By Mark D. Walker

Part of the Yin & Yang of Travel Series

How and why my wife Ligia and I travel has changed radically over the last fifty years. From day trips around Guatemala with Ligia’s parents, to packing up and leaving from Bogotá, Colombia, with seventy-two hours’ notice or traveling all over the world as a fundraising executive with various international development agencies, including donor tours to many of these countries, as well as a visit to Guatemala with my children. But the most challenging form of travel was with our grandkids.

Although all of my travel promotes cross-cultural understanding and appreciation, traveling with grandkids is more complicated because we’re responsible for their well-being while traveling to often unknown places and circumstances. We always plan an itinerary that meets the potential interests of the grandkids and get their input, as well as that of their parents and family members in Guatemala. We provide packing guidelines based on where we’ll go, and this time, a reading list.

Last year, we brought our nine- and twenty-two-year-old granddaughters, neither one of whom had left the U.S., and the youngest was learning Spanish. This year, we took Anna, our 21-year-old who spoke Spanish fluently and had traveled to several foreign destinations.

Our flight to Guatemala was going well until the air conditioning system in our plane in Houston broke, but remarkably, our United Airlines crew made the turnaround in an hour, and we were on our way. The next day, we started our visit at the giant 3D relief map of Guatemala in Zona 2. We climbed up platforms overlooking the map where I could point out the key points of interest, like where I was in the Peace Corps, where I met Ligia, where the kids were born, the coffee plantation of Ligia’s grandparents and the places we’d visit on this trip like the Mayan ruins of Tikal in the Peten jungle.

My wife and I have visited Tikal many times over the years, and the heat and humidity are especially intolerable during the rainy season, with temperatures hitting 93 degrees and 80-100% humidity. Anna’s uncle, aunt, and her cousin Chaac agreed to organize the trip. We experienced the annual “Canicula,” two weeks when the rains stop, which made our travel easier, especially in the jungles of the Peten.

 Anna was able to visit several sets of Mayan ruins, but we forgot to remind her to take her bathing suit, which is a must since all hotels have pools. But Anna and her uncle were able to track down. After three days she returned to Guatemala City well informed about the ancient Mayan culture, and after rest, she was ready to continue our trek.

We headed up to Hotel Toliman, which a dear friend manages on the spectacular lake of Atitlán. The next day, we headed out to the program site of Seeds for the Future. Since 2009, the Seeds for a Future Program has been actively reducing the chronic malnutrition and disease faced by so many families across rural Guatemala. In 2024, I joined their board and have had the opportunity to watch the Guatemalan staff’s ceaseless dedication to moving the program forward. 

I wanted Anna to appreciate the impact of their work, as well as provide an introduction to her grandmother’s homeland and gain a deeper understanding of the realities faced by most people in the world. She’d also gain an appreciation for the role nonprofits play in supporting local community members to improve their lives.

Since we visited on a Saturday, the Seeds team members brought along their children, making this a family affair. The kids were poking around and playing as the adults discussed the latest vegetables they had harvested and learned a new way to prepare them so even the children would eat them. The team represents a diverse range of skills and backgrounds. Four could speak Kiche and Tz’utujil since many of the families are Mayan. Anna told me that she appreciated the staff’s commitment and the many ways the programs we saw impacted the lives of families with different needs and skills.

After we returned to Lake Atítlan, we visited a Maya association of artists and farmers in San Juan la Laguna, who set up exhibits on the history and growing coffee and cacao, textiles, and honey from stingless bees. One presenter, Itzel, explained how women produce the vibrant colors of their textiles with local plants like anil, also known as wild indigo or ch’oj in Mayan, which creates the iconic Mayan Blue. She explained how they make the yarn, weave it, and sell it. She was one of a family of ten and was not expected to go to school or have a profession, but she loved weaving and, over the years, learned how to weave the intricate designs of the blouses and eventually how to sell them. Now she makes enough money for her children to go to school and aspire to study at a university.

Just before leaving San Lucas Toliman, we met with, Vicente Stanzione, a highly respected anthropologist and author. I recently reviewed his book, Los Nawales: The Ancient Ones. Vinny speaks Tz’utujil, and his work breathes life into what many consider a dying traditional world through traditional Maya storytelling. Nawales represent the energy and forces that shape our lives. It’s based on one’s birthday and calculated on the ancient K’iche calendar. You can figure out your Nawale sign as we did at the Miraflores Museum in Guatemala City after we visited with Vinny. I’m a “K’at, or “fire,” which can deal with the good and bad—an essential trait for a writer.

Stanzione has lived in local Maya communities on Lake Atítlan for forty years. His work serves not only as a fascinating examination of religious interaction but also as a testament to the enduring vitality of Maya culture despite centuries of external pressure. I was pleased to meet the man behind the story firsthand.

The next day, we’d drive along the South Coast to Antigua. I remember the coast including cotton, Cebu cattle, and sugar cane, but today, cane dominates the coast, along with many gated communities for high-end housing. This monocrop dependence on sugar can have horrific consequences for the environment, and cutting sugar cane remains one of the most brutal jobs. The high-end housing developments won’t help meet the housing needs of most Guatemalans either.

