I had first visited the highland hamlet of Ixchiguan, Guatemala in 1977, when a friend and backpacked the "Gringo Trail" through Central America. At that time the town was little more than a collection of adobe huts on a dusty crossroad. Forty years later, my wife and I drove into Ixchiguan on smooth, newly paved roads (some of the best we had seen on our journey down the Pan American highway), and new construction gleamed in the bright light.
I asked a local what had caused Ixchiguan's recent economic success. "Remensas", he said (remensas are remittances from locals working abroad), "and we grow potatoes and carrots." Later we would come to learn that Ixchiguan is part of Guatemala's "Opium Triangle", where the peace is at times is shattered by rival organizations battling over the lucrative trade. Carrots indeed.
In retrospect, while some tourists might have feared to travel through such an ill-reputed region, we found only beautiful scenery and friendly, welcoming people.