1522.Christmas in Guatemala 2018.AAAS-Sigxi-ACS-PS.ROLL
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Christmas in the Mayan Wonderland! GUATEMALA December 18-27, 2018 Chichicastenango, Tikal, Copan & Quirigua! Dear Members & Friends: We then explore the finest Mayan ruins in Travel enthusiasts grab your binoculars and Central America—Tikal, Quirigua, and Copan— cameras, and come explore the enchantment plus the tropical lowlands around Rio Dulce. of Guatemala, the Mayan and scenic The archaeological sites are fantastic, as are wonderland of Central America! the spider monkeys, macaws, and toucans! This expedition offers a chance to visit the Guatemala is a treasurehouse of wonders! Highlands of Guatemala during the festive We invite you to take this opportunity to season. At this time, the local Maya people put explore them! on fiestas, dances, processions, and religious Sincerely, celebrations, creating an exceptional air of excitement and interest. This is also a wonderful opportunity to explore the historic cities of Chichicastenango Margaret M. Betchart and Antigua, and village life around the jewel President of the Americas, Lake Atitlan, which is Betchart Expeditions Inc. surrounded by spectacular volcanoes. For AAAS Travels, Sigma Xi & ACS Expeditions LEADERSHIP Tikal Leading this expedition for National Betchart will be Olga Slowing. Park Olga was born and raised in Guatemala City, amidst pine and BELIZE oak forests, white tailed deer, Flores armadillos and undiscovered archaeological sites. As a child, she MEXICO played around knolls containing Amatique prehispanic buildings and floors Bay covered with obsidian blades. GUATEMALA Rio Dulce In 1993, she started leading trips throughout Guatemala. Puerto Barrios After falling in love with the region and its rich nature Quirigua and culture, Olga started studies in Ecotourism and Chichicastenango Archaeology at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala Copan combining studies and explorations throughout the Lake City Central American region. Olga says, “Discovering new Atitlan worlds and trying to make them understandable to Antigua HONDURAS people from different cultures is one of my passions; building bridges of understanding is one of my goals." Olga looks forward to sharing the delights of Guatemala, and the archaeological wonders of Guatemala and Pacific Ocean EL SALVADOR Copan in Honduras with you. MAYAN WONDERLAND In recent geological time, the Central American isthmus came to unite the continental land masses of North America and South America. The North of this splendid area called Central America has been densely inhabited since 1,200 BC or earlier by people who profited from the bountiful resources of the region. Guatemala, in the North of Central America, is the heart of the Mayan World. There are millions of Mayan people inhabiting Guatemala today, speaking as many as 23 Mayan languages, and living on a day-to-day basis in between a modern state that wants to integrate them into the political and economic dominant culture, and their own culture with 3,000-year-old traditions, beliefs, cosmovision, and organization. The ancestors of the modern day Mayans are well known for having developed one of the most advanced civilizations in the Continent called America. Massive and tall pyramids in huge urban centers, the biggest and most densley populated in their times, were abandoned in a time span of around 100 years between 800-900 AD. This keeps being one of the biggest unsolved questions for Mayan archaeology. What happened to the people that dwelled around these magnificent and impressive buildings? The intellectual, technological, and organizational developments that the ancient Mayans achieved remain. They keep being a source of pride and honor, and a compass to show modern Guatemalans that there have been big times, and so, there are new big and better times to come. one of the most remarkable locations in Guatemala, ITINERARY Chichicastenango. Santo Tomas Hotel. B Day 1 Miami to Guatemala City Day 4 Chichicastenango Market Fly from Miami to Guatemala City, the capital & St. Thomas Festival to Antigua of Guatemala since 1775. Transfer to the Westin Early in the morning, we'll visit Chichicastenango Camino Real Hotel. Welcome dinner. D on its market day —an unforgettable experience full of color, sounds, and religious syncretism. We will Day 2 Guatemala City to Lake Atitlan visit the famous open air market, where native Today we will explore Guatemala City and learn handi crafts are traded and enter the 400-year-old about its remarkable heritage. Nueva Guatemala Church of Santo Tomas, where Catholic and Mayan de la Asuncion was founded in the Ermita Valley rites take place in a mystical atmosphere. Today, in the 18th century at the site where the Pre- you can enjoy the celebration of the town's most Columbian city of Kaminaljuyu rose to greatness important festival in honor of patron saint Santo some 3,500 years ago. Enjoy a visit to the National Tomas, with an explosion