Travel to Central America

Chichicastenango

Chichicastenango town in Guatemala is well known for its traditional Maya Indian culture, it serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is the home of one of the most beautiful native market in North and Central America, which takes place twice a week, maintaining its pre-Hispanic times reputation as one of the largest trading centers in the Maya area. The market takes place in the main plaza, and you can find from fruits and vegetables, to pottery, handicrafts, medicinal plants, and many other things.

El Mirador

El Mirador contains impressive examples of Pre-Classic Maya civilization, located north of Petén, deep into the jungle. This pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization has the tallest Maya structure, "La Danta", with 230 feet high. This site is only matched by Nakbe, 15 km away, but due to this site's remote location has not become a popular tourist site.

Nakbe

Nakbe is one of the largest early Maya archaeological sites, located in the Petén region of Guatemala. The excavations at Nakbe indicate that habitation began at the site during the Early Formative period in 1400 BC, and continued to be a large site until its collapse during the Terminal Formative period, around 100-200 BC. Nakbe was a very important site to the Mayas for its large quarry system of limestone, a key element for the building of the large temples.

La Ceiba

La Ceiba is located on the north Caribbean coast of Honduras, and is the 3rd largest city of the country. Even though it is not a great tourist city, it is a good starting pointo to visit Pico Bonito National Park, the Cuero and Salado Wildlife Refuge or beaches and ethnic Garífuna villages nearby. One big attraction of this city is La Ceiba Carnival, one of the biggest in Central America, and takes place on the 3rd Saturday in May.

The Basilica of Cartago

The Basilica of Cartago in Costa Rica is the home of "La Virgen de los Angeles" (the virgin of the angels) and has a very interesting legend. This legend tells us that Juana Pereira, a young girl, went into the forest near her house to play by the river, back in August 1635. At the river she found a piece of rock in the shape of the Virgin Mary with a small child, and she thought is was a doll and played with it. She went home with the rock and put it in her room, and the next day, when she went play by the river again, she found a very similar representation, which she took home to put it with the first one, but when she returned, the first one was not there. The little girl told about this to the Priest, and he went with her the following day and took the statue they found there back with him to the city, and locked it in a coffer. The next day they returned to the river to find yet another (or maybe the same?) statue there. When he returned to check the locked coffer he discovered it empty. This was taken as a sign that a church should be built on the site the statue kept returning to.

Xunantunich

Xunantunich is a Maya archaeological site in Belize, situated at the top of a ridge above the Mopan River, and its name means "Stone Woman", named after the ghost of a woman that, according to several locals, inhabits the site, dressed all in white and with fire red glowing eyes. It is said that this ghost woman usually appears in front of the main construction of the site, El Castillo (the castle), and she ascends up the stone stairs and disappears into a stone wall.

Belmopan

Belmopan is the capital city of Belize, located at an altitude of 250 feet above sea level. Its National Assembly Building is designed to resemble a Pre-Columbian Maya temple, and the city is considered to be the smallest capital city in the world.
Belmopan became capital of Belize in 1970, after the former capital, Belize City was almost completely destroyed by a hurricane.

Guatemala City

Guatemala City is the capital of Guatemala, and has all its main highways starting at Km. 0 which is inside the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura, in the Historic Center (Centro Historico). Guatemala City is not only the largest but the most modern city of Guatemala, and of course it is the country's center of finance and politics. This city became the capital of Guatemala in 1776, after Antigua was destroyed by an earthquake.

Antigua Tours

One of the bests ways to see Antigua's main sites is by taking one of the Cultural walking tours of Antigua, which are offered 6 days a week, and are the work of Elizabeth Bell. This walking tour tells you about the people and forces driving Antigua, in the present day and in the past, as you go visiting the different places.

Tazumal

Tazumal, is a Pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site located in Chalchuapa, El Salvador, and its name means "place where the victims were burned". This ruins dates from the 900, and are considered the most important and best preserved in the country, and the archaeologists believe that the first settlements in this area were around 5000 BC.