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Learn me on Guatemala

Js1

By Js1
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Js1

Js1 85574

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Going for a week in mid-October

Guatemala City -> overnight bus to Flores -> Tikal daytrip (2 days total)

Bus back to Guatemala City -> Antigua for a few days then to Panajachel  (Lake Atitlan ) for a few days and then back to Guatemala City via bus to fly home

 

Thoughts? Suggestions? Not preggo, so I should be safe from the Zika. 

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kevwun

kevwun 15897

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Stay on the island in the lake in Flores.  It's a cool area.  Tikal is awesome, but you will sweat your balls off there so be prepared for that.  Jungle heat is on another level from anything I have ever experienced.  It was only like 85 or 90, but I was completely drenched in sweat.

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Js1

Js1 85574

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4 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Stay on the island in the lake in Flores.  It's a cool area.  Tikal is awesome, but you will sweat your balls off there so be prepared for that.  Jungle heat is on another level from anything I have ever experienced.  It was only like 85 or 90, but I was completely drenched in sweat.

Oh good, sounds like Thailand.  80 degrees and drenched in sweat.

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Js1

Js1 85574

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21 minutes ago, pantone159 said:

You will discover where old school buses go when they are no longer needed by the school districts!

Lake Atitlan is cool, you can get a boat ride around the lake to check out the smaller villages around the lake, which is a nice day trip.

 

That sounds fun, I did something similar in Medellin at Lake Guatape.  Loved it. 

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8700

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My mom instructed me not try to adopt a child if I were to go to Guatemala to study Spanish, because she knew someone who tried to adopt a child from Guatemala and that person got the run around and was asked to pay an extra $50K to adopt the child.

Even though I hadn't planned on adopting a child while studying Spanish in a foreign country, I ended up going to Argentina instead of Guatemala and that's about all I know about that.

I did have a UT friend who I met in LA who did a language intensive thing in Guatemala as well as knowing two English traveler pub owner guys from Buenos Aires whose previous stop had been opening a hostel with a partying bar scene before flipping it and traveling before making their way to Buenos Aires. (They now both have kids, own a couple of expat party bars in La Gotica part of Barcelona, and go to sleep early rather than staying up until 6am+ like they did when I met them in BA.)

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Js1

Js1 85574

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9 hours ago, Parliament said:

Tikal has a resort and you can hit the temples at sundown. And jungle animals in the dark. We did a day trip there once, and wish we knew about the overnight option.

Pack some activated charcoal and pop a couple when your guts get active. Good chance you'll avoid the shart thread.

They have a couple different resorts, do you know which one you found out about after? 

1 hour ago, Napoleon said:

My mom instructed me not try to adopt a child if I were to go to Guatemala to study Spanish, because she knew someone who tried to adopt a child from Guatemala and that person got the run around and was asked to pay an extra $50K to adopt the child.

Even though I hadn't planned on adopting a child while studying Spanish in a foreign country, I ended up going to Argentina instead of Guatemala and that's about all I know about that.

I did have a UT friend who I met in LA who did a language intensive thing in Guatemala as well as knowing two English traveler pub owner guys from Buenos Aires whose previous stop had been opening a hostel with a partying bar scene before flipping it and traveling before making their way to Buenos Aires. (They now both have kids, own a couple of expat party bars in La Gotica part of Barcelona, and go to sleep early rather than staying up until 6am+ like they did when I met them in BA.)

Good news, I don't plan to adopt any kids in Guatemala.  I'm just picking out which ones will staff my retirement plantation. 

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Tailgate

Tailgate 3023

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Just returning from Belize. Crazy talk in southern Belize about Guatemala trying to take @ 50% of the country of Belize....some treaty from 1800s where they were promised x things and the main one that wasn’t delivered appears to be a road from Punta Gorda to Guatemala that was never constructed. 

Depending on who you talk to some people seriously think Guatemala will get some portion of Belize. My family has some land in the disputed area...will be interesting how this unfolds.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belizean–Guatemalan_territorial_dispute

220px-Disputed_territory_between_Belize_
Disputed territory between Belize and Guatemala (orange)


In September 2005, Belize, Guatemala and the OAS signed the Confidence Building Measures document, committing the parties to avoid conflicts or incidents on the ground conducive to tension between them.[13]

In June 2008, Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow said resolving the dispute was his main political goal. He proposed referenda for the citizens of Belize and Guatemala, asking whether they support referring the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).[14] An agreement on submitting the issue to the ICJ was signed on 8 December 2008, with a referendum to be held on the issue simultaneously in Belize and Guatemala on 6 October 2013, but it was suspended.[15]

