Spread across a verdant and mountainous chunk of land,
Guatemala is endowed with simply staggering natural,
historical and cultural interest. Though the giant Maya
temples and rainforest cities have been long abandoned, ancient
traditions remain very much alive throughout the Guatemalan
highlands. Uniquely in Central America, at least half the country's
population is still Native American, and this rural indigenous
culture is far stronger than anywhere else in the region.
Countering this is a powerful ladino society,
characteristically urban and commercial in its outlook. All over
the country you'll come across remnants of Guatemala's
colonial past, nowhere more so than in the graceful former
capital, Antigua.
It's this outstanding cultural legacy, combined with Guatemala's
mesmeric natural beauty, that makes the country so compelling for
the traveller. The Maya temples of Tikal would be
magnificent in any arena but set inside the pristine jungle of the
Maya Biosphere Reserve, with attendant toucans and howler monkeys,
they are bewitching. Similarly, the genteel cobbled streets and
plazas of colonial Antigua gain an extra dimension from
their proximity to the looming volcanoes that encircle the town.
This architectural wealth is scattered to a lesser degree
throughout the country - almost every large village or town boasts
a giant whitewashed colonial church and a classic Spanish-style
plaza. Though most of the really dramatic Maya ruins lie deep in
the jungles of Petén , interesting sites are scattered
throughout the land, along the Pacific coast and in the foothills
of the highlands.
The diversity of the Guatemalan landscape is astonishing.
Perhaps most obviously arresting is the chain of volcanoes
(some still smoking) that divides the flat, steamy Pacific
coast from the cool air and pine trees of the largely
indigenous western highlands , with their green, sweeping
valleys, tiny cornfields, gurgling streams and sleepy traditional
villages. Further east towards the Caribbean , the scenery
and the people have more of a tropical feel and at Lívingston, life
beside the mangrove and coconut trees swings to reggae rhythms and
punta rock.
The rainforests of Petén, among the best preserved in
Latin America, harbour a tremendous array of wildlife ,
including jaguars, tapirs, spiders, howler monkeys, jabiru storks
and scarlet macaws. Further south, you may be lucky and catch a
glimpse of the elusive quetzal in the cloudforests close to Cobán
or see manatee in the Río Dulce. On the Pacific coast three types
of sea turtle nest in the volcanic sand beaches of Monterrico.
All of this exists against the nagging background of Guatemala's
turbulent and bloody history . Over the years, the huge gulf
between the rich and the poor, between indigenous and ladino
culture and the political left and right has produced bitter
conflict. With the signing of the 1996 peace accords between
the government and the ex-guerrillas, the armed confrontation has
ceased and things have calmed down considerably, though many of the
country's deep-rooted inequalities remain. At the heart of the
problem is the red-hot issue of land reform - it's estimated
that close to seventy percent of the cultivable land is still owned
by less than five percent of the population. There is also a
chronic lack of faith in the corrupt and inept justice
system , which has led to a wave of public lynchings of
suspected criminals across the country. At the same time the
economy was destabilized badly by Hurricane Mitch in 1998
and is still chronically weak. Guatemala remains heavily dependent
on the export of coffee, sugar and bananas and has very little
industry except the foreign-owned maquila factories which
produce goods for export and typically pay their assembly-line
workers under US$5 for a twelve-hour day. Poverty levels are some
of the worst in the hemisphere and there's general discontent with
the high cost of living.
Despite these structural inequalities, you'll find that most
Guatemalans are extraordinarily courteous, and eager to help a lost
foreigner catch the right bus or find the local post office.
Guatemalans tend to be less extrovert than other Central Americans
and are quite formal in social situations. Many will automatically
assume you are wealthy, since very few Guatemalans ever get to
visit another country. Though you may hear complaints about rising
prices, endemic corruption and the lack of decent jobs, this is not
to say that Guatemalans are not patriotic and sensitive to
criticisms from outsiders