Guatemala

Chichicastengo's colorful cemetery is well worth a visit if you're in town for the famous market day.

Tikal, in northern Guatemala, was once one the largest and most powerful of the Maya cities. Today it has been most taken over by jungle.

Central America is where American school buses go to retire. In the balmy tropical climes of places like Guatemala and Honduras, they're given a new, colorful lease on life.

I'm on a real Caribbean island. But it's 100 miles from the sea. Flores is a tiny island village in Guatemala's Lake Peten Itza. It makes for a convenient jumping off point for visiting the nearby Maya ruins of Tikal.

Just outside Antigua, Pacaya is one of several active volcanos that make up the Central American Volcanic Arc.

Chichicastenango is a town where buying and selling is everything. Its markets are reputed to be the largest in Central America; the range of wares on offer is truly impressive. And the indigenous Maya culture adds a distinct local flavor to the town.

If God and the government had their way, Antigua wouldn't exist. But it's a good thing it does. With charming Spanish colonial architecture, cobblestone streets, and a vibrant cultural life, it's a wonderful place to visit.

Guatemalans sure love their fireworks. And Chichicastenango, in the Guatemalan highlands, is not a place that considers fireworks only night-time entertainment.

Guatemala City isn't a popular tourist destination, in large part because of the scourge of violent crime, but there are some things worth seeing in this otherwise crowded and poverty-stricken city.