Get to know Guate

Guate is often short for Guatemala City, but I want to introduce you to the entire country – Welcome to Guatemala! So, really it is time to “Get to know Guate-mala.”

I planned to find out...

Where is Guatemala? Isn’t it close to Mexico?

Yes, very close, in fact it borders the southern part of Mexico and is part of Central America. Earlier this year (2011) I spent over two weeks exploring country and now I plan to share those experiences with you, my readers.

Ok, but why Guatemala?

In the past few years, I haven’t found myself south of Mexico in the Americas, so I decided to plan a trip and explore even further south of the border. .I also wanted to discover an unknown (for me). I looked for a place dollars still go far, a place I could continue to test my Spanish, and a place I could find adventure. I chose Guatemala.

Well, actually Guatemala seemed to choose me.

Choose you? What does that mean?

the book was given to me as a gift.

At the airports I always seemed to arrive or depart next to gates boarding for Guatemala City. I learned stories of two different college friends supporting kids in Guatemala through charities and I even received a book, “Secrets of the Talking Jaguar” regarding the travels of a spiritual healer in Guatemala as a gift.

Couple those with my interest peaking in the Mayan civilization and Guatemala seemed to be the place. Plus, I knew it was close to Chiapas (Mexico) in case I somehow needed to cross the border. Just kidding, I never left Guatemala

Ok, so where did you go? What did you do?

at times, I agree... the lost world indeed

I traveled through the capital city (Guate) and it’s colonial city of Antigua. I hiked through the Mayan ruins and jungles near Tikal and kayaked along the beautiful Lake Atitlan. I crashed a peace core party, spent times sketching the local parks, took in sunsets, and hiked a volcano. I ate the local food and road the local buses. In two weeks, I traveled and experienced Guatemala. And I learned loads about the diverse country and will share it with you here.

the table set for adventure....

So what do you plan share with us?

I plan to share it all over series of posts. Yes, “Get to Know Guate” will be in multiple parts. The first will run in October 2011, the second for February of 2012,the third in May of 2012, and the fourth in mid 2013

So, to start I plan to use the Culture Through Cuisine Series to share some of the food I discovered and also continue with the Adventure Travel Mindset Series to highlight some of my adventures and also how my mindset changed. Plus, I’ll post Sunset Sundays too and that’s just the beginning. See the posts below.