Our guide was just the best. We can't say enough good things about him. He became our friend. We were lucky enough to have him to ourselves, and he MADE the trip. His genuineness, his knowledge of history, current affairs, places, and people; his enthusiasm, warmth, kindness, skill in getting around, competence and excellent judgment as a driver and his attention to our needs and wants and to all of the details made it so we could simply relax and revel in the experience of exploring and learning about Guatemala. He said that he sees his job as selling his country, and I can't imagine a better agent. His love and deep caring for his country and its people shine through. We all miss him a lot.
I loved being "close to the earth" and close to the people. I applaud heartily your environmental and cultural sensitivity. The Guatemalans were, to a person, enchantingly warm, charming, and friendly. The intimacy and person nature of this trip is simply unmatched by anything I have ever experienced before. And, to make it all even better, Guatemala is a scenically beautiful country and the weather was superb!
In terms of my family now, this was a first for us. We are usually independent travelers. We were unsure about traveling through Guatemala on our own, so this was the perfect compromise for us - a "non-tour" tour - giving us the happiest possible balance of freedom, structure and security. We wouldn't have come close to learning as much or having as many experience, and experiences of such depth, on our own.