Las Escobas Springs Reserve (Guatemala)

Our third stop, and my second new country on this trip, was Santo Tomas, Guatemala. Here, my husband and I went on different excursions. I chose a visit to Las Escobas Springs Reserve, which is part of the Cerro San Gil Protected Area, one of the last remaining tracts of very humid tropical forests within Central America. The Nature Conservancy and its partner, Fundación para el Desarrollo y la Conservación (FUNDAECO), are working to conserve this incredibly important rainforest.

Natural pool seen through trees

I boarded a bus for the short drive to the reserve, where my group hiked easily along very well maintained wooden paths and stopped regularly to admire the waterfalls and various trees. It was a bit too late in the day to see birds but the flora and water were well worth the visit.

Waterfall

Water flowing over rocks

I chatted with our guide a bit and learned that he’d taken an 8-hour bus ride that morning and would be returning home the same way afterwards. A very long way for half a day of work, but he was grateful for the opportunity to earn his living, especially while visiting such a beautiful place.

Cacao pods in various stages of ripeness

After the hike, we watched a brief tortilla-making demonstration and were given a small ball of dough to shape our own. After we set them on the grill to be cooked, we were able to fill them as we liked with beans, cheese, onions, avocado, and tomatoes. Absolutely delicious!

Making tortilla dough

Cooking tortillas on the grill

Topics: Food, Guatemala, Nature
 

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