Have you been to Guatemala? My husband, Lucas, and I will be traveling there soon for work, so I looked up a few facts that probably won’t aide me in my travels, but you never know.
The Guatemalan flag has three equal vertical bands of color—light blue/white/light blue with a coat of arms in its center. Both the outer blue bands stand for Guatemala’s two water borders, the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The white band in the middle denotes peace and purity. The coat of arms is a pair of crossed rifles to signify Guatemala’s willingness to defend, a pair of crossed swords to signify honor, and a laurel wreath to symbolize victory. The flag also bears a scroll with the September 15, 1821 date of independence from Spain and their beautiful national bird, the quetzal.
The flag of Guatemala, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, K21edgo
Interestingly, their currency is named after this stunning bird. They trade quetzals.
So, a little further research, and low-and-behold the quetzal’s beautiful lengthy tail feathers were used as currency by the Mayan people. Very cool, however, I will be using the current typical-looking banknotes for my purchases.
A male Resplendent Quetzal. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Dick Bos
And just in case I happen upon a quetzal flying overhead, I plan to have my camera ready.
Hi Megan,
Just clicked on a facebook link and ended up here! So great to hear you are traveling to Guatemala. Are you bringing the kids? I have been there twice … it is one of my favorite places in the world. Morgan and I have family friends in Guatemala City if you need a contact. They both went to the University of Indiana (the wife is American) and met Morgan’s Aunt there. They have a couple kids and are extremely welcoming. Guate is very dangerous at night so make sure you make concrete plans for when you get there… Places you should go if you can… Tikal, Finca Isabel, Coban, Panajachel. El Mirador is the new ruin that has recently been excavated… Morgan and I hiked there before it was all unearthed. Just was featured in the Smithsonian and looks amazing. Hope you all are well. Wish I could pack myself in your suitcase!
-Taylor
So great to hear from you Taylor. We are so excited. We will only have a couple of days for exploring but can’t wait. It’s just the two of us. Glad to hear you’ve been and loved it. I wish I could pack you in my suitcase too! Huge hugs to you and Morgan and kids!!