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Dining for Women: Guatemala

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Explore the traditional cities and towns of Antigua, Lake Atitlán, Santiago, and San Juan La Laguna.
  • Visit DFW grantees Starfish Global, Women’s Justice Initiative, and Mercado Global.
  • Partake in a traditional shaman ceremony.
  • Explore Solola Market.
  • Witness the world-famous Day of the Dead Kite Festival.
Day 1: Friday, October 26
Arrive Guatemala City

Upon arrival, a representative will meet you to transfer you to Antigua, Guatemala (approximately a one-hour drive).

Founded in the sixteenth century, Antigua is a cosmopolitan destination with a rich colonial past. Its cobblestone streets are lined with pretty, pastel-hued homes. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, this city of 35,000 people sits in a valley between coffee farms, indigenous villages, and three volcanoes. At the heart of town is the central park, a European-style plaza busy with shoe-shiners, ice cream vendors, families, and tourists. During its architectural peak, Antigua was home to dozens of colonial monuments, churches, and monasteries, but an earthquake in 1773 damaged or reduced most to rubble. In the centuries thereafter, efforts were made to rebuild and restore, and the city today is filled with gorgeous and fascinating relics and ruins.

Tonight, enjoy a welcome dinner at Welten Restaurant.

Overnight Meson de Maria Hotel

Day 2: Saturday, October 27
Transfer to Lake Atitlan Via Iximche with Shaman Ceremony

After breakfast, visit the famous Mayan archaeology site of Iximche with your guide. Your tour will include a lesser-known, yet significant, Mayan ceremonial site. Meet a local shaman who will perform an authentic and spiritual Mayan ceremony for you in a local language. You will have the opportunity to partake in the ceremony if you wish.

After the ceremony, continue on to Lake Atitlan, stopping at a local restaurant for lunch.

Surrounded by rugged hills, a trio of towering volcanoes, and a handful of small villages, Lake Atitlán’s natural beauty is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Located in the Guatemalan highlands, the lake was formed more than 80,000 years ago during a massive volcanic eruption. Tz'utujil and Kaqchiquel Mayans continue to practice age-old customs on the lake’s shores, particularly in the towns of Santiago Atitlán and Santa Catarina Palopó. Panajachel is the lake's main hub; from here, boats depart regularly for destinations like San Juan La Laguna.

Arrive back to your hotel in the late afternoon, where you will have the opportunity to relax and unwind. Dinner will be served at the hotel or at a nearby restaurant.

Overnight Dos Mundos Hotel

Day 3: Sunday, Oct 28
San Juan La Laguna and Santiago La Laguna Tour

Although more than a dozen fascinating towns and villages overlook majestic Lake Atitlán, Santiago and San Juan La Laguna top the must-see list. In San Juan, watch indigenous weavers mix natural dyes from locally grown plants and flowers, and then see the women use a back-strap loom to create intricate textiles, thread by colorful thread. From there, peruse a workshop of art naïf painters before boarding the boat for the cruise to Santiago.

After a delicious lunch, head out with your guide to find the house of Maximón, the Mayan folk saint who moves annually with the selection of his new caretaker. A shaman may be performing a ritual for a local follower or two gathered at Maximón's candle-lit altar. Afterward you can visit the church, learn about the town's vivid history, and explore the thriving market. Return to your hotel by 5:00 PM.

Be sure to check out the distinctive textiles and primitive art, both famous in the lake basin region.

Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight Dos Mundos Hotel

Day 4: Monday, October 29
Starfish visit

After breakfast at the hotel, the group will transfer to a full-day visit with Starfish.

A past DFW grantee, the mission of Starfish is to empower young women, through education and mentorship, to become leaders in their community. Young women educated through the Starfish program often go on to break the cycle of poverty and exclusion. Additionally these young women seek to positively transform their families, communities, and country into more just, healthy, and equitable entities.

Join members of Starfish for lunch, and continue your visit into the afternoon. You will then be transferred back to the hotel.

Dinner will be served at the hotel or a local restaurant.

Overnight Dos Mundos Hotel

Day 5: Tuesday, October 30
Solola Market and Mercado Global

After breakfast, you will be picked up from the hotel by your driver and guide for a visit to the traditional town of Solola (approximately a 30-minute drive). On market day, the town is bursting with life; local Mayan people from all around the area flock to the market to buy and sell their wares for the week ahead. This fabulous and authentic market gives travelers a wonderful insight into Mayan life in the Solola district of Guatemala.

