A Month in Guatemala: Un mes en Guate

I went to Guatemala to practice my Spanish. I knew several people that had studied in Guatemala, which is often chosen for its quality of schools as well as the local accent. Many Guatemalans have an indigenous language as their first tongue and learn Spanish in school. As a result, their Spanish is fairly traditional, without too much slang, and at a pace that the rest of us can understand. I researched Spanish language schools throughout the country, settling on the city of Antigua, the colonial capital because I just love old cities. With research, I found the Spanish Academy Antigueña, which offered half-day classes Monday through Friday at a very reasonable rate.

I was hoping to combine my studies with touring the country, in particular to Lake Atitlán and Tikal. The school offers homestays for its students, and when I return, I will do that, but for the first visit, I booked a hotel for my stay. While the hotel was beautiful and comfortable, especially the outdoor shower, it was not so convenient to the school site, and I missed out on practicing my Spanish every evening as I would have done at a homestay. Next time!

The city of Antigua is charming, and is totally safe. In fact, the Guatemalans say hello to everyone as you pass on the street, and once, when I saw a tourist faint, a crowd gathered in no time to help the young man, offering water, food, and support. I’d like to think that would happen anywhere but I’m not sure it’s true. The city offers a wide range of restaurants, from traditional to taco bars to the vegan restaurant I found that served excellent quinoa/kale bowls. There’s also a charming central park where vendors ply their wares, and you can sit under the jacaranda trees eating ice cream.

The school itself was perfect for me. My profesora and I sat outside every day, starting at 8am. We would spend the first 60-90 minutes just chatting about family, what I did the afternoon/evening before, the surrounding villages, customs in Guatemala, my travel plans, etc. Then she would take me through that day’s lesson – we focused a lot on verb tenses! Then, in the best possible way, it was break time, and the local ladies would provide a light snack of tostadas or enchiladas (very different from ours – these were a crispy tortilla topped with refried beans, cheese, pickled onions, and for me, always salsa picante). My favorite thing was the atole, a local corn dish that can be anywhere from smoothie to oatmeal in consistency. Sometimes it was savory, sometimes sweet; always delicious.

After our break, we would practice the lesson of the day, with worksheets first, and then in discussion. We finished up at noon, and my afternoon was free to explore, or often for a siesta, because learning a language tires me out! As you can imagine, since Antigua was founded in the 1500s, there are a lot of churches, each one different and beautiful in its own way. The town has lovely homes, all painted in bright colors, and surrounding Antigua are little villages and huge volcanoes. One day, I took a bus – a brightly painted old US school bus – to one of the little villages. Sometimes I just walked around the town. Sometimes I hiked, although the full volcano hike requires a full day. I always had Spanish homework, so had to be sure to find time for that, and of course, dinner.

On the weekends, many Guatemalans come to Antigua from the capital and other surrounding areas, and the town is abuzz. I was there during Lent, called La Cuaresma (40 days), and every Sunday there was a fiesta of some kind, often with groups making an alfombra (carpet) which is made from fruit, flowers, and other decorative items and placed in front of the church for the traditional procession of people in purple robes alongside musicians, followed by hand-carried floats with biblical scenes and lastly, a sculpture of Jesus carrying a heavy cross followed by the Virgin Mary.

One weekend, I went to Tikal, one of the largest Mayan sites that sites inside a bioreserve. This required booking a taxi to go to the airport in Guatemala City, about an hour away, and then taking a flight to Flores, the nearest town to Tikal. It’s about an hour’s flight, and the city of Flores is pretty, sitting on a lake and with a charming island of restaurants and hotels. From Flores, it’s another 90-minute drive to Tikal – my hotel arranged for a pick up. I was grateful for my Spanish studies because my driver spoke no English and spending 90 minutes in silence would not have been great, but thankfully, we became friends, and on the way back to the airport, he actually gave me a walking tour of Flores.

There are three basic hotels inside the bioreserve that surrounds Tikal, and it’s worth booking one of them to make access easy. While mine had a lovely swimming pool, it also had no electricity after 9pm (so that there was no light/noise for the animals) – bring a flashlight or headlamp! It also had a restaurant on site, which was convenient and delicious. On my first day, I engaged a guide at the entrance who took me on a terrific tour of the park, including climbing to the top of several of the pyramids, and explaining the history, as best we know it, of the Mayan Empire. Only about 25% of Tikal is visible; the rest remains under the ground that has formed since more than 150,000 Mayans lived here 2000 years ago.

In addition to the outstanding pyramids and other structures, the park abounds in rainforest wildlife, especially monkeys, birds, and coatimundis. The following morning, I booked the sunrise tour (el amanecer) which begins at 3:30am. You climb to the top of Pyramid #5, and wait for the dawn to arrive, listening to the animal symphony that lasts about 90 minutes. And it truly was a symphony with each species taking its turn – howler monkeys, parrots, toucans, woodpeckers, trogons (a relative of the elusive quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala), toads, and even the jaguars, although they rarely make any noise. Sitting atop a pyramid, much as a Mayan local must have done 2 millennia ago, listening to the jungle awaken – priceless.

