Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
contrast to semiarid plains in the mountain's rain shadow along the neighboring Motagua
Valley. Petén receives 200-381 centimeters (80-150 inches) of rain annually, which falls
throughoutmostoftheyear.TherainiestplaceinGuatemalaissaidtobetheCerroSanGil
rainforest, on the Caribbean Coast, where warm, moist air rises from the ocean and dumps
precipitation on this small mountain chain. There is really no dry season to speak of in this
area.
There are sometimes breaks in the rainfall, known as
canícula,
for a week or two in July
and/or August. Rainfall can vary substantially from year to year, which is due to factors
such as the presence of El Niño or La Niña. El Niño often means a prolonged dry season,
which can lead to intense wildfires in forested areas such as Petén.
Hurricanes and tropical storms sometimes hit Guatemala during the latter months of the
rainy season, causing widespread damage. Much of this is due to soil saturation on defor-
ested and waterlogged hillsides, which give way to devastating mudslides, as occurred in
parts of the Lake Atitlán basin after Hurricane Stan in 2005. Hurricane Mitch also left a
trailofdevastationalongtheCaribbeanCoastin1998,obliteratingmuchofthebananahar-
vest and destroying thousands of homes.
Guatemala'senvironmentalissues,particularlyinregardtotropicaldeforestation,canseem
daunting at times. The country and its people seem to be caught in a vicious cycle that will
end only when the environmental degradation reaches its peak and the consequences are
fully reaped. It seems greed, apathy, poverty, corruption, ignorance, and neglect have all
conspired against Guatemala's precious natural resources. I do not mean to sound pessim-
istic in my introduction to this subject. I just think I've had the opportunity to see what's at
stake, having explored much of Guatemala during my teenage years and seeing firsthand
the gradual encroachment of the agricultural frontier into what was once virgin forest. It
is hoped that visitors to Guatemala, much like those to Belize and Costa Rica, will play a
pivotal role in getting Guatemalans to fully appreciate the abundant natural heritage with
which their country has been blessed, enabling the conservation of these resources to be-
come a source of economic and moral value.
There is a long way to go to make environmental awareness a matter of national con-
sciousness, asdemonstrated byhowfrequently onesees garbage bythe roadside orcar and
bus passengers casually throwing refuse out their windows. The problem of raising this
consciousnessisexacerbatedwhenonetakesintoaccounttheoverwhelminglackofeduca-
tion ofthe general populace, with its alarming levels ofilliteracy,and the fact that environ-
mental protection always takes a back seat when it comes downtoa question ofpreserving
the forest or cutting it down to plant subsistence crops.
