Has Anyone Been to Guatemala?

[Greetercb]

I am now looking to Guatemala if not the other countries at Central & South America.


If any of you been there. Then How do anyone of you rate it? And Thanks!

[Contrarian Expatriate]

There is no place where the women are uglier than Guatemala. Violent crime has been a problem there of late too.

If you want to go to Central America, go to Costa Rica, but even that is overrated.

[Nate]

There is no place where the women are uglier than Guatemala. Violent crime has been a problem there of late too.

If you want to go to Central America, go to Costa Rica, but even that is overrated.

You got that right! If you like short fat hairy women, Guatemala is just the place for you. But it is a very pretty place in parts- especially the western highlands...areas like Antigua. However I should pass on a little secret- there are actually hot babes to be found in Guatemala- it's just that none of them are from Guatemala. Antigua is plastered with Spanish language schools, and there are a few pubs that cater to foreigners that are a really great mix of European, Asian and others- one in particular is just a block a way from the famous Del Arco in Antigua. Quite a few hot German, Italian and even Russian babes are to be found in some places there...but the locals?
You will do quite a bit better in Honduras actually...the standing joke in Guate is that when you see a hot Latina, you can just ask her
what part of Honduras or Columbia she is from.

And >>>very correct on Costa Rica. One of the most over rated places around....with an attitude to boot. Personally I would skip central america and head for Columbia or Brazil.

My 2 cents worth...


Nate

[Travel Dude]

I also agree. Guatamala is not a place to meet hot looking women. I feel the most beautuful looking women in Central America are the women from El Salvador but it is a little dangerious to visit.

[stravelcostia]

It is a beautiful country but very poor for the most. People still wash their laundry in the lakes, rivers. It is a very historic land where the mayans built many temples. It is sub tropical to tropical climate. There are still guerillas there but if you have the chance someday to go to the Tikal Myan Ruins National Park you should go, before earthquakes destroy it or? I hope this helps a bit...

thanks......

[Falcon]

I completely disagree with the comments above. You're all missing out on this wonderful country. Don't be so quick to judge countries you aren't familiar with. Indigenous Guatemalan women are extraordinarily humble, charming, and fun to be around with. They are like rural Filipinas in many ways. Chiapanecas (women from Chiapas state, Mexico) are very similar, if not nearly the same. Yes, these countries are dangerous to some extent, and the people due tend to be shorter due to various wars these countries have had in the past. But I can totally imagine myself being with a charming Guatemalteca or Salvadoreña lady. I have had extremely positive interactions with rural/indigenous women (and men and children) from the southern Mexican states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas. I'm completely sure I'd do very well in Guatemala, since the culture and topography there are pretty much contiguous with those of southern Mexico.

I have interacted with plenty of Guatemalans here in the U.S., and they are pretty much on par with rural southern Mexicans.

How can anyone not like this place (from San Miguel Acatán, Huehuetenango, Guatemala):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyTX7oWfuVY[/youtube]

See also http://www.happierabroad.com/forum/view ... hp?t=13347

[Contrarian Expatriate]

Don't be so quick to judge countries you aren't familiar with. [b]Indigenous Guatemalan women are extraordinarily humble, charming, and fun to be around with

I worked in Guatemala for almost 2 years, so I think I'm quite familiar with the place. Also, I don't dispute that Guatemalan women are nice, just visually unappealing for the most part.

[mehendicant]

I'm going to watch this thread. I've thought for several years of hacer mi mala para ir a Guatemala.

To me, looks aren't that important (or maybe I have a different idea what a woman should look like than you). Mind and spirit are more important. I'd enjoy someone who could discuss sound correspondences in different Maya languages and differences between Spanish and French with me. As far as appearance goes, smell and feel are more important than looks.

[tomasz]

Local women are not visually appealing at all.

On the other hand, it's a great place to learn spanish in terms of cost.

From my limited travel experience there (3 months), the place i recommend you visit is the villages around lake atitlan and xela for learning spanish.

[AmericanInMexico]

My first post on this site in a long time! Well, I can't think of any better point to come back on than this thread.

As many of you know, I live part-time in Mexico and absolutely love it. I have a very negative opinion of Guatemala though and it has nothing to do with the attractiveness level of the women.

To put it simply, despite Guatemala and Mexico being neighbors and both being Spanish-speaking countries, they are very dissimilar. Mexico can best be described as a country that is first-world in parts (especially certain areas of Mexico City and some of the wealthier cities like Aguascalientes or Queretaro) and third-world in parts (especially the southern three states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero). However, even in the third-world parts of the country people aren't starving to death and there is relatively decent infrastructure unless you go to some out of the way indigenous village.

In Guatemala I found none of this. The entire country is very third-world with no modern infrastructure except in very small areas of Guatemala City and one or two major highways that cost a fortune to drive on. In and of itself this would be okay if it weren't for the fact that it makes the country nearly impossible to get around in unless you plan on spending ten hours on a chicken bus just to go 200 kilometers (no, that is not an exaggeration, that seriously is how long it took me to get from the Mexican border to Guatemala City, I should have just flown).

But even that is forgivable. My main issue with Guatemala is it's ridiculously high crime rate. Mexico has drug violence but by and large street gangs aren't a problem. In Guatemala however you don't go out after dark. At all. Street gangs are everywhere and unlike in Mexico where you can safely walk around just about any community, in Guatemala you are likely to wander into the wrong community and get attacked by a group of 10 or more gang members. The things the Guatemalan gang members do make the Bloods and Crips look like a bunch of civilized gentlemen.

There are good people in Guatemala just like there are good people everywhere, but I am not joking when I say that I seriously thought at times that I was not going to leave Guatemala alive. That country is scary.

[royaldude]

I went there for a visa run a year or so ago. Nightlife sucked, really really ugly women. Even in guatemala city there was no restuarants open past 9pm. Their cusine was not good I also found the crime element to be another negative. I really like foriegn countries but it was hard to find reasons to want to go back to guatemala.

They did have a nice mayan museum in Guatemala city.

Also my experience was limited to guatemala city I have heard antigua is much more liveable so if I had to stay there long term thats where I would head to.