Guatemala's Raw Ecotourism versus a Hawaiian Vacation Experience
Coban and the Verapaces offer the rugged tourist a plethora of places and ways to experience the raw beauty of nature. This unique area of Guatemala offers lush rainforests, cultural and historic sites, beautiful mountain jungles, lakes and waterfalls, the chance to view an enormous population of bird, animal, and plant life, and the opportunity to meet and interact with the wonderful people that inhabit this magnificent place. With the addition of sandy beaches and perhaps a little more sun, the seasoned vacationer will recognize this description as closely matching the landscape of the Hawaiian Islands in the South Pacific!
Although luxury accommodations and vacation-style tours do exist in Guatemala, they are not as prevalent as they are in Hawaii, but often the logistics of a trip to either tourism destination are just as much an adventure as the trip itself! Finding the right maze of chicken buses, pickup trucks and muddy trails to take you to your destination can leave a tourist wishing for a luxury Hawaii vacation rental, but the truth is that the two experiences both provide the opportunity to experience incredible natural beauty and have quite a few things in common!
Picture yourself in a Kauai vacation rental or a Guatemalan ecotourism lodge, both nestled in the lush landscape of a tropical paradise. The vibrant plants and trees surround you, and the numerous trails beckon to be hiked and explored. Your vacation has begun, and you leave the comforts of your abode, whether it's a simple thatched roof hut or a luxury villa in Hawaii for the great outdoors. Up into the mountains, the trail gets steep and crowded with nature. You begin to reach the clouds, and eventually you're surrounded by the misty dreamlike fog of the cloudforest. The tropical birds offer a constant chorus, and the occasional glimpse of a bright green resplendent quetzal or an endangered Kauai Akialoa takes away the faintest memory of the nine to five job left behind on this vacation! Hiding in the trees and the forest floor are a number of creatures, large and small. With a little luck, the trained eye of a seasoned tourist might catch the movement of a hoary bat or a spider monkey.
After passing through the forests, you come to a pristine waterfall, and hopping from stone to stone to the perfect swimming hole, you take a refreshing dip in the crystal clear waters. Returning down the trail, it's time for the next adventure. Whether in the canopy of the deep forests of Guatemala's Peten or over the treetops of a Princeville jungle, a zipline tour will certainly get your blood running! Over the trees, the sun peeks out and the view is magnificent - steep and jagged slopes of majestic mountains carpeted in the greens of the lush vegetation supported by this unique environment.
And then it's off to the next night's sleep in a Kauai vacation condo or an ecotourism farm in Alta Verapaz. A sampling of the local foods - be it a plate of chiles rellenos or a bowl of poi - and a soft pillow will end your wonderful day, and as you dream of the beauty you've soaked in you'll wonder if you were in Central America or on a South Pacific vacation!
Vacations to Coban and Alta Verapaz in the heart of Guatemala can certainly resemble trips to Hawaii, and it may take a visit to the beach to realize that you're not on a Hawaiian vacation!
