MAYAS and MARKETS Highlighting Guatemala's Mayas and Indian Markets 14 Days

Locally Hosted Independent Tour Suggested Departure Day: Friday

ITINERARY (Subject to change without notice):

Friday Day 1 - USA - Guatemala: Depart your USA gateway for flight to Guatemala. Upon arrival, meeting and transfer to the Hotel Camino Real. 

Saturday Day 2 – Guatemala - Chichicastenango: Today, before heading into the highlands, you host will provide a guided tour of the present day capital, a mix of the new and traditional, in architecture, culture and ambiance. Highlights will include, the major downtown sites of the Parque Central (main plaza) which as colonial Spanish tradition would dictate, the plaza is flanked by the Cathedral, National Palace and the Archbishop’s Palace. You will also have a guided tour of the major museums: Archaeology & Ethnology Museum with its very good collection of Maya artifacts, including a scale model of Tikal and interesting displays of Indian culture; the Ixchel Museum features an excellent collection of thousands of samples of handwoven textiles, there are some painting and jewelry displays as well; the Popol Vuh Museum has a large exquisite collection of pre-Columbian jewelry, artifacts, colonial art, religious art, ceramics and antiques, most of the items came from a private collection. Enjoy a relaxing lunch before leaving the capital to “Chichi” and the Hotel Santo Tomas. (B/L) 

Sunday Day 3 – Chichicastenango - Lake Atitlan: The market awakens at the crack of dawn, with your guide, walk the main plaza now teeming with hundreds of stalls and merchants selling the wares from throughout the countryside. The churches of El Calvario and Santo Tomas flank either end of the square. Santo Tomas built in 1540 on the site of a Maya temple is revered to this day. Only the Maya are allowed to walk up and si t on the steps leading in. Non-Indians enter the church through a side door. Across the plaza at El Calvario smaller and used exclusively by the Indians for prayers and services, both Christian and otherwise. Throughout the market area the aroma of copal incense pervades. In the afternoon, drive about 1.5 hours to Lake Atitlan, often referred to as the “Switzerland of Central America,” the 50-square mile Lake Atitlan (“abundance of waters”) is dominated by three towering volcanoes (Toliman, San Pedro, Atitlan), sheer granite cliffs and dotted with twelve Indian villages (named after the Apostles) around the lake. Your hotel for the next two nights will be the charming Casa Palopo-Atitlan. (B) 

Monday Day 4 – Lake Atitlan: Full day visiting some of the villages dotting the lake; among them Santa Catarina and San Antonio, not nearly as “gringotized” as Panajachel and have a more “indigenous” feel about them, the former noted for it’s fine textiles, the later for its pottery works and whose hillside terraces harvest onions, anise, corn, and beans. Traditional dress for women in San Antonio is red shirts, wool skirts with a turban-style hat. The largest of these villages is Santiago de Atitlan, across the lake, reached by boat. As other villages in the country, Santiago  also has a traditional dress, color scheme; for men it is white and purpled striped pants and the women wear intricately embroidered blouses (“huipiles”) and a tightly wound halo of red cloth on their heads; the market here is rather authentic too. Lunch will be included at a charming “posada” prior to returning back to the other side of the lake and your hotel. (B/L)

Tuesday Day 5 – Lake Atitlan - Quetzaltenango: As you leave Panajachel/Lake Atitlan, driving up the steep mountainside back up to the Pan American Highway, you will pass the quaint town of Solola, and if it is market day (Tuesday or Friday) a brief stop will be made. Driving west, head towards the country’s second largest city and once it’s commercial center, Quezaltenango, also referred to as “Xela” and retains much of its colonial charm. The next three nights will be spent here, at the Hotel Bonifaz, in order to visit and fully appreciate the Maya cultural heritage. (B) 

Wednesday Day 6 – Quezaltenango: This day is spent visiting some of the incredibly picturesque villages that are found throughout the western highlands. The area around and between Quezaltenango and Totonicapan is well known for it beautiful (and at times “gigantic” ) fruits and vegetables which can readily be seen at the market in Almolonga (best market days are Wednesday and Saturday). The area abounds with cottage industries, in weaving, dairy, pottery as well as textiles/weaving. Lunch will be included on this day. (B/L) 

Thursday Day 7 – Quezaltenango: Today will be spent visiting more of the idyllic towns of the highlands; among them San Andres Xecul. This the picturesque hillside village is noted for it’s famous rather ornate, eclectic, multi-colored (predominately yellow) church with extraordinary figurines on its façade, overlooking the valley. At Totonicapan, visit the cooperative costume and craft shops, for it is from this town that the country gets most of the masks, costumes and live-sized figurines for their festivals. Enjoy a special typical lunch, perhaps accompanied with marimba and traditional dance. (B/L) 

