrigo hotel at the edge of the lake and on the end of the main street, Calle Santander, to have easy access to the small public boats leaving for the towns along the lake. This time, we booked for three nights and enjoyed a lovely room overlooking Lake Atitlan. Decor and colorful tiles accentuated the local atmosphere. The gardens were another wonderful surprise, and the extremely accommodating staff could not have done more for us. It proved again to be the best starting point for our adventures on and around the lake.  

Guatemala is a troubled country facing many obstacles in their government, poverty prevalent mostly from indigenous people in the countryside, as well as in Guatemala City. Support from the United States and close contact with our country can be witnessed in many circumstances. Until 1987, the quetzal was kept equal to the US dollar.  

Despite issues in the country, it is said Guatemala is now the largest economy in Central America and the tenth largest in Latin America. 

Near many a scenic spot in the country one can find partially finished high-end homes, rumored to be built with monies hard-working Guatemalans are earning in the United States and send home to eventually allow them to return to family and friends for secure retirement without having to count on their own government. The family unit is very close and as we have experienced, they support each other in difficult times. We have made many friends in this beautiful country so close to the United States and hope to continue to return for as long as we can.