  Dale Sievert |
|
Guatemala is about two-thirds the area of Wisconsin with triple its population, of which half is of Mayan descent. It has many volcanoes, rainforests, and large areas of highlands with many valleys, all which makes for a very beautiful country.
Antigua
Antigua was founded in 1542 by Spanish conquistadors. It was the capital of Guatemala for 230 years until Guatemala City became the new capital. It is a very beautiful city with countless old buildings, many from the colonial era. Its streets are laid out in a modern grid pattern. It suffered several severe earthquakes over the centuries, so many structures were rebuilt.
Iglesia de la Merced, a church built in 1751
Walking street merchants
Altar of St. Francis Church, built in 1702
Casa Antigua-El Jaulon, a 16th Century private house
Volcanoes of Guatemala
Guatemala has 37 volcanoes, all part of the "Ring of Fire" that roughly forms a circle around the Pacific Ocean, where tectonic plates are colliding. Three of them are active, and I climbed part way up Pacaya, to where much smoke and gases were coming from just below the surface.
Pacaya, with a summit of 8373 feet
 Just before sunset |  Fuego Volcano, at about 11,000 feet, just sent up a cloud of ash and smoke in the distance. |
Lake Atitlan
I found Lake Atitlan, a 50-square-mile lake surrounded by volcanoes, to be the prettiest part of Guatemala. Few roads access it, so travel is mainly by small boats that stop at all the small villages that surround the lake.
A nice welcoming rainbow at our lodging
 The view from our place of Volcano San Pedro at 9908 feet high |  It is quite a stunning view in late afternoon |
Quetzaltenago
Quetzaltenago is a city of 140,000 in the western highlands of Guatemala. At 7644 feet altitude, it has a more refreshing climate, and the heavily forested surrounding areas are very beautiful.
Espiritu Santo Cathedral, built in 1532
Nighttime in the beautiful central plaza
Fuentes Geogienes
Fuentes Geogienes is a very beautiful and interesting natural place in the eastern part of Guatemala. It has several hot springs and many caves. We sat at the exit of one cave for half an hour while countless thousands of bats flew out of the cave only 2-3 feet from our faces, an incredible experience.
The view from a hundred fifty feet above the river fed by hot springs
 Great swimming in the "heated pool" |  The entrance to the bat cave |
Tikal
Tikal is one of the top Mayan sites in Central America. At its peak, the city covered about 200 square miles, but the area cleared of jungle and debris and currently visited is about a square mile. Its history extended from about 700 B.C. until 1450 A.D.
This view overlooks the visited area of Tikal taken from atop Temple IV. It was the opening scene in the first Star Wars film, and the area was called Planet Yavin 4. However, it was actually the fourth in the Star War series, and the film was called "A New Hope."
 Mundo Perdido, or Lost World, is the oldest temple at Tikal, built in 700 B.C. |  Temple I, or Temple of the Great Jaguar, built in 732 A.D., is 180 feet high. |
Copan, Honduras
The site of Copan, Honduras, was one of the most important Mayan population centers, home to approximately 20,000 people in an area of about 100 square miles in the Classic Period of several centuries early in the first millennium. The historical park, encompassing 213 acres, is very near the border with Guatemala. Buried by jungle and debris, it was rediscovered in 1570 but first evacuated in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Dale standing in two countries
The Principal Plaza
Forest of Kings, one of seven stelae carved in the 13th Century, A.D
 Main Temple of Copan |  The ball court, where the game of pok-a-tok was played |
RSS Feed