Antigua is Central America’s European city. The Spanish made it their capital during their occupation, despite the fact that its surrounded by volcanoes and is prone to being leveled by earthquakes. Whole blocks of the city are the rubble of a collapsed church or fort and are preserved as attractions. Antigua is riddled with shops, [...]

The limestone pools of Samuc Champey are several miles outside Coban city. There, in the mountains a strong river punches under a section of rock leaving a weak current to flow over a series of blue-white limestone pools. The river reappears at at the end of the terraces not only from the ground but also [...]

Cultures on every continent have practiced skull binding since people became people. Neathertals did it, prehistoric Homo Sapiens did it, Incans, Egyptians, Celts, Sumerians, Indians, Chinese and of course the ancient Mayans were no exception. Using various devices, baby’s heads were bound from birth to produce a long oval shaped head. This deformation extends the [...]

We went to the rain forests of northern Guatemala to see the ruins of an ancient city and temple complex at Tikal. Before dawn we climbed to the top of the tallest temple where the peaks of the ziggurats are all that poke above the trees. The sun rose through the canopy mist and painted [...]

Guatemala, like most of Central America has been stuck in a post colonial, feudal hangover for hundreds of years. After Cortez conquered Mexico, he sent a demon named Pedro de Alverado to pacify the Mayans and find gold. De Alverado enslaved the local people with gusto and brought the priesthood along to convert them. The [...]