In May 2015, Belize allowed Guatemala to proceed with a referendum asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to definitively rule on the dispute although Belize by its own admission is not ready for such a vote. A previous treaty between the two countries stipulated that any such vote must be held simultaneously. Guatemala was initially expected to hold its referendum on the issue during its second round of presidential elections in October 2015, but such a vote was not on the ballot.[16][17]

Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales has made statements strongly in support of Guatemala's longstanding territorial claim to Belize, saying, "Something is happening right now, we are about to lose Belize. We have not lost it yet. We still have the possibility of going to the International Court of Justice where we can fight that territory or part of that territory."[16]

The Guatemalan referendum was finally held on 15 April 2018. 95.88% of voters supported sending the claim to the ICJ. Voter turnout was 25%.[18] The Belize referendum is scheduled for April 2019.

 

 
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Parliament

Parliament 14296

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The Tikal resort I referred to is right in the park. More of a " bed and breakfast," is more accurate. I don't know more details.

Guatemala has designs on Belize because as a former British colony, Belize generally has their poop in a group. Guatemala be jealous. Britain keeps a contingent of "advisors" on hand, and all parties know if Guatemala tried something militarily, GB would end it swiftly. Guatemala's saber-rattling is only for local consumption. Probably.

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kevwun

kevwun 15897

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Yeah, Guatemala is extremely poor and Belize is in better shape.  It's about the benjamins.  Crossing  the border between the two countries is a pain in the ass.  There's only one spot where you can do it.  There's a neutral zone in the middle and long lines to get through it all.  It takes at least a couple of hours to do it.

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Js1

Js1 85574

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I wasn't planning on going to Belize.  Pretty much was just going to do 

Guatemala City -> Flores
Flores -> Panajachel
Panajachel -> Antigua
Antigua -> Guatemala City

I really just need to figure out the most reputable overnight bus lines for the Guatemala City -> Flores and Flores -> Panajachel routes.  

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Teamdirtyleg

Teamdirtyleg 1060

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Tikal is really great but if you arrive after dark, don't leave the door to your room open while you bring your bags in or don't turn the lights on.  We ended up with so many bugs in our room I'm not sure how the Mrs managed to hold it together.  Probably trying to maintain composure for the benefit of our 4 year old daughter who was flipping her shit.   I mean there were bugs everywhere...thousands.  The next morning the maids flipped my sister mattress next door and there was one of those big, scorpions underneath it.  Do the sunrise tour of course.  Sitting atop a temple watching the mist rising off the waking jungle hearing the Howler monkeys weird calls is a unique experience.  The food was surprisingly good at the Tikal Inn.  There's a pool.     Panajachel is derisively called Gringotenango because of all the American tourist that come through.  The lake is gorgeous.   Antigua is one of my favorite places in the world.  You might be able to line up a hike to the top of one of the active volcanos like Fuego or Pacaya and roast some hotdogs for cooling lava.  If you want to get off the beaten path (aside from Tikal or mule packing into El Mirador) and would like to see a little more Mayan culture get up into the highlands.  

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kevwun

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Also, you want to make sure you are up to date on all your shots.  Last time I looked a few years ago, the State Dept also recommended getting a typhoid vaccination for that part of the world.  It's good for 2 years.  You will have to go somewhere that does travel medicine because your regular doc probably doesn't do them.

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Teamdirtyleg

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5 hours ago, Js1 said:

Perfect.

I am definitely doing one of those hikes/overnight camping trips at Pacaya. 

I hiked about as high as you could get on that iteration of Pacaya.  There was a huge slope of scoria cinders between us and the top.  The very last part beneath the crater looked like a legit mountain climb it was so steep.  My sister lives down there and her kids have gone up Fuego.  One of her boys had his birthday on pacaya where they roasted dogs and marshmallows over lava on really long sticks

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8700

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On 2/28/2019 at 8:42 AM, Js1 said:

I wasn't planning on going to Belize.  Pretty much was just going to do 

Guatemala City -> Flores
Flores -> Panajachel
Panajachel -> Antigua
Antigua -> Guatemala City

I really just need to figure out the most reputable overnight bus lines for the Guatemala City -> Flores and Flores -> Panajachel routes.  


Where are you looking to adopt a kid?

(I can reach out to my mom and see if she has received any new information in the last 12 1/2 years.)

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Parliament

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17 hours ago, kevwun said:

Also, you want to make sure you are up to date on all your shots.  Last time I looked a few years ago, the State Dept also recommended getting a typhoid vaccination for that part of the world.  It's good for 2 years.  You will have to go somewhere that does travel medicine because your regular doc probably doesn't do them.

Are you trying to give me Autism!?

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