Where to go to be in the know...about travel
When in Antigua, Guatemala, be sure and visit the museums of Pre Columbian, glass & archaeological art all within the magnificent old convent grounds of Santo Domingo. Not only are the grounds beautiful, the ruins worth some time to photograph and the museums excellent, but you can actually stay there. The Hotel Casa Santo Domingo is a 129 room hotel located right on the grounds.
Hotel Atitlan is located on the shore of Lake Atitlan outside the town of Panajachel. This is in the western highlands of Guatemala, just a few hours from the airport at Guatemala City. If you want to take a helicopter to the resort, the flight would be about 30 minutes and you’ll land right at the the hotel’s lakeside helipad! The views from Hotel Atitlan include three 10,000 ft. volcanoes – Toliman, Atitlan and San Pedro – towering above the lake.
Chichicastenango is a town known for its Mayan markets. Market day is an experience you’ll not soon forget. Locals go to buy produce and household goods and tourists flock to the markets to buy handicrafts and souvenirs. The town is in the beautiful Guatemalan highlands, several hours from Guatemala City.
You might think a town that is a designated heritage site might be old and crumbling. Yet Antigua is bright, vibrant and amazingly current while carefully retaining colonial charm. Located in the central highlands of Guatemala, this beautiful city, once the capital of Guatemala, is surrounded by live volcanoes.
It wasn’t until we headed out to the villages in the countryside of Guatemala that I learned about the infamous “chicken buses.” It wasn’t until I saw outlandishly painted chicken buses careening down roads filled with passengers that I became intrigued, and ultimately, a chicken bus fan.
When you visit Guatemala, you may run into images of an intriguing folk saint who, to some tourists, is known as the “god of smoking and drinking.” Maximón is depicted in European dress with trousers, shirt and hat. You’ll find him seated with a cigar in his mouth or an opening where alcohol can be poured.
