Guatemala Guide
The Verapaces
San Juan Chamelco
Seven kilometres southeast of Cobán, SAN JUAN CHAMELCO is the most important Q'eqchi' settlement in the area. Some of your fellow bus passengers are likely to be women dressed in traditional costume, wearing beautiful cascades of old coins for earrings. The town's focal point is a large colonial church, whose facade is rather unexpectedly decorated with twin Maya versions of the Habsburg double eagle – undoubtedly a result of the historic German presence in the region. The most significant treasure, the church bell, is hidden in the belfry; it was a gift to the Maya leader Juan Matalbatz from no less than the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
The large market around the church sells anything from local farm produce to blue jeans, but very little in the way of crafts. During the annual fiesta procession (July 24) locals dress up in outfits ranging from pre-conquest Maya costumes to representations of local wildlife.
Just 5km from Chamelco is a great place to stay, Don Jerónimo's ( 
5301 3191, 
www.dearbrutus.com/donjeronimo ; Price: US$25 per head for full board), a quirky, vegetarian guesthouse-cum-retreat in sublime rolling countryside, run by a friendly American who has been living off the land here for over twenty years. Guest bungalows are rustic but comfortable, and have private bathrooms. There's river tubing and good swimming close by and an impressive library to browse on rainy days. From Chamelco, minibuses heading for the village of Chamíl pass by the lodge; they leave regularly from 0 Calle and 0 Avenida.
Just 500m from Don Jerónimo's are the Grutas de Rey Marcos (daily 9am–5pm; US$3.50 including guide service, hard hat and boot rental), a series of caves discovered in May 1998. The cave system is more than a kilometre long, though the tour only takes you a little way into the complex – you have to wade across an underground river at one stage to see some of the best stalactites and stalagmites, including one that's a dead ringer for the Leaning Tower of Pisa.