Afterwards, the group will transfer to Mercado Global where you will be welcomed with a traditional home-cooked meal.

Mercado Global is a nonprofit social enterprise that provides economic opportunities to indigenous women in rural Guatemala. Mercado Global connects emerging women entrepreneurs to international markets, and provides tools to gain and maintain financial independence while breaking the cycle of poverty. You will have the chance to understand their work on a professional and personal scale and purchase items created by these female entrepreneurs.

In the late afternoon the group will transfer back to hotel.

Dinner will be served at a local restaurant.

Overnight Dos Mundos Hotel

Day 6: Wednesday, October 31
Transfer to Antigua Guatemala, Women’s Justice Initiative Visit

After breakfast at the hotel, the group will visit another DFW grantee — Women’s Justice Initiative (approximately a two-hour drive).

Women’s Justice Initiative (WJI) empowers indigenous Guatemalan women and girls to improve their lives through education, access to legal services, and gender-based violence prevention. Upon arrival at 10:00 AM, enjoy a presentation from the organization, followed by lunch with the women of WJI.

In the late afternoon, the group will transfer back to Antigua, arriving in the early evening.

Dinner will be served at a local restaurant.

Overnight Meson de Maria Hotel

Day 7: Thursday, November 1
Kite Festival

In the morning, the group will transfer to Santiago Sacatepéquez where you will enjoy the local Day of the Dead celebrations, including the historic and stunning Kite Festival!

On November 1 each year, Guatemala's families honor their departed loved ones with various Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) festivities. Besides the traditional visit to the cemetery, The Day of the Dead in Guatemala is marked by the unique Kite Festival and dining on fiambre — a traditional Guatemalan dish that is prepared and eaten yearly to celebrate the Day of the Dead.

Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez hold the largest and most well-known festivals, with thousands of kites flown by families, locals, and religious groups to honor the dead. The elaborate kites span several feet, and are constructed almost entirely of bamboo and tissue paper.

This festival is like no other!

In the early evening, the group will transfer back to Antigua.

Enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant tonight.

Overnight Meson de Maria Hotel

Day 8: Friday, November 2
Departure

Individual transfers will be provided to Guatemala Airport for international departure.

 

PARTNERS:

Starfish

Starfish is contributing to the global movement for gender equity and girls’ education by unlocking and maximizing the potential of young women to lead transformational change. Through an intentional, holistic program, they provide access to high-quality education; intensive, ongoing support from peers and mentors; financial assistance for higher education and entrepreneurship opportunities; and a diverse knowledge base centered around core competencies to ensure that each young woman can realize her full potential and create systemic change. Their programs include the mentorship program, the Starfish Impact School, New Horizons, and the Chispa Action Network (CAN).

 

Mercado Global

Mercado Global is a nonprofit with a mission to transform the lives of women. We create beautiful and thoughtfully designed accessories that not only have the ability to transform an outfit, they can empower an entire community of indigenous women.   A single thread is stronger when woven with many others. Through our not-for-profit model, we strengthen communities of women, weaving savings and loan support (income and access to equipment through microloans), education (financial literacy, business development, self-esteem and family health and nutrition), and market access into a program focused on financial independence to overcome poverty.

 

Women’s Justice Initiative

WJI is building a more equitable world for Mayan women and girls by combating gender inequality and violence against women and girls. Through an innovative community-based approach, WJI is improving the lives of women and girls by increasing their access to justice and improving their ability to exercise their rights to live free from violence. WJI believes that community-based responses are critical to successfully combating gender-based violence and gender inequality in rural Guatemala. Without support from their communities, women and girls face significant obstacles in exercising their rights to live free from violence. In response, WJI works closely with key community leaders and stakeholders to build a response to inequality and violence that is developed by and for their communities.

 

 

WHAT'S INCLUDED:

Inclusions:

  • All accommodations
  • Transportation
  • Local guide
  • All meals as listed
  • All activities as listed
  • Honorarium/host stipends

Exclusions:

  • International flights
  • Visa
  • Personal expenses (shopping, phone calls, laundry, etc.)
  • Gratuity for drivers and guides

 

PRICING:

Cost per person in shared accommodation: $2,750*
Single supplement: $250

*International airfare not included.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:

If you have any additional questions please feel free to reach out to our travel team: dfwtravel@elevatedestinations.com

To register, please visit the DFW Guatemala registration page.