We spent the night at the Finca Cayatano at the base of Fuego and Acatenango volcanoes, and the next morning, Ali and I checked out some of the 700 species of birds with a professional guide. Our guide, Juan, could recognize a bird by sight or from their call. We were equally impressed with the astounding variety of flowers—over 7,000, many of them native, including orchids and fruit trees (guayaba being my personal favorite, as it was for some of the green Parrots).

The most disconcerting part of the trip was the 5.7 earthquake that occurred when we were shopping in Jocotenango, outside of Antigua. We were in the “La Torre” grocery store when the ground began moving and bottles came flying off the shelves.

Fortunately, we were in the soda/water aisle and only got wet, although the liquor/wine aisle was a real mess. Anna hung on to her grandmother Ligia, and some lady I had never seen before grabbed me. We knew better than to panic and run, but when the shaking stopped, we headed to the parking lot. Ligia and I were used to the tremors, which can number in the thousands after an earthquake, but many of the older couples were traumatized and hugged each other, weeping.

These were the people who experienced the violent 7.6 earthquake of 1976. The quake we experienced killed seven and injured 300, while the big one in 1976 killed 23,000 with 76,000 injured, 258,000 dwellings destroyed, and over a million people left homeless. Although volcanoes surrounded us during much of our trip, it is the tectonic faults that are the culprit of these horrendous seismic events.

Earthquakes are impossible to predict, and they are game changers—altering all of one’s travel plans. The store management wouldn’t let us return to purchase any groceries. All government buildings, which included museums, were closed, as were most shops and restaurants, as well as the road back to Guatemala City. So, we returned to our Airbnb in Antigua empty-handed. We did contact the owner of the home, who came to meet us and was kind enough to take a small grocery list, returning a few hours later with what we needed for the next day, when we’d come up with “Plan B” of our trip.

We were able to visit the futuristic urban community of Cayala, and eventually we visited the National Anthropological Museum. It had been renovated several years before, and the exhibits are spectacular. But I wanted Anna to see the beating heart of Guatemala City, Sexta Avenida. So on Sunday, we headed to the downtown Adobe restaurant. They specialize in traditional “Mayan” cuisine, like Kaq’ik from Coban, Jacón, popular in the highlands, made with many tomatoes and cilantro, and Pinol de Gallina Criolla, a pre-Hispanic plate from San Juan Sacatepéquez, with a stew of browned corn. Upon entering the restaurant, we passed the women patting and cooking the tortillas. We heard the Marimba at the opposite end of the restaurant playing such classic pieces as “Luna de Xelajú.”

The Sexta Avenida is a few blocks from the grandeur of the Presidential Palace and the stately Metropolitan Cathedral. Once a bustling thoroughfare for cars and buses and all the pollution they bring, this iconic street was reimagined several years ago as a pedestrian-only corridor, allowing smaller retailers to compete with the growing number of flashy malls that dominate commerce in the city.

The avenue brings back fond memories of the once-vibrant landmark of the Pan American Hotel in the late 20^th Century. They had the best traditional breakfasts, and the staff dressed in the typical clothing of the people in Nebaj, Quiché. Another transformed relic of the avenue’s evolution is Lux Cinema, which presented the best American movies of its time, but today hosts performances and cultural events breathing new artistic life into the building and the downtown area.

But the soul of Sexta Avenida is not the iconic buildings but its people. We were engulfed among all the working-class families strolling up and down the road, alive with Mayan indigenous families, workers from every sector, vendors, artisans, and office clerks, all strolling down the street in a rare moment of respite and savoring their ice cream cones, street snacks, and the simple joy of escaping the grind of the workweek. The street is a living mosaic of Guatemala’s urban and indigenous peoples, a place where history and modernity meet and where everyday becomes extraordinary.

Over the years, I’ve updated my travel manifesto, which I called “Traveling Solo,” which was inspired by Paul Theroux’s “five Epiphanies” in his classic book, The Tao of Travel, which recommended “Go alone,” “Travel light,” “Bring a map,” and “Go by land”. A lot has changed since Theroux wrote this in 2011. Notably, the emergence of Google Earth, and on Lake Atitlan, you should go by launch. Ligia added our family-oriented epiphanies, such as discussing our itinerary with parents and grandkids first, utilizing local tour group transportation on bad roads, providing packing and a reading list, and producing a trip album. Hence, everyone remembers and relishes their experience and wants to return.

On this trip, we were able to maintain maximum flexibility due to unforeseen circumstances (the earthquake) and Ali’s maturity and language capabilities. And we were conscious that we’re planting the seeds that will grow into the next generation of global trekkers who are well-informed and tolerant international citizens.

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Mark D. Walker is an accomplished author and humanitarian with a passion for global causes. After serving in the Peace Corps, he spent over four decades working with non-profits across the world, including stints in Latin America and Africa. His rich experiences fueled his writing, where he explores themes of global development and personal journeys. Walker has authored several award-winning books, including Different Latitudes and numerous articles in prestigious journals. His work resonates with readers interested in travel, social change, and personal transformation. Through his storytelling, he connects audiences with diverse cultures and humanitarian issues. His latest book, The Guatemala Reader, is a bestseller for Guatemala Travel Guides and Central America Travel.