Guatemala becoming tourism hot spot for young travelers
Adventurous travelers seeking beauty and budget thrills should look no further than Guatemala, a friendly country that remains largely unexplored by many Americans, but can be reached in as little as six hours from many cities in the U.S.
A question I fielded several times before my late February trip: Why Guatemala?
My partner and I have made a habit of planning at least one international trip each year. Actually, I’ll shoulder most of the blame – nothing scratches my travel itch like a new passport stamp. But because we’re earlycareer professionals, with limited stockpiles of paid time off and inevitable bills, a month-long vacation to Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe is out of the question (for now).
Last summer, I found myself in a rabbit hole of research: Panama, Aruba, Curaçao. Slowly, the pieces fell together for Guatemala.
I started to hear about this friend or that roommate who had visited – or even temporarily moved to – the Central American country over the past few years and couldn’t get enough of it.
Social media platform TikTok features videos of jet-setters of every creed successfully journeying through the tourist destinations of Antigua and Lake Atitlán, offering tips on how to navigate the nation. By August, our accommodations were booked.
Both sets of our parents initially balked at the idea. My dad had previously flown to Guatemala City on business, and was confined within the limits of Central America’s largest metropolis. Like others in the baby boomer and Gen X demographics, much of what they’d grown up hearing about the country was related to its conditions during the Guatemalan Civil War, which lasted 36 years.
However, over the past decade, the nation’s tourism industry has consistently grown – minus a setback during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data-gathering platform Statista. And I was hearing piqued interest from millennials and zoomers about making the trip south. At the Cherry Creek Shopping Center days before my trip, a clerk peppered me with questions about my itinerary as she considered doing the same.
After my editors gave me the green light to briefly chase a story on the ground, the trip became both work and play – four days off, two days on. I took the necessary precautions learned on my last reporting trip to Peru in the pre-COVID era: monitor travel advisories with the U.S. State Department, submit my itinerary to the agency’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program and set an appointment with a travel clinic to get relevant vaccines.
With interviews set and bags packed, we hopped on our 6 a.m. American Airlines flight from Denver, then stopped briefly at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport before touching down in the early afternoon at La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City. On the flight, our seat neighbor – a Guatemalan who planned to visit her family for a long weekend before heading back to the U.S. – excitedly shared her recommendations, then led us through the winding halls of the airport to customs and immigration.
After a quick and easy process, we were set to embark into a new country – and learned lessons pretty quickly. We brought cash because Guatemala is a cashreliant economy, particularly outside of its capital city. The airport provides several opportunities to exchange dollars for quetzales, with $1 worth about 8 quetzales, as of mid-April. It’s best to fork over the added exchange fee there and avoid the inconvenience of hunting for a bank like we did later.
More than 3 million people reside in the city’s urban area, which is made up of 21 zones – some of which tourists are advised against visiting. We stayed one night in Zone 4, which a travel blog calls “the upcoming hipster area.” Zones 9 and 10 come highly recommended, too. We felt safe and relaxed in the neighborhood around our Airbnb – a unit in a modern apartment complex, with its own private patio.
Our plans for that first day were ambitious: see the National Palace of Culture, stop by the city’s market and eat dinner at steakhouse Hacienda Real Zona 10. Instead, we took in the sunset views on the rooftop of restaurant Los Tres Tiempos in the city’s historical district, cocktails and croquetas de pache – mozzarella croquettes made of Guatemalan potato dough – in hand, before turning in. But if you’re short on time or not a big city person, then you can skip visiting the capital like most tourists do.
Disclaimer: I’m not sure what it would be like to travel through Guatemala without a Spanish speaker by my side. Spanish and even some Mayan dialects take precedence over English throughout the country. Because that’s my partner’s first language, I didn’t have to put my rudimentary skills to the test. However, I encountered plenty of Europeans and North Americans who managed to make it from Point A to Point B.
The next morning started with the one-hour drive west to the colonial city of Antigua. Visitors have several options for transportation. Uber is available, and we used it for a short ride in Guatemala City, but I’d read enough mixed reviews for me to largely opt against it. The bravest – and stingiest – of travelers sometimes ride the chicken buses: decorated buses that serve as public transportation. However, I’d also seen a litany of online grievances, as the buses can often run unreliably and feel crowded, with the risk of pickpockets.
Instead, we used private cars and shared shuttle services to travel from town to town, which are affordable by American standards. Viator Travel served as a trusty resource for finding highly-reviewed drivers, who often arrived early and provided a smooth ride.
Our two nights in Antigua left us wishing for more time. There, activities abound – sightseeing at the famous Santa Catalina Arch and Central Park, bartering at the massive Mercado Central and eating so many piping-hot tortillas. My go-to breakfast for days in a row: plantains, refried beans, farmer’s cheese and eggs soaked in salsa, scooped into tortillas and washed down with that famous Guatemalan coffee.
Antigua is the place to buy souvenirs. I scored a Mayan cookbook, plus trinkets for my family like handmade worry dolls: tiny dolls that you tuck under your pillow to whisk away your stresses as you dream. It’s also the spot for nightlife, with several dozen bars and restaurants concentrated in a walkable area that’s both spotless and safe.
Speaking of walking, follow our lead and bring a duffle or weekend bag, instead of a suitcase. Otherwise, navigating the cobblestone roads can quickly turn into the bane of your existence. And wear comfortable sneakers. We walked almost 9 miles one day, but that’s the best way to find hole-in-thewall joints like restaurant Cafeteria La Concepcion, which is where I tried the traditional dish of pepián de pollo, a Guatemalan chicken stew.
Depending on the timing of your trip, you could also experience a local festival. I was delighted to realize that we visited ahead of Semana Santa, or Holy Week, with Guatemala considered a deeply Christian country. Street vendors sell cheap delicacies, such as empanadas de leche, or sweet cream empanadas. Antigua residents wake up every Sunday during Lent and create alfombras – intricately designed “carpets” made of flower petals and sawdust dyed in every color – on the streets before the evening’s religious procession. Then, just hours later, the temporary creations are stepped on and swept up.
From Antigua, you can admire the surrounding peaks of towering volcanoes, and tour operators like OX Expeditions take hikers on excursions to Pacaya, Acatenango and Agua volcanoes. We signed up for an easy sunset hike up to Pacaya and its lava fields. The other two are known as longer, more intense endeavors. I would strongly advise any hiking hopefuls to cough up the money and join a group because robberies of solo tourists are common along the trails.
My first work day was spent reporting in Jocotenango, a town on the outskirts of Antigua, with the team at the nonprofit Education for the Children Foundation. They run the School of Hope, a free private school for disadvantaged students. I chatted with pupils and teachers during the school day. Then, U.S. executive director Sara Miller drove me around town and up to La Vista Hermosa, a shantytown of homes built illegally on the hillside where about 150 of the school’s families reside.
As a journalist, I’m grateful to have spent those hours getting the perspective that tourists often don’t see, but, for that reason, I won’t highlight Jocotenango as a place that visitors need on their itineraries. Then, we hopped in a shared shuttle – a small van that fits 10 passengers – for the threehour ride to Lake Atitlán. If you get car sick, then it is absolutely necessary to bring non-drowsy motion sickness medicine to survive the winding roads.
Lake Atitlán is often referred to as “the Lake Como of Latin America,” referencing the Italian lake in the Alps’ foothills. It’s also held sacred by the nation’s Mayan population – Guatemala’s largest Indigenous group. Outside of Guatemala City, Native people in their traditional garb are a common sight. A Mayan woman typically wears a corte (skirt), huipil (blouse) and faja (belt), and you come across shops selling the clothing in different colors and patterns.
Upon arriving at the lake, you’re typically dropped off in Panajachel – one of almost a dozen towns and villages sitting on the water’s edge. There, I spent my final day of reporting at the headquarters of nonprofit Friendship Bridge, which works with Indigenous women entrepreneurs to provide loans, business training and more.
Nicknamed Pana, the town is accessible by car, but several of the most popular destinations can only be reached by boat. Before departing Pana for other lakeside locations, stock up on sunscreen, beer or any other desirable products because the small stores in the remote villages offer limited stock.
Public and private lanchas, or boats, float at the main dock to ferry locals and tourists across the lake. Beeline for the cheap public option, which costs 10 to 25 quetzales, or you could be swindled by a private captain into paying hundreds of quetzales for your own boat. It’s a longer wait as the water taxi loads up on passengers, but it’s worthwhile for your wallet.
The lake is a place to relax, swim and hop from village to village, which is exactly what my partner and I did on our last day of vacation. Boats are ever reliable on the lake, and you can flag one down at the nearest dock. But I wanted to try out a tuk-tuk – a doorless, three-wheeled vehicle, manned by a driver, who can transport you between towns. I highly recommend the very Guatemalan experience.
Our favorite village: San Juan La Laguna, which bursts with art, restaurants and merchants. Our least favorite: San Marcos La Laguna – a hippie haven, known for its yoga retreats and meditation centers. However, it felt very gentrified to me.
We didn’t get the chance to visit Santa Catarina Palopó, where the houses are painted in eye-popping colors. Cerro Tzankujil Nature Reserve has a prime spot for cliff jumping into the lake, which I’d add to my list for when we return.
And that’s “when,” not “if,” because I’d happily fly back to Guatemala for a much longer trip in the future. Not only did I feel welcome and safe during my travels, but I also experienced an adventure that I won’t soon forget.
SAN JOSE, CALIF.
So many acts are claiming the yacht rock badge of honor in 2024, as fans of all ages embrace (or re-embrace) those pristine soft rock hits of yesteryear through Sirius/XM and other decidedly modern avenues.
For Bay Area band Pablo Cruise, however, the connection to the genre has been longer – and more literal – than for most.
“Our headquarters was an 82-foot schooner in the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon,” says Cory Lerios, who co-founded Pablo Cruise in 1973. “So, we were definitely yacht rockers back before yacht rock was a term.”
From that base, the band has delivered some defining gems in what is now known as the yacht rock genre, which celebrates the smooth a.m. radio staples of the ‘70s and early ‘80s delivered by such artists as Toto, Nicollette Larson, Poco and the Little
River Band.
Most notably, Pablo Cruise was responsible for the meticulously produced soft-rock numbers “Whatcha Gonna Do?” and “Love Will Find a Way,” both of which were Top 10 hits and rank as first-tier yacht rock staples.
Those two songs – which sound as good today as they did when they first came out in the late ‘70s – are two of the biggest reasons why fans will turn out to see Pablo Cruise when it performs May 9 at the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park. Showtime is 8 p.m. and tickets are $49, guildtheatre.com. The group also plays May 8 at the Felton Music Hall and May 10 at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, pablocruise.com.
The Menlo Park show will be a homecoming for Lerios, who now lives in Thousands Oaks but was born in San Francisco and grew up in nearby Palo Alto. It was on the Peninsula where he began playing piano and joined his first bands in junior high school.
“I never really thought I would make a career of it,” Lerios says of playing music. “But one thing led to another and I kind of never looked back.”
He’d find his first taste of real success as a member of Stoneground, a Concord-based rock act that released a number of albums on the Warner Bros. records label in the 1970s. After a few years, however, Lerios and two other Stoneground members – vocalist-guitarist David Jenkins and drummer Steve Price – would leave the fold and go on to form Pablo Cruise with the help of bassist Bud Cockrell (previously of the Bay Area act It’s a Beautiful Day).
One thing to note from that list of original band members is that none of them are, in fact, named Pablo Cruise. Neither are any other of the current or former members, for that matters. So, it’s probably a good time to pause and clear up the origin of the moniker, which Lerios says has certainly drawn plenty of questions over the years.
“The truth is that it was a nickname of a buddy of mine from Colombia, South America,” he says. “It was just a nickname I gave him – Pablo Cruise. He was a very bright guy, very charismatic. And I just called him Pablo Cruise.”
So, when it came time to name this new post-Stoneground outfit, Lerios remembered his ol’ pal’s nickname and thought it fit in with one of the trends of the era.
“It was kind of at that point where you had Fleetwood Mac, Jethro Tull – a lot of two names for these bands – and Pablo Cruise just had a great ring to it,” Lerios reckons.
Whatever they called themselves, these four musicians were bound to get discovered at some point – given that they were all great players and wrote memorable tunes. So, not surprisingly, it wasn’t all that long before A&M came knocking and Pablo Cruise was thrilled to sign with such a well-regarded record label.
“A&M was notable for sticking with a band,” Lerios says. “Today, labels barely sign bands. But they don’t support bands like they did a lot of back in the day. They supported tours. They supported the making of the record, the travel – all kinds of things that they don’t do anymore.”
The result was the band’s
1975 eponymous debut, which eeked its way into the Billboard 200 and began setting the foundation for the success that would later come. It didn’t produce any hit singles, but it did give listeners a wonderful 12½minute instrumental number called “Ocean Breeze” that drew plenty of spins at album oriented radio (AOR) stations.
“If you want to check out some deep Pablo Cruise, you should listen to that – because it’s a phenomenal piece of music,” Lerios says. “And that (song) really got us going. Still, everywhere we play now, people ask to hear ‘Ocean Breeze,’ which is always nice to know that people have gone that deep into the repertoire.”
A second album, titled “Lifeline,” followed in 1976 and managed to hoist the band a bit further up the charts, but Pablo Cruise still lacked that hit to really take it to the next level.
All of that would change with the third album, 1977’s “A Place in the Sun,” although not overnight. In fact, the first single released from that album was “Atlanta June” and it didn’t live up to expectations. Oh, but the B-side was a catchy little number called “Whatcha Gonna Do?”
“(Radio stations) played ‘Atlanta June’ and it got some acclaim, but it didn’t really take off the way they’d hoped,” Lerios remembers. “So, somebody flipped it over and put on ‘Whatcha Gonna Do?’ and, all of sudden, it started to blow up.”
The song slowly climbed the charts, eventually breaking into the top 10. The group then scored a second hit with the album’s terrific title track.
“When it gets to that point, everything changes,” Lerios says. “The phones really start to ring. You are getting offers to be on TV shows. All of a sudden, it’s like you’ve arrived.”
The band quickly followed up that album with another winner, 1978’s “Worlds Away,” which produced three hits - including the slam-dunk single “Love Will Find a Way.”
Both albums, “A Place in the
Sun” and “Worlds Away,” would be certified platinum.
That would be the zenith of the band’s career, although it did produce two more albums – 1979’s “Part of the Game” and 1981’s “Reflector” – which still did quite well on the charts. The same could not be said of the band’s last studio record, 1983’s “Out of Our Hands,” which failed to chart as listeners had moved on from Pablo Cruisestyle soft rock to other styles of music.
“There was a certain instrumentation, a certain form of writing that was predominant back then,” Lerios says of the a.m. hits of the era. “Then, all of a sudden, like the Knack, Johnny Rotten and all these bands came in and punk rock kind of took over and just squashed soft rock.”
By the mid ‘80s, the band members parted ways.
“Success can change things and as we just evolved in our lives, Dave (Jenkins) and I weren’t hitting it anymore,” Lerios says. “We really weren’t writing a lot. And what we were writing, we didn’t really like and nobody else seemed to like it either.
“I had other aspirations and I know Dave did. So, we split. We didn’t necessarily break up the band. We just went different directions.”
Lerios managed a really cool second act in Hollywood, scoring films and TV shows. In that realm, his credits include the 1993 Wesley Snipes action flick “Boiling Point,” the awesome 1991 horror epic “Child’s Play 3” and, most famously, “Baywatch.”
Jenkins also experienced a good deal of post-Pablo success, including spending a few years in the country group Southern Pacific and recording with Hawaiian vocalist Kapono Beamer.
About 20 years ago, Lerios and Jenkins decided to give Pablo Cruise another shot and they’ve been peddling the soft rock to eager crowds ever since. Yet, it’s not just the old-school fans who are showing up. Pablo Cruise – which now consists of Lerios, Jenkins, bassist Larry Antonino, drummer Sergio Gonzalez and percussionist Robbie Wyckoff – is also seeing a healthy contingent of younger listeners.
“One of my jokes is that ‘you are too young to be here,’” Lerios says. “Kids come up and say, ‘My parents played this music in the house all the time. I love it. Big fan.’
“You know, music – even though we try to compartmentalize it and try to give it a decade or a whatever - good music is good music.”
MOST NOTABLY, PABLO CRUISE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE METICULOUSLY PRODUCED SOFT-ROCK NUMBERS “WHATCHA GONNA DO?” AND “LOVE WILL FIND A WAY,” BOTH OF WHICH WERE TOP 10 HITS
AND RANK AS FIRST-TIER YACHT ROCK STAPLES.