http://travel-t-o-guatemala.blogspot.com/2011/10/health-and-medical-information-for.html
Health and Medical Information for Guatemala
Travel tips for your trip to Guatemala Hotel Maps Famous Places in Guatemala helps you to make your trip to Guatemala in the holiday a Splendid One
There are both public and private medical facilities in Guatemala City, but state-run hospitals tend to be under-funded and can be unhygienic. Private clinics should be used where possible. Comprehensive travel and medical insurance is strongly advised. Travellers should carry evidence of their insurance at all times, as doctors may be reluctant to treat them otherwise.
Food and drink:
Water used for drinking, brushing teeth or making ice should have first been boiled or otherwise sterilised. Bottled water is recommended. Milk may be unpasteurised and should be boiled. Powdered or tinned milk is advised. Avoid dairy products which are likely to have been made from unboiled milk. Only eat well-cooked meat and fish. Vegetables should be cooked and fruit peeled.
Other risks:
Vaccinations are sometimes advised for tuberculosis and hepatitis B. Dengue fever is endemic in Guatemala. Affected areas include Escuintla, the Pacific coast towns, Zacapa and Petén. Rabies occurs; if you are bitten, seek medical advice without delay.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Short History Of Guatemala and Culture
http://travel-t-o-guatemala.blogspot.com/2011/10/short-history-of-guatemala-and-culture.html
Short History Of Guatemala and Culture
Travel tips for your trip to Guatemala Hotel Maps Famous Places in Guatemala helps you to make your trip to Guatemala in the holiday a Splendid One
The Mayans were dominant through much of Central America from the fifth until the eighth century when their civilisation declined and a variety of other ethnic groups moved into the region. Europeans arrived in the 15th century, and Guatemala was Guatemala was conquered by Pedro de Alvarado in the 16th century. Pressure on their empire during the early 19th century forced the Spanish to concede independence to their American colonies, principally Mexico, into which Guatemala was briefly incorporated in 1822. Subsequent plans to fuse the countries of the Central American isthmus were equally short lived. Guatemala enjoyed comparative stability, punctuated by brief periods of upheaval, under a series of dictators who were content to keep the country under a quasi-feudal regime underpinned by a small clique of land-owning families.
The government of Colonel Arbenz Guzman attempted various land reforms in the early 1950s, but was overthrown by a US-backed invasion led by military opponents of Arbenz. The country then slid into a state of almost perpetual civil war between a series of right-wing military governments and various leftist guerrilla movements: a major figure during this period was the former general Efrain Rios Montt, a self-styled evangelist who as army chief of staff and (briefly) president during the 1970s and 80s presided over a vicious counter-insurgency campaign whose savagery was exceptional even by the standards of the era and the region.
Although Guatemala has completed a successful transition from military to civilian government, the military retains considerable political power. This transition began in May 1985, when Guatemala's new constitution was put into effect. The centre-right Partido Democracia Cristiana Guatemalteca (PDCG) formed the majority party in the new National Congress, staying in control until 1995 when they came up against serious challenges from the Plan por el Adelantamiento Nacional (National Advance Party, PAN), which is dominated by business interests, and the Frente Republicano - Guatemalteco (FRG), which enjoys close relations with the army and a coterie of established landowners. A period of political musical chairs ended at the start of 1995 with a FRG/PDCG coalition in control of the legislature. The 1995 election was notable for the participation, for the first time, of some left-wing parties allied to the anti-government guerrillas.
The most recent polls in December 2003 brought victory for the FRG for a second consecutive term. The FRG and PAN now dominate Guatemalan politics. Only now has the Government been prepared to admit that its predecessors, especially the Rios Montt regime, were responsible for massive human rights abuses: this is still a central and highly sensitive issue in Guatemalan domestic politics. An exhaustive UN-sponsored investigation concluded in 1999 that the army was responsible for 90 per cent of the estimated 200,000 killings. The complicity and active assistance of successive American governments in the counter-insurgency campaign was also highlighted, and drew an unprecedented apology from US president Bill Clinton. Under the terms of the deal (see above) which ended the civil war, the culprits will go unpunished.
