Flores
An island city on Lake Petén Itzá introduces Guatemala through colourful streets, border nerves and the monumental ruins of Tikal.
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Reflections of a Roving Doctor · Part One · Chapter I.III
Guatemala
Three weeks of Mayan cities, deep jungle, river storms, highland lakes and volcanic horizons. Guatemala reconnects the journey with the reason it began: to explore, learn and be changed by the world beyond home.
Guatemala · September - October 2022
The road returns to adventure.
Guatemala begins in the Petén lowlands, pushes through five days of jungle to El Mirador, crosses the country through Río Dulce and Lanquín, and rises into the volcanic highlands around Lake Atitlán and Antigua.
After Belize’s slower island rhythm, the journey becomes demanding again. Long treks, storms, mountain roads and early starts are balanced by ancient cities, extraordinary landscapes and the sense of discovery that first inspired the gap year.
6Stages across Guatemala
3Weeks on the route
5Days trekking El Mirador
1Tropical storm encounter
Before the diary
About Guatemala.
Begin with the country itself - its land, people and history - before following the journal from Petén to the volcanic highlands.
Country
The meaning of Guatemala’s name, its flag, government and the economy shaped by agriculture, industry, services and tourism.
Read CountryLand
Lowland rainforest, limestone caves, river valleys, volcanic highlands and two coastlines make Guatemala one of Central America’s most varied landscapes.
Read LandPeople
Ladino and diverse Maya communities sustain dozens of languages, traditions, textiles and identities across the country.
Read PeopleHistory
Ancient Maya civilisation, Spanish conquest, independence, dictatorship and civil war form a complex history still visible throughout the route.
Read HistoryRead Chapter I.III
Six stages from jungle to volcano.
Each card represents a stage of the Guatemala route. Its daily journal buttons load automatically from WordPress and run from the earliest entry at the top to the latest below.
Follow Route I.III from Flores to Antigua Guatemala.
El Mirador
Mud, mosquitoes, ancient causeways and buried Mayan cities turn the expedition to El Mirador into one of the hardest and most rewarding adventures of the route.
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Río Dulce
A riverside refuge, tropical storm weather and a journey towards Livingston offer a brief pause after five days in the jungle.
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San Agustín Lanquín
A chaotic road journey leads into the limestone highlands around Lanquín, where Hurricane Julia disrupts plans but not the search for Semuc Champey.
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Lake Atitlán
Volcanoes, sunrise hikes and town-hopping by ferry reveal the extraordinary landscapes and communities surrounding one of Central America’s great lakes.
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Antigua Guatemala
Colonial streets, volcanic horizons and the challenge of Acatenango close the Guatemalan route before the road continues into El Salvador.
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After Guatemala
Three intense weeks close with renewed purpose, unforgettable landscapes and a deeper appreciation for the cultures and histories that make travel far more than movement between places.
What Guatemala becomes
The purpose of the road.
Guatemala restores the sense of challenge, discovery and perspective that first made the journey necessary.
Discovery
Ancient cities beneath rainforest, river communities and highland villages return the journey to exploration in its purest form.
Endurance
Long jungle days, mud, mosquitoes, storms and mountain roads prove that the hardest experiences often become the most memorable.
Perspective
Encounters with Maya history, living cultures and radically different ways of life challenge assumptions carried from home.
Libre crezca fecundoNational motto of Guatemala
Grow free and fertile
The complete gap-year journal
Guatemala brings the adventure back.
Continue through Central America, South America, Antarctica and the long route back home in the complete Reflections of a Roving Doctor collection.
The Pacific road continues.
Guatemala ends among volcanic highlands and colonial streets. The next chapter crosses into El Salvador for volcanoes, waterfalls, cities and the Pacific surf coast.
Continue with El Salvador.These entries are personal reflections written at particular moments during the journey. Memories, opinions and practical details may have changed since publication.