Corazon del bosque (heart of the forest) is a large green park with tall swings, walking paths and outdoor play equipment. Camping here is expensive and we couldn’t help feel like we were getting ripped off. We agreed on a price for camping with the manager ($8 per person) and he said that there were showers, toilets and fire rings for campers. After paying our camping fee, he decided that he wanted an extra $3 per person for a shower, then $8 extra to use the fire rings, and $8 extra if we wanted firewood, which of course you would need if you wanted a fire. After a little negotiation, we decided on simply camping (I refused to pay $3 for a shower) but the experience soured our stay, and we didn’t enjoy it as much as we might have. The park was nice, but a little dull, and up in the mountains, it dropped to close to 0 overnight. The cold was a shock to the system after so long in tropical heat.
Chichicastenango
Market day in Chichicastenango can be a little bit mad. Supposedly one of the biggest markets in Central America (we have heard this claim a lot, and are becoming quite skeptical) Thursdays and Sundays bring the Mayan villagers to town to sell baskets, fabrics and weaving. We took the opportunity to stock up on 11 yards of beautiful colorful handmade fabric and some other woven items. There is also your typical assortment of tourist knick nacks, table runners, blankets, plastic containers, vegetables, pots and pans and of course many varieties of freshly cooked tortillas.
Antigua
Antigua is little Guatemala Cities little and more beautiful sister. It’s small, quaint and a total Spanish Baroque honey pot to tourists. The architecture is kept in great shape thanks to the zillions of tourist dollars that pour into this place from Central Americans and further abroad but we found that it didn’t really offer anything unique or remarkable from other colonial cities we had seen so far on the trip. High prices and a run in with a very discourteous police woman (the only discourteous cop we have found on our trip so far) meant we only stayed in town for one day. Highlight of the stop was the wonderful textile museum where a bilingual guide demonstrates various traditional weaving processes and different local costumes. It is also a great place to stock up on hand made fabrics and woven products.