Category Archives: Latin America

Guatemalan Food part 2 – Changes Over Time

I wrote a first installment on food at the end of my first full day in Guatemala. This second installment is a retrospective. Fifty years ago, the foods that were available in Guatemala were highly location specific. Around Lago Atitalan, … Continue reading

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Six and half weeks in Guatemala

photo above from Uspantán Traveling with a fixed plan doesn’t work so well for me. There is a poor psychology to the whole thing as all too often what is expected simply changes. When things don’t go as they are … Continue reading

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Santa Cruz del Quiché to Guate

There are ‘rules’ for safe travel in Central America and I am about to be challenged by several of them. I am in Quiché, and flying out of Guatemala City in a couple of days. The conservative approach might be … Continue reading

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Ixil Region – Acul, Xexuxcap, Xexocom

The morning in Nebaj, Guatemala, started with light rain. A friend had organized a couple of young boys to guide me on my planned walk, but truly I just wanted this day to be a solitary one – one when … Continue reading

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Chajul – Children, Cemetery and Comedor Cristina

Often the village cemetery is up on one of the hills above the town. In Chajul, my random exploration of the hillside streets to the north of town neither led to the cemetery, nor revealed a view of it. My … Continue reading

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Chajul walkabout

Apart from the obvious interest of the market day, what I enjoyed most in my visit to Chajul was the simple, quiet pleasure of wandering around this lightly visited village, without a map or really much idea of what I … Continue reading

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Market Day in Chajul

It is market day in San Gaspar Chajul, Guatemala. In many rural areas, the local market days rotate among a few of the more prominent villages in the region. In the Ixil Triangle region of Guatemala, Nebaj is the largest … Continue reading

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Nebaj – somewhere, in the middle of nowhere

Nebaj. The name rings magical. This town of 35,000 tucked into a lush mountain valley in the highlands of Guatemala is the political center of the Ixil Triangle region. The Ixil (pronounced Ish-il) Maya live here and in the nearly … Continue reading

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Uspantán to el Entronque de Nebaj

Mud bricks, tile roofs, dividing fences made of piled wood for the cooking fire. Pigs tethered between close-set houses. Fences of vertical sticks tied together with twine. Men in dark clothing with dark faces beneath pale straw cowboy hats. If … Continue reading

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Uspantán

It is mid-afternoon. The whole day til now has been spent traveling and it is time to wander around this quite isolated village of 3500 where the only languages are Spanish and Q’eqchi Maya. My two goals are to get … Continue reading

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Heading for Uspantán

When I was planning this trip from home, the area I found most intriguing was a region little visited by tourists – the Ixil Triangle (Nebal-Chajul-Cotzal), and the region surrounding – where indigenous culture is still very much alive; an … Continue reading

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Semuc Champey

It is often said that Guatemala is a beautiful place, and that the most stunning sight in all of the country is Semuc Champey. It is also said that Lago Atitlan is the most beautiful lake in the world. I … Continue reading

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Guatemalan Food part 1 – Ceviche

Antigua, Guatemala I am just back from grazing. Except on Sundays, three meals a day are included with my immersion Spanish homestay. So today, on my first full day here, and a Sunday, I did get a bit hungry before … Continue reading

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the annual bag debate

ok, it is that time again – what bag will I be taking on this upcoming five week trip to Central America? What style, what capacity? Do I use one I have already or should I hunt up something different? … Continue reading

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