Client Highlight | Guatemala Heritage Trip

This month we were fortunate to help a client take their adopted son back to his homeland of Guatemala. Their trip focuses on exploring the varied landscape and learning about the local culture. They were able to visit a local farmer to learn about peanut butter making, even having a taste of their own freshly made creation. They also enjoyed a guided tour of Tikal, a vast area of Mayan ruins, and hiking an active volcano.Our clients were delighted to see their son connect with his native heritage in ways they could never have imagined. Here’s a memorable moment they shared with us: “Pique arranged a Mayan ceremony for my family at the Mayan ruins in Tecpan, Guatemala. Our guide, Carla, led us through the site, explaining the layout of the buildings and the culture and history of the people that lived there. When we got to the end of the tour, a Spiritual Guide performed an ancient Mayan ceremony for us. He prayed for our each of us in turn and then prayed for peace, tranquility and harmony for our family. He explained that by lighting candles, tobacco, sugar, rosemary and incense, the fire would bring our scented prayers up to heaven. He asked if we had any questions, and our son, who we adopted from Guatemala, asked how he would know his Guatemalan ancestors. The spiritual guide said he would let the fire answer his question. He gave our son a handful of candles and told him to whisper his question to the candles and then throw them in the fire. He then read the answer based on how the candles landed in the fire. This ceremony was very moving for us, as it connected our son to his heritage and was so personal to our family.”

Creating this itinerary reminded us that authentic, personal experiences is what travel is all about. At Pique Travel, we’re thankful to have amazing in-country partners to help us provide such powerful and lasting memories.