Comments on: Guatemala: 10 Days, 10 Impressions

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 14:18:58 +0000

@Ruthi: Yes, our trip to Guatemala was in 2009 so it’s been a few years. From talking with friends who have visited more recently I think the situation is pretty similar – it’s more than likely that you’ll be fine if you take care with your possessions and follow common travel safety advice. However, I would say that the level of theft and perhaps feeling danger from time to time is likely higher than what you’re experiencing in China (and other parts of Asia). I do hope you’ll still travel to Guatemala – it’s a really beautiful place.

By: Ruthi

Ruthi — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 09:46:10 +0000

Hey I wonder if you think it is still unsafe or dangerous in Guatemala? I see your trip was a while ago… Just wondering.We are currently living in China and have travelled here extensively and in no place have we felt our cameras or our wallets to be in danger,

By: Daniel Noll

Daniel Noll — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:48:22 +0000

@Aldie: Thank you for a wonderful and humbling compliment and your good wishes. Am really glad you stopped by — you made our day!

By: Aldie

Aldie — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:16:27 +0000

Oh… wow.. thank you so much for all this information. It’s funny how you know more about my own country than I do. I was born and raised there till I was about 8 years old and then sadly had to come with my family to live in the U.S.
I’m not complaining, I’m just so happy to read about my country in such a wonderful way, such as you do.

Thank you so very much! God bless you and keep you both safe from harms way where ever you go.

Aldie.

By: Daniel Noll

Daniel Noll — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:36:26 +0000

@Claire: Thank you. Guatemala is a terrific country. Looks like you found that out firsthand. And you chose to spend about the same amount of time there as we did. For us, Guatemala was a highlight in Central America.

In Xela, we studied Spanish with Casa Xelaju. Oh, and we studied Spanish with all the friendly people at the outdoor market 🙂

By: Claire (Travel Funny Travel Light)

Claire (Travel Funny Travel Light) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 20:40:34 +0000

awesome post. i found my 2 months in Guatemala to be life-changing. I hold a special place in my heart for that country. Where are you studying in Xela? If you already mentioned this, my apologies!

By: Daniel Noll

Daniel Noll — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:21:29 +0000

@Shannon: Antigua street food was surprisingly good. Particularly in retrospect (compared to more southern bits of Central America), Guatemalan street food was very good and diverse. And the clothes. So bright! Enjoy it.

By: Shannon OD

Shannon OD — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:58:48 +0000

Your suggestions for street food in Antigua have me inspired! Just arrived here today and am looking forward to hunting down horchata to go with a taco! 🙂 I’ve come to many of these same initial conclusions – particularly just how beautiful and stunning the clothes of women are!

By: Jeremy and Eva Rees

Jeremy and Eva Rees — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:47:37 +0000

What a great post â€” fantastic pictures too 🙂

We’ve been in Mexico on the first leg of our trip for a week now, finding similar experiences to yours in Guatemala. We’re actually trying to figure out if we can make it there or not. We really wanted to see Tikal and Chichicastenango.

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:43:01 +0000

@Leigh: The proselytizing may be because we’re here during the most religious time of the year – the lead-up to Holy Week (semana santa) and Easter. It will be interesting to see if the market and bus sermons continue afterward.

@Mark: “experiencing other cultures in a different way than fear is a wonderful thing” – love this pithy statement.

@Meredith: I’m sorry to hear about the robbery in Antigua – the laid back attitude there makes you forget that theft is very possible. Trying to figure out the security situation is tricky here as each person seems to have a different take on what’s safe and what isn’t. The overwhelming attitude seems to be that things have gotten worse and a lot just depends on luck after you take measures to not walk around late at night and other common sense actions. Our first concern is for our personal safety, but as we’re carrying with a lot of equipment – not only for this blog but for other projects – we really don’t want to lose everything by being on the wrong bus at the wrong time. But, we also don’t want to avoid opportunities and experiences because of fear – it’s a fine balance.

@Agne, Chip, Bohdana, Cindi, Dee Dee: Glad you enjoyed this piece – plan to keep more posts like this coming your way!