Before you come to Guatemala, I want you to know this…

When we travel to other countries, the first thing we do (or what most people around the world do) is search on Google for information about the destination we will visit. Sometimes we even guide ourselves with these articles that tell us the top 10 things to do in a place, the best restaurants to visit, etc.

And although they clearly work, many times they don’t allow us to get to know a country from its most genuine side. Its everyday life, its people, the details that we can only perceive if instead of seeing ourselves as just a traveler, we dare to live a country from its roots.

So before traveling to Guatemala, there are certain things I want you to know…

To visit Guatemala, you have to take it slowly. Without pressure and without a packed agenda that doesn’t allow you to appreciate the most genuine part of our country.

Even if you don’t believe me, the best way to travel to Guate and get to know it from a deeper place is by traveling light. But not light in things — light in expectations, light in time, light in the sense that everything that distracts us from appreciating it with our own eyes, we set aside.

Sometimes it’s enough to spend a day walking through the streets of Zona 4 in Guatemala City, have a small cafecito in Zona Viva, and observe artisans and street vendors to understand the dynamic of many chapines.

It’s enough to wake up one day in Antigua Guatemala very early in the morning and go to any park and notice the vendors who start from very early in the day for all those people who want to buy a panito con frijol and a small cafecito for breakfast before working in the street.

It’s enough to visit markets and talk to the vendors to understand the wonderful variety of fruits and vegetables that we grow ourselves in Guatemala, and that makes our gastronomy so unique by using organic products.

It’s enough to talk to the person who takes you in a shuttle or Uber to understand how life works for a chapín.

It’s incredible how much you can learn if you take the trip slowly, and something I want to tell you in advance is that surely the things we had planned will take a different direction. Because you met a Guatemalan who invited you to do something different or stayed talking with you for a long time. Because the traffic in our country is intense and you take longer to get from one place to another. Or because you simply understood that here it is about appreciating those small things without planning them, which become the greatest treasure and make you not just a traveler, but feel like a local.

So don’t feel overwhelmed if your plans start to take unexpected turns; that is exactly where you will notice that you are truly experiencing Guatemala in the way I would love for you to.

Also, before traveling, keep in mind that if you search on Google, the first thing that will appear are volcanoes to hike and see the sunrise, landscapes, etc. It is also likely that you will see photographs of Tikal, a sacred place for the Mayan culture that is now cultural heritage. You will probably find places to go out, restaurants, Lake Atitlán, and while all of this, in the eyes of anyone (even for us who see it more often), is impressive, I assure you that at the end of your trip, when remembering the stories, what you will miss and appreciate the most is the people.

Because Guatemalans are very kind, funny, talkative, and open, so what you will remember is its people.

So before traveling to Guatemala, remember that beauty is in the simplicity of living and appreciating what this country has that is not on Google, that appears without planning it. The laughter, the exchange of words with others. The chaos you will see in the traffic of the city. The local food, the people who help make this trip one that you will not only remember for its landscapes or for checking one more country off your list

You will remember Guatemala because beauty is found in those small things that, at first glance or by searching online, are difficult to find.