Recommend January 2014 - (Page 80)

HONDURAS GUATEMALA Guatemala City FACTS BEST TIME TO GO: November to May, and anytime there is a major traditional festival (Easter in Antigua, for example) FUN FACT: The resplendent quetzal, whose feathers provided headdresses for Mayan kings GETTING THERE: Delta ﬂies from Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York (JFK) to Guatemala City ENTRY DOCUMENTS: A valid passport for at least six months beyond arrival date CURRENCY: Quetzal MUST-TRY NATIVE FOOD: Pollo en jocon (chicken in tomatillo-cilantro sauce) and pollo en pepian (chicken in tomato-pumpkin seed sauce) BEST BUYS: Jade jewelry, wonderful weavings, embroideries, local paintings, wool blankets, wooden masks and carvings INFORMATION PLEASE: INGUAT-visitguatemala.com The front door to this Tennessee-sized country is Guatemala City, a cosmopolitan capital wellendowed with ﬁne hotels and good restaurants, too. It also has a trio of excellent museums: the National Museum of Ethnology and Archaeology, the Ixchel Museum, honoring the country's weaving traditions, and the Popol Vuh with artifacts that cover Guatemalan civilization from the pre-classic Maya period to the colonial era. BEST PLACE TO STAY The best picks for Guatemala City are the Westin Camino Real and Real InterContinental. BEST NATURE EXPERIENCE More than 400 species of birds have been recorded in Tikal National Park, the jungle area that also embraces the famous ruins. Animals on display include coatis, agoutis, howler and spider monkeys; far more elusive are the jaguars and pumas. On the Caribbean coast at Livingston, nature lovers head for a river trip on the Rio Dulce, famous for its exotic birds and tropical ﬂora. En-route is Lake Izabal, which shelters the manatee, and the Mario Dary Rivera Biotopo, home to the country's national bird, the resplendent quetzal. BEST CULTURAL EXPERIENCE The oldest Spanish colonial city in the country, Antigua, has some of the ﬁnest examples of 16th and 17th century architecture: the Palace of the Captains General on the main plaza; the San Francisco Church, with ﬁne frescoes; and the richly decorated La Merced Church. Weekly markets offer visitors primetime occasions to observe the local customs and costumes of Guatemala's indigenous people. Chichicastenango is the supermarket of the Quiche Indians, held on Thursdays and Sundays, while around Lake Atitlan, the colorful Santiago Atitlan market takes place Sundays and Thursdays. A must-visit is Tikal, the grandest city-state of the Classic period (A.D. 300 to 900), reached via the airport at Flores. While archaeologists have identiﬁed more than 3,000 structures, every walking tour takes you to the heart of the site where two mighty temples face each other across the great Plaza, while other temple-pyramids rise through the surrounding rainforest. BEST KEPT SECRET In a land of fabulous traditional festivals, one cultural event to make note of is the Zela Music Festival in Quetzaltenango in late March/early April. Roatan Fly directly into Roatan, the largest of the Bay Islands, a pristine archipelago located 30 miles out from the mainland and covering about 92 sq. miles along the world's second largest barrier reef. Diving facilities and snorkeling draw beginners and experts alike to Roatan, considered the Holy Grail of scuba diving. The most memorable dives sites are the Hole in the Wall, West End Wall, Spooky Channel and Mary's Place. BEST PLACE TO STAY Tee off on the island's ﬁrst golf course, Black Pearl, designed by Pete and Perry Dye and the centerpiece of Pristine Bay Resort. Other picks are Inﬁnity Bay Beach Resort and Mayan Princess on West Bay, the island's best beach. BEST NATURE EXPERIENCE We have to say: take a boat from Roatan to the Bay Island of Utila, and swim with the whale sharks that gather here from March to May and from August to October. BEST CULTURAL EXPERIENCE Punta Gorda was the ﬁrst Garifuna settlement where a band of some 2,200 Caribs landed in 1797. Come here particularly for the Punta Gorda Festival (roughly April 8-12), which includes a re-enactment of the arrival of the ﬁrst Caribs, a crowning of a Garifuna queen, and lots of music and dancing. BEST KEPT SECRET Top shop on Roatan is the Wave Gallery, with outstanding paintings, jewelry and crafts by Honduran artists. FACTS BEST TIME TO GO: In the mainland, its November to May; in Roatan, January to August FUN FACT: The largest tract of virgin rainforest in Central America is La Mosquitia, the locale for the Paul Theroux best-seller books, "The Mosquito Coast," made into a movie with Harrison Ford GETTING THERE: Delta ﬂies from Atlanta to Roatan, San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa ENTRY DOCUMENTS: Valid passport CURRENCY: Lempira (U.S. Dollar freely accepted on Roatan Island) MUST-TRY NATIVE FOOD: Anafre (hotpot of refried beans and cheese fondue) BEST BUYS: Hammocks, paintings, wood carvings, leather items, Lenca pottery INFORMATION PLEASE: Honduras Tourism Institute-letsgohonduras.com 58 D52-D59.indd 58 12/20/13 9:23 AM http://www.INGUAT-visitguatemala.com http://www.Institute-letsgohonduras.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend January 2014

Editor's Notes
Hotel Desk: Aloft Hotels
Tour Talk: Swain Destinations
Uniworld's Queen Isabel
Disney Magic
Delta Air Lines Travel Guide 2014
Macau
Egypt Update
Scandinavia Exposed
B Hotels & Resorts
What's New in Las Vegas

Recommend January 2014