Flying the Rio Negro Pass into the Ixcan lowlands

My family and I departed Guatemala City to return to our home in Mayalan in the Ixcan region of the Quiche department. The flight through the Siera de Chama Mountains is always breathtaking, especially this area over the Rio Negro where I frequently find a break in the clouds that allows me to descend into the Ixcan lowlands. Images like this may give you an idea of how remote this area is and how difficult road transporation can be. Many villages here have no road and rely on airstrips for emergency medical transportation, as well as more common cargo transport.