Geography

The country is about the size of England, and is mostly mountainous with the exceptions of the large lowlands of Peten in the north, and the southern coast. The larger cities like Guatemala City, Escuintla and Quetzaltenango are in the south of the country. The climate varies from hot tropical, to more temperate in the highlands and drier in the east. The largest lake is the popular Lago de Izabal, one of 5 lakes in the country. There are also 60 lagoons and 100 rivers, which form part of 252 recorded wetlands.Other locations of interest include the remote Mayan village of Nebaj in the Chuchumatanes mountains, and the enchanting highland lake, Lago de Atitlán.

Guatemala City

The largest city has a population of 3 million made up of a cosmopolitan mix of Mestizos, Spanish, Europeans, Chinese and Koreans, Jewish, Peruvian and Colombian. It is divided into 22 zones with their own roads and unique address system which perhaps appears very structured. The centre of the city is Zone One with many of the historic buildings of significance like the Cathedral, Congress, Library, Plaza de la Constitucion. This was the site of the original ancient Mayan city of Kaminlaljuyu dating back to 1200 BC. Many of the ancient ruins have been protected and constitute important archeological sites.

La ciudad más grande tiene una población de 3 millones que se compone de una mezcla cosmopolita de Mestizos, españoles, europeos, chinos y coreanos, judío, peruanos y colombianos. Se divide en 22 zonas con sus propios caminos y sistema de dirección única que quizás aparece muy estructurado. El centro de la ciudad es una zona con muchos edificios históricos de importancia como la Catedral, el Congreso, la biblioteca, la Plaza de la Constitución. Este fue el sitio de la original antigua ciudad Maya de Kaminlaljuyu que se remonta a 1200 AC. Muchas de las antiguas ruinas han sido protegidos y constituyen importantes sitios arqueológicos.

Economy

Guatemala is still a poor country by american standards with 50% of the population below the povery line, and a GDP of $5k per capita. The main components of GDP are the service sector at 59% and agriculture at 22% but all the industrial sector is only 19%. The country has certain natural resources like gold, silver, cobalt, nickel and zinc. However 40% of exports are agricultural produce like coffee, sugar, bananas and vegetables. Certainly the ending of the long civil war provided a boost to outside investment. Tourism is also now flourishing, but the largest source of income from outside is the revenue sent back to family from Guatemalans working in the USA and other countries.

Algunos de los mejores cafés del mundo se producen en las tierras altas cerca de Antigua. Tiene especia, flores, humo y chocolate todos mezclados con una variedad de acidez para crear una maravillosa taza. Otras áreas expuestas al clima húmedo producen cafés que son no más poderosa pero con matices complejos. Por ejemplo, Huehuetenango desde la Costa Caribe y San Marcos de la costa del Pacífico. Otras áreas nutren los cafés con un gusto más ligero, pero con sabores más brillantes. En general, usted no será decepcionado con cualquier café de Guatemala.