ESSENTIALS - Guatemala - page 666

their way across the lake from Panajachel to the outlying villages. Boat service is also a
major form of transportation in coastal areas, particularly in Izabal department along the
Río Dulce, on Lake Izabal, and in coastal areas such as Lívingston and Puerto Barrios. On
the Pacific side, motorboats traverse the Canal de Chiquimulilla, which separates the Pa-
cific seaboard from the Guatemalan mainland along much of the coast.
HIGHWAY OVERVIEW
Roads in Guatemala are surprisingly good in some places, particularly on well-trodden
paths like the Pan-American Highway. They are much better, overall, than the roads in
neighboring Belize and Costa Rica. Roads in and around tourist areas are generally well
marked,somecourtesyoftheGuatemalastatetourismagency,INGUAT(InstitutoGuatem-
alteco de Turismo). If while driving, you come across a large tree branch in the middle of
the road, be prepared to stop. This is Guatemalans' way of officially signaling that danger
liesahead,usuallyintheformofacarstoppedbythesideoftheroad.Whetheritbebybus
or by car, do not travel on rural highways in Guatemala after dark.
Guatemala has several main highways. The Pan-American Highway (CA 1), also
known as the Interamericana, runs from the Mexican border at La Mesilla through much
of the Western Highlands, to Guatemala City and east to El Salvador at San Cristóbal bor-
der. This is the road taken (at least for much of the journey) from Guatemala City to many
of the main travel destinations, including La Antigua, Lake Atitlán, Quetzaltenango, and
Huehuetenango. CA 1 has been expanded to four lanes from Guatemala City all the way to
the Cuatro Caminos junction near Quetzaltenango.
The Pacific Coast Highway (CA 2) crosses the Pacific slope from the Mexican border
at Tecún Umán all the way to Ciudad Pedro de Alvarado and El Salvador. A new, wider
Pacific highway is in the planning stages.
Highway CA 9 runs from the Pacific Coast to Guatemala City, encompassing the coun-
try's only toll road: a good, fast autopista , or freeway. From Guatemala City, the highway
heads east to Puerto Barrios and is being widened to four lanes from the capital to El Ran-
cho Junction. CA 14 branches north from El Rancho into the departments of Baja and Alta
Verapaz.
Continuing east along CA 9, the next junction is at Río Hondo, where CA 10 branches
southeasttoZacapaandChiquimulabeforelinkinguptoeastboundCA11forCopán,Hon-
duras.BackonthemainbranchofCA9,CA13isthedesignationgiventotheroadbranch-
ing off at La Ruidosa junction, just before Puerto Barrios, heading north to Río Dulce and
continuing to Petén. It arrives in Flores and then branches eastward to the Belize border at
Melchor de Mencos.
A road crossing the country from Izabal department west all the way to Huehuetenango,
calledthe Franja Transversal del Norte, wasunderconstructionatthetimeofpublication.