I’m reading The Popol Vuh, the Sacred book of the Quiché Maya people… Guatemala 3 weeks to go!

yes!! 3 weeks before leaving to Guatemala and I’m really excited!!

So while I’m counting days, I’m reading Mayan legends, browsing through travel blogs (I have been studying what the chaps at Eat Drink Culture did for example), trying to find hiking boots (well I have to admit, I desperately want the boots that Cheryl Strayed wears in the film Wild, but that’s for another topic), watching documentaries, in particular I watched the excellent When the Mountains tremble and Granito by Pamela Yates, and I’m getting my photo gear in order…

I’m also trying to work on a trip planning that works for just a week, following a weekend in Guate City, for a long overdue catch up with friends. Guatemala looks like a small country but I am having a hard time fitting it all in one week so please feel free to comment and advise if you think I’m making any major mistake there!

* Sunday:
06:30 Flight to Flores
Arrive in Flores and transport to Tikal
Sunset tour in Tikal
Overnight in Tikal

* Monday:
Sunrise tour in Tikal
Shuttle back to Flores
18:30 Flight back to Guatemala city
Overnight in Antigua

* Tuesday:
Walking and discovering Antigua
Overnight in Antigua

* Wednesday:
Pacaya volcanoe hike
In the afternoon transport to Antigua
Overnight in Antigua

* Thursday
shuttle from Antigua to Chichicastenango Market
Overnight in Pana or maybe Antigua, not sure yet?!

* Friday
Boat tour around Lake Atitlan
Back to Guatemala City and to London on the Saturday morning!

Is it too much to cram in 1 week?
I was dying to go trekking to but just could not resolve myself to miss Tikal…

any good guides recomendation? hotels? food I shouldn’t miss? precautions to take?

Where should I go for a short winter-sun break?

You can hear the rain pounding on the window and if you’re anything like me, your next thought is: when do I get to see the sun again? I could tell you to jet-off to Hawaii for the weekend, it would spare me a post but eyyy… maybe next year.

So were to go for a winter-sun quick fix?

Stuff you should never take on a trip

Adult travelers and holiday-goers (i.e. not backpackers), and I’m sure just most female young or old travelers in the world just find it difficult to cut-down on packing.

Leif Pettersen at The Lonely Planet has just published this article and it did crack me up; at a time where I’m scratching my head and wondering how to pack for Myanmar (the very exciting countdown until November has started!!), I thought it was a good idea to bring up the topic.

Where People run?!

When visiting a city, I always try and include a long run in my planning. It’s a great way to have a good overview of an area, mingle with the locals, and capture the atmosphere: nothing like running in Manhattan along the Hudson river to capture the empowering NY vibe…

Planning a run in a new city may take a little bit of prep, and one doesn’t always have a local friend to guide them. Where do people run? how cool would it be to use the tracking apps at an aggregated level to actually visualise the answer to that question?

Those 2 blogs have done it for us, using data from Edmondo – I’m all excited and planning my next run in Tokyo now 🙂 happy geeking and running!!

http://barsukov.net/endomondo.html

http://flowingdata.com/2014/02/05/where-people-run/