The first stop is in San Jerónimo, a really enchanting place where the old sugar mill is the main tourist attraction. A road sided by trees of love flowers (this tree is known with this name because they say that as well as love, it first gives flowers and then it fills with scabbards, which in Spanish means problems) and ornamented with adobe houses with red tile roofs leads to a small, calm, clean and cozy village. Its beautiful church built in the XVII Century is only a sample of what the Dominicans did in this region. From the church you need to walk a few meters to get to the old sugar mill. This was built in the same century to manufacture sugar.

After finishing the tour we go back to the car and on our way to Salamá. Calmness is one of the main characteristics of this city which shelters a church filled with centennial treasures.

Contrary to what we are used to appreciate in the south coast, the towns of Baja Verapaz are distinguished for the neatness of its streets and parks, as well as the sensation of peace, which is obvious on the warm and open smile of its inhabitants, who wave nicely when you pass by.

The night is cloudy and the youngsters start walking in groups or couples between the benches of the park, the fainted lights of the public street lighting start functioning and a soft breeze blows as if it was trying to invite the people to walk toward their houses.

Awakening is simple, the sound of the bells and the singing of the birds tell you that the sun starts shining again and through the slit of the door a light aroma of fried plantains starts to flow.

After a breakfast made for the gods, as one of the table companions expresses, we start our trip to the house of the famous writer from Salamá, Benjamin Ramos. Besides his ability as writer, Benjamin is also known and loved in all the town, because with the spark of his cleverness he has managed to recreate magical moments of the life of the residents, and he keeps records in papers printed with an old typing machine with the explanation of many of the nicknames of the settlers. But his narrations are not only these, also the story of this small city is kept in his memory and with soft words he brings them back from the old times when he tells us about the cobblestone old streets and the water troughs that have been recently destroyed.

The city is settled in the valley of Urrán and one of its main attractions is a dazzling church built according to the Manierism style, which possesses beautiful paintings of different artistic styles. It is also worthwhile to visit El Calvario, which is located over a hill, and to get there you need to climb 120 stairs, it is now being refurbished. From this point you can contemplate the whole city and breath a fresher air.

And, of course, you must walk through its reduced central park baptized with the name of the writer Miguel Angel Asturias, or sit down in one of its benches while the boys and girls run around between the gardens, this gives you a very nice feeling.

Only nine kilometers from Salamá you will find a small delightful village, and if you thought that San Jerónimo was calmed, in here you will not only feel peace but also breathe it. Its charming park has a small gazebo and a fountain that were built around 1880, to one side the white church gives it a special and ancient touch, as well as a small posa chapel (chapel for special ceremonies) and on the other side a long roofed porch with tiles that shelters several offices.

Behind the church you will find the market, where after ten o'clock in the morning the noise becomes an echo that can be heard even outside, and where many of its settlers reunite to take a sip of a gourd cup of white atole with hot pepper.

Then, taking a hilled road filled with curves you will get to Rabinal, where you can find several archeological sites, like Cahyp, which is one of the main ones. This town is an important interchange center and the land of the most delicious oranges. But the main attraction of Rabinal, at least during this trip, was the time we shared in a pottery factory, where the teacher, with lots of patience, tried to make us feel the sensation of modeling the clay and the satisfaction of having a hand-made piece in front of us.

Summarizing, the trip was very pleasant, we had good climate and the calmness of the place helped us end with the accumulated stress, but maybe the best thing of all was the cordiality of his inhabitants that left us hoping we will soon come back.

Baja Verapaz has a territorial extension of 3,124 square kilometers, equivalent to 2.9% of the national territory. It was created on May 4, 1877 when the Region of Las Verapaces was divided. Its original name was Tucurután, sometimes written as Tuzulutlán or Tezulutlán, which means, war land, due to the indigenous resistance to the Spaniards. It was later called Verapaz (or Real Peace), since the union of the region was accomplished by pacific means.