#708 Flores, Guatemala

Most people in this part of Guatemala are here to visit the famous Tikal (#954), but it would be tragic to pass by Flores without a stop. Where else in the world is there a highly developed colonial island town in the middle of a lake? Lago Petén Itzá is in El Petén Province in North Eastern Guatemala, and Flores is separated from the twin towns of Santa Elena and San Benito by a causeway. The village just north across the lake is San Miguel.

In Pre-Columbian times, Flores was the Maya city of Nojpetén. The Itza left the Yucatán region in the 13th century and built the city later known as Tayasal as their capital. They called it Noh Petén, literally "City Island". It was also called Tah Itzá, or Place of the Itzá. It was on this island that the last Maya held out as an independent Maya state against the Spanish conquerors despite Hernan Cortes visiting the island in 1541. It was not conquered until 1697, when they attacked via boats. Many Itzá people fled and hid in the jungle for years. 

www.famouswonders.com

www.destinosviajerosporelmundo.com

www.yutmografim.com

Source: http://wikitravel.org/en/Flores_(Guatemala)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flores,_El_Pet%C3%A9n

#816 Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala

In the incredibly techtonically active Central America, it's hard to think of what would be a super volcano, but what is now the Lago de Atitlan would have been it, but that was more than 84,000 years ago, and since then, three other small volcanoes have formed along the edges of the lake: Atitlan, San Pedro and Toliman. So catastrophic was the eruption, called Los Chocoyos, that it can still be measured in data gathered from as far away as Florida and Ecuador.

I drove over the steep caldera and came into the main town of Panajachel, a charming town with a market based Main Street and a lot of small tourist boats. We took one of those boats and crossed the lake to the Mayan village of La Laguna, which had many weaving artisans and fascinating artwork painted on the village walls. It is reached from the lake over a series of reeds and planks and is very pretty and traditional.

After that we had a short crossing to San Pedro La Laguna, a place full of Spanish language schools and backpackers! I also loved the huge fish in the city fountain!

Our final destination was the bigger center of Santiago Atitlan, a bustling busy tourist town, prosperous in its markets and restaurants, but otherwise quite crowded and busy. We wandered to the top of the hill, did a bit of shopping and found a nice place to eat before returning to the boat back to Panajachel.  It really was a beautiful part of the country and a center for crafts and traditional wares as well as the Mayan culture still surviving!

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lago_de_Atitlán

Map from zonu.com

#825 Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala

You may have seen photos of people walking on an active volcano, with fiery lava flows and people posing with big grins. If it's relatively recent, then this is probably Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala, because a 2006 eruption formed lava rivers down the slopes. It's most recent big action was in 2010 when the eruption rained ash down on nearby cities. It's a popular day hike from both Guatemala City and Antigua, but sadly, when I went, it was fiery no more, but the residue from the lava was amazing. There was even a spot where you could go underground and feel the heat of an exposed vent. 

Part of the Central American Volcanic Arc which runs along the Pacific Rim, it is a very busy volcano -- 23 eruptions since the Spanish conquest, and 1100 years ago a landslide spewed such a large amount of silt as to reach the Pacific -- the current cone grew from that crater. The volcanic ash and pumice that covers the volcano today is very hard to walk on!!

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacaya