The trip report is at the end.

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We had only one week to plan for this trip. A friend of ours, Dolor, is ridding his motorcycle with his wife Angela and another great friend Mike from Brazil and Ushuaia, all the way up to our home in California, and when he was in Bogota, right before shipping the bikes, we talked and we plan to be in Guatemala for a long weekend.

We search many airlines and United+American were the best tickets available in a such short notice so we grab it.

We depart from LAX at 10:00PM and 5:00 AM local time we were in Guatemala City International Airport.
Mike was there waiting for us with a rental car and off we went to their hotel, got a room and had some rest until 9:00AM on Friday.

Wake up and had breakfast with all our friends eating the apple pie we brought all the way from home, load the car secured the bikes on the hotel garage and start our short journey to Guatemala.

Our first destination is Tikal, but before we need to go Guatemala City downtown. Beautiful old city, with a lot of life on the streets as you may see on the pictures below, with people, animals, cars, horse wagons, trucks, buses, all sharing the same streets.
Took us about couple of hours to get from the hotel to a clean road Northeast towards Tikal, and we saw many interesting and different things on those two hours.
Public transportation there seams a bit short so people try to move themselves in many different ways, like in the open bad of trucks, or even on top of cargo. The buses are always very full and frequently you see people hanging off the doors. However, as crazy it may looks like, we did not see any accident on our whole trip, unless our own when a truck run over the bumper on our car, but that is for later.

Once we were on the country roads, CA09 towards Lake Izabela, we saw gorgeous landscape with many green mountains, calm prairies and magnificent farms. 
We had a late lunch near Los Amates that is way up East and maybe couple hours from Atlantic Ocean. From there we got Ca13 towards Santa Helena and Lago Peten.
We arrived at Santa Elena very late that night, got our self’s into the Gran Hotel de la Isla in the middle of the lake (there is a bridge that takes you from the main land to an island in the lake) and called that a day.
Of course before that we got lost, we try to get as close as we could to Tikal, the Mayan old city, there were no rooms available and so, but was fun.
Next morning we had a very Guatemaleco breakfast in the hotel and depart to Tikal.

Tikal was a pleasant surprise. Much better then what I was expecting. The ruins that are more then 1000 years old are in great display conditions. Guatemala government is taking serious on restoration and preserve of this world second larges Maya town and all displays are there for you to fell as you went back to the time before Colombo.

Afternoon we rode back to Santa Elena and from there we got a rode to Coban. Another great experience with magnificent sceneries on Guatemala prairies near the board with Mexico.
We had to cross a river using a ferry (free) and had opportunity to see kids and some adults having fun at the river beach. Many of them were there sum bating, swimming, playing on a very clear and seams clean river.
At Coban we had dinner in a street quioske that sells Empanadas Argentinas. I have to say, the best ones I had so far. It belongs to an Argentinean businessman that moved to Guatemala end felt in love. He told us many interesting stories right there on the sidewalk of the main plaza in Coban.

We got our self inside a 400 years old hotel and had a wonderful night.
Next morning was Sunday and we went towards Antigua Guatemala. The road was a big adventure. Many miles of unpaved narrow road, where we had to share it with big trucks and squeeze our car on the side of mountain or cliff. Then it happens: in a small town Santa Cruz Del Quiche, a big truck, 18 wheelers, was driving on the wrong side of the street, because that was the only one it could cross the town, the official driver was outside the truck, waving to the cars to squeeze to the left, and his 14 years old son was driving the truck. Well… he miss our car, but the nuts of the truck front wheel got the rear bumper and rip it totally of.

We were so close to Antigua Guatemala, way before noon, did good time in spite the bad roads, and now this…
Dolor had many experience driving in South and Central America,  he and his wife already done it on a motorcycle 3 times. So the told us that would be better if the ladies got a bus and go to Antigua and we stay to resolve the issue. That was a wise advise since took us the whole afternoon to clear the incident and get the insurance paperwork.
Angela and Eliane got a local bus, full of people, and went to Antigua were they had a terrific time on a local open fair. Many different people from different regions congregate here on Sundays to exchange goods and they could experience that in a full color and fervent business.
We arrived there around 5:00PM and still could get a little of the action.
Next morning we book a trip to a famous active volcano, Pacaya, and before the bus depart, we had a chance to get to know Antigua Guatemala a little better. Many ruins are there from the 3 or 4 times the city was destroyed from one local volcano until they decide to move the city to the actual Guatemala City. Many stores sell very interesting things there and the people are very friendly and helpful. The students from the local school were all on the main plaza enjoying a sunny school day and playing games.
Our bus to the volcano arrived and of we go. It was about 2 hours to the base of the volcano, plus 1 and half hour walking up the mountain. It was a long walking but we were rewarded with lava rolling down the mountain at 1400F degrees that I could poke my wood bar and see it just disappear in aches. My walking shoes sole was melting stepping on all that lava that was there. The volcano has had a big eruption just couple of weeks before and this is way it was that active still. We had a perfect timing for that visit.
We walk back down the mountain, rode the bus back to Antigua got the car and went to Guatemala city, since next morning early we had to get the plane back to home.
Guatemala was a great experience for both of us. It was much better then we expected it would be and it’s in our plans to go back there with more time now.
The people are very happy and peaceful; even do you will see guards full armed all over the place with big shot guns, pistols and Machine gun. They dress in a colorful manner and after just a couple days you are able to identify them from the different states that Guatemala is formed.
The food was very good and nobody got sick at all. We eat local food every where we went on all 4 days w/o any problems.
I just notice how easy is to have a cell phone there. Kids, moms, I almost sure that even homeless looks like they have cell phone.
The traffic is a bit chaotic but I would say it’s not dangerous since people do not speed to much there and they are more o less respectful within each other.
The hotels there you will find for each pocket and taste and we stay on modest hotels at a very reasonable price.
Do not expect to see many directions sights there. Asking where that road goes is much better then asking if that roads goes to city XYZ. Do it 3 or 4 times and you will have your directions. Ride 50 to 60 kilometers and then do it again, unless you stay on the main roads.
Do not miss Tikal. It’s a must go.
Some pictures below.

Guatemala City downtown.

The goats divide the road with people and cars...

Most of the bikes there were on the 150cc range.

The traffic was quite heavy on the roads near Guatemala City

This is the Maia city of Tikal.

It's about 1000 years old.

Who is Elton

I was born in Brazil and my wife and I moved to USA, California in 1996, for a change in our lives. Took us some time to learn the language and get into this country, but I think we are doing very well expect the learning a new language after 35 is not easy. We became citizens in 2007.
 My wife and I we love to travel and by the time I was writing this page, we have logged more them 100.000 miles on few motorcycles we had and now we are riding this BMW K1200LT 2002 and the BMW R1150GS 2003, many more miles on our car and much more on the airplane.
Winter we do Snowmobile, Summer we go to the lakes for water sports (PWC) and we motorcycle year around (one of the goods of living in sunny California).