Friday Day 8 – Quezaltenango - Todos Santos Cuchumatanes: Travel ever deeper into the highlands to the Mam-speaking Maya region. Stop at what probably is considered the most picturesque town in the region and home to Central America’s  largest Indian market (held on Fridays) that attracts traders from as far as Coban, San Francisco El Alto, with majestic views of volcanoes Santa Maria, Cerro Quemado and Zunil in the foreground. This open air market is just jam-packed with cows, chickens, sheep, pigs, goats, horse and just about any other animal that can be traded…in addition to fruits, vegetables, handicrafts. After the market visit, head further north into the Cuchumatanes mountain range. The area does not have a hotel, and lodging for the next two nights will be at a horseback-riding ranch (beginners welcomed; an one-hour of horseback riding is included for each night’s stay), Unicornio Azul, run by the owners, one French, the other Guatemalan; accommodations are in very clean private bedrooms, but with shared bath for every two rooms; food is home-made and excellent. (B/L/D)

Saturday Day 9 – Todos Santos Cuchumatanes:  Your host will take you to one of the most isolated towns in the country, Todos Santos Cuchumantan. The ride is on rough roads, chilly (altitude is over 8000 feet), but the scenery is just spectacular! The Mam-speaking Mayas here have for the most part kept with their ancient traditions, from the 260-tzolkin Maya calendar, to the Abrujos ritual ceremonies at nearby ruins, to the unusual colorful patterns in dress of both men and women. Saturday is market day with high quality textiles by accomplished, artistic weavers (brocade work is extraordinary), pottery,  woolen goods sold, in addition to produce. Perhaps the largest fiesta is held here annual from October 31-November 05, with November 01, All Saints Day, being the most elaborate and where the spirits of their ancestors are honored in the town cemetery,  (B/L/D) 

Sunday Day 10 Todos Santos Cuchumatanes - Antigua: Leave the folkloric rich highlands to the Spanish colonial capital, Antigua, that was known as Muy Leal y Muy Noble Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Goathemala, that is, the "Very Loyal and Very Noble City of Saint James of the Knights of Guatemala." En route, stop at Aguacatan, where the language spoken, Awakateko, is not spoken anywhere else! It is an area of very fertile lands with various produce, most notably, the avocado (hence town’s name) and garlic, market day in this village is Sundays. Arrive in Antigua in the afternoon and your hotel for the next four nights is the well located Meson Panza Verde.  (B/L) 

Monday Day 11 – Antigua:  A full day with your guide, you'll enjoy a colonial walking tour of old capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala, one of three major centers of power during the Spanish era, Antigua is a treasure house of colonial architecture and charm.  At its pinnacle of colonial power, it boasted of 60,000 inhabitants, 30 churches, 18 convents and monasteries, 15 hermitages, 10 chapels, the first university of the Americas (Universidad de San Carlos), 5 hospitals and a compete water and sewage system.  Destroyed by a devastating earthquake in the 1773, it did not regain it’s grandeur until coffee production was introduced in the late 1800’s. It was not until the 20th century, as old mansions were repaired and re-occupied, did Guatemalans begin to appreciate the aesthetic values of the old city and the government decreed that all restoration and new construction must reflect the colonial era. Today it is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site and a Historical Monument of the Americas. Lunch will be included in one of the city’s most famed restaurants. In the afternoon, you drive to the outskirts of Antigua, the village of Jocotenango and it's interesting pink and white façade church. Then cross over to the Azotea Coffee Farm and museums. Here learn about the  importance of coffee in Guatemala's history. In addition, to the guided tour of the farm, visit the museums exhibiting traditional Maya music and costumes. (B/L)

Tuesday Day 12- Antigua: Spend a full day north of Antigua and west of Chimaltenango to visit the charming town of Comolapa, a well know weaving center and also famous for its local primitive artists of very colorful paintings, with visits to their galleries. A box lunch will be provided today.   (B/L) 

Wednesday Day 13 – Antigua: Day at leisure to explore this fantastic colonial gem at your own pace. (B) 

Thursday Day 14 – Antigua - Guatemala City - USA:  At the appropriate time, your local host will drive you to the airport for your return flight home OR for the optional extension to Flores/Tikal. (B)

OPTIONAL EXTENSION TO THE CLASSIC MAYA CITY OF TIKAL:
        4-day/3-night FLORES and TIKAL PRE OR POST EXTENSION:
        You may select an optional extension to Flores-Tikal (either by arriving 4 days earlier or leaving 4 days later).
        The extension includes 1 additional night in Guatemala City + air transportation roundtrip to Flores + 2 nights
        in Flores/Tikal area at La Lancha + tours of  Yaxha, Ceibal, and Tikal; daily breakfast

RATES and DETAILS: