We love first-hand accounts of how our tours run and are so thankful for Dale of The Maritime Explorer for sharing with us his take on one of our Central American tours. This time, it is all about Chichicastenango. Enjoy!
We are close to the home stretch on Victor Romagnoli’s Central American odyssey for Adventures Abroad. Previously the group has visited Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and lastly the ruins of Copan in Honduras. Today we are crossing back into Guatemala which we briefly traversed on the way to Copan. Our destination is the Guatemalan highland town of Chichicastenango which is world renowned for its Mayan market and syncretic religious practices. It’s a full day’s drive from the border to our destination, but I never mind travelling through a countryside I’ve never visited before – a stranger in a strange land so to speak, to parrot Robert Heinlein who was in turn parroting the Israelites time and exodus from Egypt. It’s literally a story of travel as old as the Bible and I hope you’ll come along for the journey.
Lake Atitlan – Guatemala’s Alpine Wonder
Another installment in the exciting Central American series with Dale of the Maritime Explorer. This time to one of our favourite destinations: Lake Atitlan.
This is my second post from the wondrous country of Guatemala which, despite years of civil unrest, finally seems to be returning to a semblance of normalcy that is seeing the return of tourists to the most popular areas. The first post highlighted the amazing market in the mountain town of Chichicastenango where I also got my first look at the syncretic religion practised by the K’iche’ Maya of the region. It definitely whetted my appetite to see more of this most unusual Central American country. While I am writing this at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic that has effectively ended tourism as we know it, I am hopeful that there will be a worldwide return to normalcy as well, I just don’t have a clue when. Once it does, this post might serve as an inspiration to visit one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen or been – Lake Atitlan. If, God forbid, things never return to normal and Lake Atitlan proves impossible to visit in the future, then let this post stand as a paean to its beauty.
Copan & the Stairway to Heaven
Venturing into Honduras, we explore once of the best Mayan sites in the world with Dale of The Maritime Explorer.
Our journey with Victor Romagnoli through Central America on behalf of Adventures Abroad continues as we make our way into the fifth country on the itinerary, Honduras. Our destination is the legendary lost Mayan city of Copan deep in the jungle and far, far away from the troubled cities of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula where gang violence is still rampant and tourists are wise to avoid. In order to get to Copan we need first to cross over into Guatemala from El Salvador where we have spent the last three days. There we got our first taste of Mayan ruins as the sites of San Andres and Tazumal. Frankly, before I signed up for this trip I was not even aware that there were Mayan ruins in El Salvador so I was not really disappointed that they paled in comparison to Chichen Itza and Tulum, the two Mayan sites I had visited in the past. Copan, however, is a different matter. It has long been famous for its stelae, the unique hieroglyphic staircase and the Rosalila monument so I am really psyched about this visit. Why not join us and see if our expectations are met?
Tazumal & the Ruta de las Flores - El Salvador Tour
Continuing on with our Central America and El Salvador tour series with Dale of the Maritime Explorer, we are excited to explore the Ruta de las Flores, Santa Ana and Tazumal.
This is my third and final post on the tiny country of El Salvador which Alison and I visited with Victor Romagnoli on his definitive trip through Central America for Adventures Abroad in February, 2020. In the first post I gave my general impressions of El Salvador and why, once again, I was surprised to find that a country’s negative reputation isn’t necessarily deserved once you actually visit the place. In the second post we left the city of San Salvador and visited an extinct volcano, our first Mayan ruins and tie-dyed at one of only two organic indigo farms in the world. It was a very interesting day to say the least. Today we head for the Mayan ruins of Tazumal by way of Santa Ana, the country’s second largest city and then follow the Ruta de las Flores through a number of towns to our eventual destination in the mountain town of Concepción de Ataco. It promises to be another day of eye-opening firsts in this seldom visited part of the world. Why not join us?
El Salvador – Volcanos, Ruins & An Indigo Farm
Let's get to know El Salvador a little better with the help of traveller Dale of the Maritime Explorer as he takes on our Central America tour.
Well, here we are in El Salvador, one of the last countries I ever expected to visit, but this is Victor Romagnoli’s Central American odyssey on behalf of Adventures Abroad and you can’t visit every country in the region without including this tiny nation. Actually, in my last post I described how El Salvador surprised me with the urbanity of its capital San Salvador and how quickly any sense of unease was dissipated by just walking around a bit. Today we are going to sample a little of what El Salvador has to offer starting with a visit to a volcano, our first Mayan ruin (finally!) and then a return to hippiedom with some tie-dyeing at an indigo farm. Remember, Adventures Abroad specializes in trips for over 50’s and you’d have to be that old to remember the tie-dyeing craze, but even if you aren’t, join us for this fun day in one of the world’s least visited countries.
Unexpected El Salvador
Have you been anywhere recently that has surprised you? For Dale of The Maritime Explorer, El Salvador was this place. Read why.
This is my first post on El Salvador, the fourth country on Victor Romagnoli’s guided tour of all the Central American countries for Canadian travel company Adventures Abroad. I am writing this from home in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and really have no idea how or when things will return to a semblance of normalcy. In the meantime travellers who have not been stranded abroad have plenty of time on their hands as they practice social distancing and are for the most part prisoners in their homes and apartments. I considered just forgetting about writing up the rest of this amazing trip, but that would be defeatist and non-productive. The world is not going to end and eventually people will start traveling again and maybe in some small way my posts will contribute to that. Even if most people aren’t interested in going to El Salvador it helps to have some insight from someone who has actually been there.