In July 2002, the Pope visited Guatemala. This was a major event in this deeply Catholic country. John Paul canonised the country's first saint, the 17th-century missionary Pedro de San Jose de Betancur.
Abroad, the main issue facing the country remains the dispute with neighbouring Belize, over which Guatemala has territorial claims; 1993 saw the signing of a non-aggression pact by the two governments, and as a concession, Belize granted the Guatemalans access to its maritime facilities. The following year, however, the Guatemalan government reasserted its territorial claim at the UN; in 2000, it did so again, claiming half of Belize's current territory. Despite international mediation efforts, relations between the two remained tense. Then, in September 2002, the Organisation of American States (the main pan-regional political alliance) brokered a draft settlement of the dispute which may form the basis for a permanent accord.
Short History Of Guatemala and Culture
Travel tips for your trip to Guatemala Hotel Maps Famous Places in Guatemala helps you to make your trip to Guatemala in the holiday a Splendid One
The Mayans were dominant through much of Central America from the fifth until the eighth century when their civilisation declined and a variety of other ethnic groups moved into the region. Europeans arrived in the 15th century, and Guatemala was Guatemala was conquered by Pedro de Alvarado in the 16th century. Pressure on their empire during the early 19th century forced the Spanish to concede independence to their American colonies, principally Mexico, into which Guatemala was briefly incorporated in 1822. Subsequent plans to fuse the countries of the Central American isthmus were equally short lived. Guatemala enjoyed comparative stability, punctuated by brief periods of upheaval, under a series of dictators who were content to keep the country under a quasi-feudal regime underpinned by a small clique of land-owning families.
The government of Colonel Arbenz Guzman attempted various land reforms in the early 1950s, but was overthrown by a US-backed invasion led by military opponents of Arbenz. The country then slid into a state of almost perpetual civil war between a series of right-wing military governments and various leftist guerrilla movements: a major figure during this period was the former general Efrain Rios Montt, a self-styled evangelist who as army chief of staff and (briefly) president during the 1970s and 80s presided over a vicious counter-insurgency campaign whose savagery was exceptional even by the standards of the era and the region.
Although Guatemala has completed a successful transition from military to civilian government, the military retains considerable political power. This transition began in May 1985, when Guatemala's new constitution was put into effect. The centre-right Partido Democracia Cristiana Guatemalteca (PDCG) formed the majority party in the new National Congress, staying in control until 1995 when they came up against serious challenges from the Plan por el Adelantamiento Nacional (National Advance Party, PAN), which is dominated by business interests, and the Frente Republicano - Guatemalteco (FRG), which enjoys close relations with the army and a coterie of established landowners. A period of political musical chairs ended at the start of 1995 with a FRG/PDCG coalition in control of the legislature. The 1995 election was notable for the participation, for the first time, of some left-wing parties allied to the anti-government guerrillas.
The most recent polls in December 2003 brought victory for the FRG for a second consecutive term. The FRG and PAN now dominate Guatemalan politics. Only now has the Government been prepared to admit that its predecessors, especially the Rios Montt regime, were responsible for massive human rights abuses: this is still a central and highly sensitive issue in Guatemalan domestic politics. An exhaustive UN-sponsored investigation concluded in 1999 that the army was responsible for 90 per cent of the estimated 200,000 killings. The complicity and active assistance of successive American governments in the counter-insurgency campaign was also highlighted, and drew an unprecedented apology from US president Bill Clinton. Under the terms of the deal (see above) which ended the civil war, the culprits will go unpunished.
In July 2002, the Pope visited Guatemala. This was a major event in this deeply Catholic country. John Paul canonised the country's first saint, the 17th-century missionary Pedro de San Jose de Betancur.
Abroad, the main issue facing the country remains the dispute with neighbouring Belize, over which Guatemala has territorial claims; 1993 saw the signing of a non-aggression pact by the two governments, and as a concession, Belize granted the Guatemalans access to its maritime facilities. The following year, however, the Guatemalan government reasserted its territorial claim at the UN; in 2000, it did so again, claiming half of Belize's current territory. Despite international mediation efforts, relations between the two remained tense. Then, in September 2002, the Organisation of American States (the main pan-regional political alliance) brokered a draft settlement of the dispute which may form the basis for a permanent accord.
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