When we arrived in Guatemala, we were pleased to discover that the tour company Adventure Life uses, Viaventure, has the same philosophy as Adventure Life. Viaventure contributes to the local economy and development of individuals by using only local guides and services. They show respect for local communities, sites, wildlife and encourage …

The trip was wonderful—what a beautiful country! We arrived in Antigua late at night and arose to paradise the next morning. We emerged from our room surrounded by beautiful flowers. As we looked around at our new environment, we saw a volcano erupt and spit a large puff of smoke into the sky.

On the way to Lake Atitlan, we stopped at …

The next morning we took a boat ride to another lake village, San Juan. We went to an art gallery owned by a Mayan woman, Angelina, and her husband. Our guide, who admires their work, told us that some critics describe their art as unsophisticated, but we disagreed with these critics for we loved their vibrant unique interpretations. We spent …

We later returned to Antigua—such a lovely town with cobbled stone streets and old historic buildings. After a walking tour of the city, we drove toward the Pacific to climb Pacaya volcano. It was a four kilometer steep climb to reach the lava flow. We arrived around dusk and our entire group was mesmerized by the crackling flow. It was …

The next morning we flew to Flores and met our next guide, a Mayan who with great pride asked us to check his profile to determine that he is fully Mayan, not a mixto.
From Flores we drove to the Petexbatun River to travel by small boat down the river to Chiminos Island. As we floated down the river, we saw villages where people live isolated …

At Chiminos Island Lodge, we stayed in a jungle tree house overlooking the river. We were awakened in the morning by the sound of howler monkeys.

We took another short boat ride to the island which contained the Aquateca Archaeological Mayan ruins; a unique site with much excavating to be accomplished but little funding (an unfortunate situation in much of Guatemala). We left this site by climbing down the “underworld” through a spectacular gorge.

Using river boat and van (the usual transportation modes) we proceeded to Tikal Archaeological Park to see more Mayan ruins. We were excited for since our arrival in Guatemala, we had been told over and over again by people from many walks of life that until we visited Tikal we had not been to Guatemala. However before entering the park we opted …

Once inside the park, it was one spectacular photo-op after another. We climbed one of the temples and found ourselves high above the tree tops. As we walked around this very large site visiting the various temples, we agreed with what we had been told—one must go to Tikal when in Guatemala.

All the places we stayed were wonderful, not …