of fireworks, music, Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and and color. Kaminaljuyu. Then depart through the Highlands In the afternoon, depart for the renowned to Panajachel, by the beautiful volcanic Lake colonial city of La Antigua, Guatemala, surrounded Atitlan, situated at the foot of several volcanoes. by spectacular volcanoes including El Fuerte. Enjoy Hotel Porta Del Lago. B,L,D the evening at leisure in Antigua, strolling the streets Day 3 Santiago Atitlan and enjoying the beauty of this historic city. Porta & San Juan La Laguna Antigua Hotel. B,L,D to Chichicastenango Day 5 Antigua City to Flores Enjoy a boat excursion across the lake to We will explore the city of Antigua this morning. Santiago Atitlan, located among three magnificent It was founded in 1543 and partially destroyed volcanoes. Walk through the streets and visit the by an earthquake in 1773. The city is the former different art galleries with "primitivist" paintings. colonial capital of Central America. Today, it is Also, see the Church of Santiago Apostol, built considered one of the in 1547 in honor of St. James. Later, watch the finest examples of urban curious Mayan rites of "Maximon," a native deity, planning in Latin America. at the local Cofradia. Churches, convents, Continue by boat to San Juan La Laguna. This and mansions recapture town is home of the Tz'utujil people. Enjoy the the glory of a city that was ancient traditions and unique marvels of nature. the capital of a Spanish This community offers a chance for visitors to gain colony for over 200 years. a deeper understanding of the natural and cultural Visit the most important heritage of the local people, interwoven into the buildings in this charming fascinating mosaic of modern-day Guatemala. Visit city, including a jade studio the local cooperativas and learn more about textiles where you can observe and traditions. Return to Panajachel, then head for the Guatemalan artisans making beautiful jewelry of ceramics and local and decoration pieces in findings. B,L,D jade. Drive to Guatemala Day 7 Rio Dulce– City for a flight to Flores in Livingston– the tropical Peten. Transfer Amatique Bay to your hotel in El Remate. Depart for Rio Dulce Hotel Camino Real Tikal this morning, then (2 nights). B,L,D continue by boat to Day 6 Tikal Livingston. During the excursion, you can observe Today we'll explore the magnificent archaeo- a wide variety of birds. Mangrove forests line the logical site of Tikal, declared a World Heritage Site riverbanks and the shores of the Caribbean coast. in 1979 by UNESCO. At the heart of the Mayan Arrive in Livingston, home of the Garifuna people, lowlands, the Peten was one of the first areas of a culture well know in Guatemala and the world for Mesoamerica to reach a high level of social and its language, traditions, and food. It was declared an cultural development. The sheer size of the Intangible Heritage for Humanity by UNESCO in majestic city of Tikal is the culmination of almost 2008. In the afternoon continue by boat to Puerto 2,000 years of occupation, 800 BC to 900 AD. At its Barrios and transfer to Amatique Bay Resort. B,L,D height, Tikal stretched for 146 square km and is Day 8 Amatique Bay – Quirigua – thought to have had a population of 100,000. To Copan, Honduras date only a few of the 4,000 buildings that dot Depart for the archaeological site of Quirigua this the 16 square km city core have been excavated. morning, also a World Heritage Site. The large plaza Hemmed in by splendid monuments, such as has monumental stone carved stelae (up to 10.60 m). Temples I and II and the warren of palaces in the Beyond that are zoomorphs, huge sand stones carved North and Central Acropolises, the Great Plaza lies in relief art. Continue to El Florido Border Station at the heart of Tikal. Stelae and altars carved with in Honduras, and the Marina Copan Hotel. B,L,D inscriptions recording the history of the powerful ruling dynasty are scattered around the square. Tikal is also part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve created in 1990 to protect the dense forests of the Peten, which started to disappear at an alarming rate due to population pressures, illegal logging, and slash-and-burn agricultural practices. Enormous trees still shroud Tikal's buildings, which cluster in groups reached by wide causeways, meandering through the tropical forest, home to toucans, parrots, wild turkeys, howler monkeys, raccoon-like coati mundis, and countless other creatures. Also visit the Sylvannus G. Morley Museum which exhibits a fine collection • SIGM THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SOCIETY Day 9 Copan, Honduras Copan was declared a World Heriage Site in RESERVATIONS #1522 1980. It is one of the Maya World's most beautiful A archaeo logical sites. Sylvanus Morley once Yes! I/we want to join Christmas in Guatemala, December 18-27, 2018, offered by AAAS Travels, described it as the “Athens of the New World” Sigma Xi, ACS Expeditions & The Planetary Society.