14-Nov-2004 -- During our first organized three week trip through Guatemala, Honduras and Belize, this was the first attempt of approaching a confluence point in Guatemala. Reconciling the interests of our group of still 18 peoples fortunately was no big problem, but beside that, this fascinating country with its long Maya history draws a whole lot more attention to us.

At the beginning of our tour, we stayed in the old capital Antigua. It's a must! We spend the next three days at the Lake Atitlan, which is surrounded by three volcanoes, giving a spectacular panorama (picture #1). It's a must, too!

This beautiful place was our starting point to Iximche, the ancient Maya ruins and the first colonial capital of Guatemala. Undoubted, the next highlight was the town of Chichicastenango (often called as "Chichi"), and our only chance to get as close to 15°N 91°W as possible.

We went to Chichi by driving from the Lake Atitlan nortward, towards the road CA1, which is THE Panamericana (in Guatemala, it starts from La Democracia near the Mexican border, then passes Huehuetenango, Chimaltenango, Guatemala City, Jutiapa and then crosses the border to El Salvador). Between Huehuetenango and Chimaltenango, at the junction of Los Encuentros, we left the Panamericana and headed 17 km on the road No. 15 towards Chichicastenango. There is every Thursday and Sunday the most famous, colourful and vivid indigena market of Guatemala (picture #2). It is highly recommended for everybody who comes to Guatemala!

Chichi is still 12 km soutwest of the confluence point, but the market on the Grand Placa around the church of Santo Tomas (picture #3) was even more than fascinating for us (though the hunt for the confluence point would be more appreciated). Because of the lack of time, the point itself was not accessible with our tour-bus this day. There is a gravel road partly in the direction of the point. The closest village is Laguna Seca, in a distance of about 5 km from the confluence point.