After two full days at Tikal, it was time to return to Antique for more lessons. One afternoon, I visited a coffee plantation and learned how coffee bushes are grafted and grown, and how the beans are harvested, dried, roasted and finally ground. Guatemalans drink a lot of coffee, and while it’s never been my favorite drink, I did learn to drink it without sugar, as it’s so smooth. Coffee bushes don’t start producing beans until year three, and then last about 50 years. One bush yields 6.5 pounds of red coffee fruits, which equals one pound of roasted coffee beans, so you can imagine, throughout Guatemala, how many coffee bushes there must be. The Azotea Finca outside Antigua was founded in 1883 and is still family owned and operated.

I also visited a chocolate farm, although most of the cacao is grown closer to the Pacific coast. Still, Antigua is considered an ideal place for creating cocoa nibs, and for melting the beans into liquid chocolate. It’s then flavored; my two favorites being chili and passionfruit.

After a few weeks, it was time to leave Antigua and head to Lake Atitlán. For this, I had engaged a local tour company that would meet all my needs: drive me from Antigua to Santa Catarina (2.5 hours), provide kayaks, a daily guide for touring the villages surrounding the lake, a birding outing (in hopes of seeing a quetzal), two hiking outings, and then a drive back to the capital for my flight home (about 3 hours). Brothers Pedro and Isaias at Tours & Travel did not disappoint. This family-run business was able to shepherd me all around Lake Atitlán seeing the best sites and ensuring that I had several local experiences rather than just tourist ones. The hikes were outstanding, and the boat tours were fun.

Each of the villages around Lake Atitlan is a little different, and often has a different tribe of Mayans, speaking their own language. San Pedro La Laguna is the most developed with a charming main street and plenty of Instagrammers and tourists. Isaias contacted his friend Mariana who made us a picnic with the traditional patín, a spicy meat dish cooked in the ground, steamed by banana leaves. We also visited a women’s weaving cooperative – local women grow cotton in their own backyards, then create and dye their own yarns using natural plant dyes. The resulting scarves, blouses, and skirts were unique and beautiful, each one made entirely by hand.

We also visited Santiago Atitlán, the oldest and largest village around the lake, although this is not a tourist center. Here, we were lucky enough to go to the local market, see amazing street art, and attend a shaman ceremony. This ceremony celebrates Maximón, a half-human deity worshipped by the Mayans. His spirit represents the good and evil in everyone, for he smokes and drinks. During our visit, a young woman who was struggling with Long Covid came for a blessing from the shaman, which was a 30-minute ceremony that was beyond fascinating. Everything was in the Mayan language and thankfully, Isaias could translate for me.

My hotel in Santa Catarina was beautiful, with a gorgeous swimming pool and a nice restaurant. Because I was solo, all of the waiters became my friends over the course of my 10 days. They would have the chef make dishes not on the menu, which I really appreciated. Most of the food in Guatemala is mild; salsa is served on the side but often is not too spicy at places that serve tourists. As I learned from the patín, the locals eat far spicier, and thankfully, the hotel provided me with a full-strength, 10+ chili condiment that made everything delicious. The triumvirate of Latin America – rice, beans, corn – was also present.

Because like so much of Latin America, flights are in the wee hours, I spent my final night at a hotel near the airport in Guatemala City. While I drove through this area several times, I did not explore the capital of the country. For the most part, it’s safe and urban, but there are certainly areas that the State Department recommends avoiding, and so, it seemed prudent not to visit. I think I saw some of the best parts of Guatemala in Tikal, Flores, Antigua, and Lake Atitlán, although now I know there are other areas that are also worth exploring: Quetzaltenango, Livingston (a Maroon town on the Caribbean), and Chichicastenango. I know I’ll return for more Spanish classes; I learned more in 2+ weeks than I did in 8 years of schooling!

While I know there are many who might think it’s risky to go to Guatemala, I will say that I did not find that to be the case. Of course, as a solo female traveler, you have to plan carefully and be aware of your surroundings but all three areas – Antigua, Lake Atitlán, and Tikal – felt 100% safe and comfortable. I take a water filter bottle with me on all my travels – mine is made by Grayl and can filter any water (river included) into safe drinking water. Sometimes people warn you to avoid fruit/veg that can’t be peeled. I ate tomatoes, potatoes, and salad almost every day with no issues. I also had delicious smoothies; everything is very fresh. I always travel with my own tea bags, but honestly, the coffee is Guatemala is so tasty that I didn’t use them. You’ll notice I arranged all my transfers in advance of travel, and I do think this is a good idea. The last thing I want is to rely on a taxi at the airport. I also booked all my tours in advance, not because I was worried about finding them once on the ground, but because February is a busy time in Guatemala, and I was worried some would be booked up. At Lake Atitlán, this was definitely the case.

As I do with most longer trips, I downloaded the local language on Google Translate and the maps of each area on Google Maps. In this case, unlike in Europe, I didn’t bother with a local SIM card. All of the hotels had Wi-Fi and with the maps/translation, I didn’t need anything else when I was away from the hotel. I use a VPN just to ensure I’m protected if I’m doing financial stuff over Wi-Fi, and when you are traveling for a month, sometimes that’s necessary. Hoping all this helps give you the confidence to travel more off the beaten path. I would definitely recommend Guatemala as a place to study Spanish, or as a fascinating place to visit. I loved the people and the culture; definitely returning one day.