Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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DINING, AND LODGING.
During colonial times, Petén remained a backwater, the only Spanish settlement being the
island city of Flores, a pleasant town of pastel-colored houses that remains the region's
maintouristserviceshub.In1840,GuatemalanPresidentRafaelCarreradispatchedasmall
platoon of soldiers to officially claim the Petén region as part of the country. Mexico de-
cidedtheterritorywasnotworththetroubleofcontesting.Theregionhasbeenabackwater
ever since, officially the poorest of Guatemala's departments, which is especially evident
totravelers cominginfromBelize alonganunpavedhighwaylinedwithcattle ranchesand
simple thatched-roof huts.
Peténharbors550,000ofGuatemala'sinhabitants, makingitthecountry'smostsparsely
populated region, though its rate of population increase from immigration is the highest in
