June 26, 2007

Finca Ixobel is a mandatory stop for anyone camping or backpacking on the eastern side of Guatemala.

It is run by an American women, whose husband was violently murdered by the Guatemalan military in June1990.

According to media reports at the time, Mike and Carol Devine, had wandered down to Guatemala in the early 1970s, and eventually adopted two Mayan children and opened Finca Ixobel a few kilometres south of Poptún.

Devine’s high-profile murder touched off an international row and led to the US suspending military aid to Guatemala a few months later. It was subsequently learned that a colonel in the Guatemala army. who had known about the murder by the military death squad and had helped to over up, was a paid CIA informant.

The reason for the murder has never been pinpointed although, according to the media reports he may inadvertently become aware of the army’s involvement in drug or timber smuggling.

Five low-ranking army soldiers were convicted of Devine’s murder in 1992. A captain was also convicted of orchestrating the murder but he later escaped from prison.

Carol Devine stayed at Finca Ixobel, and today it is a hotel, campground and restaurant compound situated on a beautiful expanse of property. When were there it was fully subscribed by a team of doctors affiliated with the Feed the Children organization.

It also offers all the activities you would find at a summer camp for adults: a swimming hole, late-night bar, cave tours, fire shows by the staff, etc. We saddled up a couple of horses at Finca Ixobel and went for a trail ride.

Finca Ixobel is also a working farm and has a small organic garden that supplies the restaurant. The food here is top notch and includes an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet. It also has a bakery with fresh baking dropped off each day by the locals at 4:30 am.

The best part about Finca Ixobel for us, however, was that it is situated at a higher, cooler elevation in the foothills of the mountains. This meant that it felt like a Vancouver summer and we could camp in the van comfortably once again. Now if only we could rid of the flies, which we were pervasive that we were forced to set up our outside "patio" netting for the first time on the trip.

Enroute from the Tikal Ruins to Finca Ixobel, we had spent one night in Flores, the historic island town that is the capital of Peten, one of Guatemala’s 22 departments. Our time in Flores was basically all business: doing laundry, catching up on the internet, and trying to get the tempermental lock to the driver's side door repaired.

From Flores, it had only taken us 90 minutes on the empty CA 13 highway to drive the 100 kilometres to Finca Ixobel. The scenic highlights of this stretch were the small hills/earth mounds that look like buried Mayan pyramids and the pine-tree forests.

The cultural highlight was passing by the locals who, being a Sunday, had gathered at various stretches along the highway to socialize and watch the traffic.

Key Facts & Figures:

-Finca Ixobel campsite: $6.50/night
-Horseback Riding: $11/person

Sources:
“On Her Guatemalan Ranch, American Retraces Slaying” New York Times (March 28, 1995)