Guatemala
Adventures
Guatemala
"The Grit of Guate"
The Grit of Guate
Goodbye Gaute
Like many Central American countries, it’s difficult to understand Guatemala through an American lens. Many Americans are fortunate enough to have the resources and time to seek purpose and spiritual fulfillment. Most Guatemalans, on the other hand, struggle to fulfill basic needs including putting food on the table.
But Guatemala is changing. The Guatemalan economy is booming in large part due to globalization. Many rural Guatemalans can now generate supplemental income by selling agricultural products to the US. And younger Guatemalans are seeking a better life and driving gradual changes in Guatemalan society including greater political and social freedom.
During our 5 weeks in Guatemala, we experienced both of these aspects of Guatemala. And we were left with an appreciation of a dynamic culture that is changing, but has still maintained its connection to its amazing Maya roots.
Mayan Ruins
Our first exposure to Guatemala was El Peten, a huge, jungle-covered and sparsely populated region in northern Guatemala.
There are several amazing ruins in El Peten including Tikal and Yaxcha. Images from a new drone-based technology called LIDAR recently led archeologists to conclude that Tikal is the largest Maya ruin in the world. Tikal is in the middle of the jungle and full of wildlife. In fact, it’s so big that tourists have recently gotten lost in the jungle and died while exploring the ruins. One of the most magical experiences we had there was watching the sunrise at the top of a huge temple and seeing Toucans soar over the jungle far below. In Tikal, human sacrifice was common, especially during times of drought and famine. As it turns out, most historians believe that Tikal was abandoned due to the impact of deforestation and overpopulation. Only time will tell if the Guatemalan people will do a better job of managing their natural resources than their Maya ancestors did.
Indigenous Culture
Guatemala is a great place to get off the beaten path and experience its many indigenous communities.
One of the areas we chose to explore was the Ixil Triangle, a remote region in western Guatemala inhabited by the Ixil Maya people. The Ixil Triangle was a guerrilla stronghold during the Guatemalan Civil War. As a result, the Guatemalan army, with the indirect support of the US, was particularly brutal to the Ixil Maya people. Over 35,000 of the 85,000 inhabitants of the Ixil Triangle were killed between 1978 and 1983.
We used the tiny village of Acul as our base for our exploration of the Ixil Triangle. Acul is located in a beautiful valley surrounded by the Sierra de Los Cuchumatanes mountain range. During our stay in Acul, we heard a first hand story about how the Guatemalan military burned the village of Acul to the ground during the Guatemalan Civil War from Magdalena, a local indigenous woman. When the Guatemalan military invaded the town, her family fled into the mountains to avoid getting murdered. However, Madalena and her father got separated from her mother. After a few years, they determined that she had died and moved on with their lives. But years later, her mother emerged from the forest and was reunited with Magdalena and her father. This is just one of the sad stories we heard throughout our trip to Guatemala and evidence of the lasting scars of a brutal (and US funded) civil war.
While we were in the Ixil Triangle, we also went on a multi-day hike through several remote Ixil villages including Xeo, Vicalama and Cotzol in the Sierra de Los Cuchumatanes mountains. As we saw firsthand, the Ixil Maya people have maintained many of the traditions of their Maya ancestors. They practice subsistence agriculture, growing corn, squash and other vegetables. They speak a Maya dialect. They weave beautiful huipiles and other beautiful clothing that the men and women still wear. And they even use Temazcales, or sweat lodges, for a variety of healing purposes.
Goodbye Guate
Saying goodbye to Guatemala was difficult to do.
Guatemala in all it’s beautiful grit, was an enriching experience that struck us to our core. From the volcanic activity to the roots of indigenous culture and complexity of politics, the experiences we had in Guatemala were by far the most memorable.
