Guatemala *Exclusive

Flight to Guatemala. Upon arrival in Guatemala City, board your private transport and travel to Lake Atitlán, in the village of San Pedro La Laguna. Check into your accommodation and enjoy a good meal. Enjoy a free evening to stroll around the village and admire the beauty of the lake. Meal included: dinner.

After breakfast at the hotel, meet the young indigenous Mayans and their families, to whom each of the students will be matched. Throughout the stay, students will experience several activities that will make this trip an unforgettable educational and human experience. Begin with a village tour with the Mayan students and experience the local cuisine over meal with their respective families. After lunch, visit the IMEB secondary school in the village with them. Afterwards, students will have free time to make their own discoveries before you all meet at the hotel for dinner. Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Start this second day in San Pedro with a gardening activity with your partner. Then visit the Tzunun ‘Ya’ Museum and Community Cultural Center and learn about the geology of Lake Atitlán as well as the Mayan history and culture of San Pedro. Have lunch at the hotel before heading to Asociacion de Desarrollo Comunal JA’BEL’YA for a tour of this community development center. It is mainly made up of women working to preserve the environment, through training, and to boost the local tourism sector. Then, visit the Galeria Xetagual, a gallery featuring works painted by children from families in difficulty. Also visit the community television studios where some volunteers will be asked to do an interview. Finally, dine at the hotel and take advantage of the evening to do activities with your Mayan comrades. Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Following your breakfast, visit the San Juan Greenhouses with your Mayan twin and participate in a Mayan tree ceremony. Then, have a picnic before heading to La nariz del Indio mountain, which takes its name from the fact that it seems to form the face of a native lying on his back, to make the climb. You will then be able to admire the fauna, flora and landscapes, including a magnificent view of Lake Atitlán. Then participate in a conference on the Guatemalan armed conflict, the Guatemalan civil war from 1960 to 1996. Students will learn more about the socio-political reality of the country and the impacts of the conflict on the life of the Guatemalan people, more particularly that of the Mayan communities. Return to the hotel after your activity. Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This new day on Mayan soil promises to be very enriching and pleasant for each student. First, spend the morning learning about the life of the San Pedro Mayans as you accompany your twins through their daily lives. End this half-day by enjoying a good meal with your Mayan family. Then, in the afternoon, head to the beach and gardens to enjoy the simple things that nature offers in Guatemala. Do some gardening and get your hands dirty! Also taste the amazing varieties of edible flora. Head to the beach for a swim. The beaches of Lake Atitlán welcome murky but turquoise water all the same, don’t forget that this is one of the most beautiful inhabited lakes in the world. After dinner at the hotel, students will have the chance to spend a fun evening doing activities with their Mayan companions. Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Start this day with a conference on the Mayan villages, which border Lake Atitlán, and enrich your knowledge of the reality of the inhabitants of this region. Then board a lancha, a kind of water bus, and visit some of the villages you heard about in the conference: see San Marcos La Laguna, Panajachel, San Antonio Palopó and Santiago Atitlán. Take a picnic break during your excursion before resuming the tour. At dinner, sit down with your partner’s family for a meal and overnight. An evening with piñata and campfire, accompanied by traditional Mayan musicians is on the program. Beautiful festive evening in sight! Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Today, the students will have another morning to experience the daily life of the Mayans, in the company of their twin. After having lunch with the family, return to the garden to continue your gardening tasks. You will then have a time assigned to prepare and rehearse your show the next day. A show, in all simplicity, which allows students to present a little more of their respective culture. Dine at the hotel and spend the evening doing activities with your mates. Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This morning you will have a choice of two activities: a Mayan food class or a Mayan pelota class. If you choose the first class, you will have, in addition to the food class, a visit to the market and a preparation of dinner with your twins. For the second choice, a soccer game with the Mayan youth is added to the making of the Mayan pelota. In both cases, a lot of fun! After lunch at the hotel, return to the gardens to continue your work. For your last night at Lake Atitlán, take part in a farewell party and students will present, with those who have become true friends during this stay, the artistic acts that they have prepared. Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Have a nice breakfast at the hotel before leaving San Pedro with your luggage on board your bus. Stop at the ruins of Iximché, located east of Lake Atitlán. It was here that the country’s first Spanish city was founded in the 15th century. Have a picnic on the spot and take the road back to Antigua, the former capital, victim of numerous earthquakes over the centuries and deprived of its status as capital following the earthquake of 1773. Antigua is the most exciting city in the region and a real treasure of colonial architecture. You can visit the main square, the cathedral, the town hall, the street of the arch (Santa Catalina), the Tanque de la Union, the church of Meced and the craft market. Then check into the hotel for the last night of this memorable student trip to Guatemala. Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Depart the old capital aboard your transport to reach today’s capital, Guatemala City, for the return flight. Meals included: breakfast (to be confirmed according to your flight schedule).