:00:00. > :00:00.Can Guatemala overcome its reputation as being unsafe for
:00:07. > :00:32.tourists and become a world-class destination?
:00:33. > :00:37.On this week's programme we travel to one of Central America's most
:00:38. > :00:46.beautiful countries to discover what's stopping some tourists from
:00:47. > :00:50.going there. Thought old-style photo booths were
:00:51. > :00:56.a thing of the past? We meet the man bringing them back to the streets of
:00:57. > :00:58.Europe. And if you've ever wanted to learn how to do this we'll show you
:00:59. > :01:22.where and how. From ancient ruins to beautiful
:01:23. > :01:25.natural landscapes and a living Maya culture - the Central American
:01:26. > :01:35.country of Guatemala has an awful lot to offer tourists.
:01:36. > :01:39.In the south-west the city of Antigua, with its cobbled streets
:01:40. > :01:47.and beautiful colonial architecture, has earned the city UNESCO World
:01:48. > :01:51.Heritage status. The city was the centre of Spanish colonial rule in
:01:52. > :01:52.Guatemala for hundreds of years, and today it's the top destination for
:01:53. > :02:05.tourists arriving in the country. A particularly popular time to visit
:02:06. > :02:12.is in March or April, when the city's famous Easter processions
:02:13. > :02:14.fill the streets. Guatemala is a growing destination for
:02:15. > :02:18.international tourists, attracting over two million of them for the
:02:19. > :02:24.first time ever in 2013, yet there is a factor holding some people
:02:25. > :02:33.back. It's the country's reputation for violent crime. There are up to
:02:34. > :02:39.100 homicides per week here on average, making Guatemala one of the
:02:40. > :02:42.deadliest countries in the world. Drug-related and gang violence means
:02:43. > :02:48.some areas, particularly in the capital of Guatemala City, are
:02:49. > :02:56.simply too dangerous for visitors. And even in tourist areas like
:02:57. > :02:58.Antigua, muggings are not uncommon. Travel advisories around the world
:02:59. > :03:03.warn travellers to take special precautions. Yesterday, there was a
:03:04. > :03:07.procession for the first Sunday in Lent and I was very busy taking
:03:08. > :03:14.photographs. I got really good photographs and my bag was slashed
:03:15. > :03:19.and my wallet went really quickly. You just have to use common sense.
:03:20. > :03:22.Don't go out too late at night, stay close to your house, have a good
:03:23. > :03:26.time during the daytime. I haven't had any problems whatsoever and I've
:03:27. > :03:29.been here for a couple of months. In an effort to reduce crime against
:03:30. > :03:30.visitors Antigua has formed a special tourist police force to
:03:31. > :03:42.patrol busy areas. With tourist numbers on the rise,
:03:43. > :03:45.new businesses are popping up to cater for them, including a new
:03:46. > :03:51.Guatemalan restaurant opened by broadcaster and former war
:03:52. > :03:55.correspondent Harris Whitbeck. I think tourism, if managed properly,
:03:56. > :03:59.is the future for Guatemala. Yes, there are problems but if you relax
:04:00. > :04:02.also and really allow the culture to speak to you, you'll find it's a
:04:03. > :04:10.beautiful country full of wonderful people and, you know, I think the
:04:11. > :04:14.good always outweighs the bad. Of course you have to be careful, but I
:04:15. > :04:19.think that people find it's a pretty great place.
:04:20. > :04:22.One group that Guatemala is really trying to attract is adrenaline
:04:23. > :04:29.junkies, with zip line tours like this one just five minutes from the
:04:30. > :04:33.centre of Antigua. Wish me luck! The tour takes place above an old coffee
:04:34. > :04:38.plantation where nine zip lines are arranged at a height of up to 1,600
:04:39. > :04:44.feet. First up, the safety equipment. Ah, so, the zip line
:04:45. > :04:48.goes... Exactly, goes double. Is this a good time to mention that I'm
:04:49. > :05:03.really scared of heights? I'm not. It's fine! Whoo! Ha-ha-ha! Whoo!
:05:04. > :05:06.That was fast! Yeah, it's fun. Guatemala is surrounded by
:05:07. > :05:10.volcanoes, like mountains and all those things so it's perfect for us
:05:11. > :05:12.because we can work with that and give you a great experience when you
:05:13. > :05:19.come to our country. In the north of the country is one
:05:20. > :05:24.of the world's most important archaeological sites - Tikal. A
:05:25. > :05:30.series of gargantuan ruins spread over ten square miles and beyond. It
:05:31. > :05:35.was once a thriving centre of the Mayan empire and today it receives
:05:36. > :05:38.around 350,000 visitors per year. But when you spread that number out
:05:39. > :05:43.over Tikal's huge area, it's not difficult to find a quiet spot to
:05:44. > :05:49.yourself. What's truly astounding about this place is that there are
:05:50. > :05:54.these ruins spread everywhere. Some of the best I've seen in the world,
:05:55. > :05:57.and yet there's no-one here. John Telfer led the first
:05:58. > :06:02.international group tour to the country in 1985. Today, he's back to
:06:03. > :06:06.research a new tour in the region and feels that Guatemala has been
:06:07. > :06:09.underrated as a destination. I think it's a gross case of people being
:06:10. > :06:14.quite ignorant about the place. There's lots of other places which
:06:15. > :06:19.have a lot more space in the media. It's a great shame. You have the
:06:20. > :06:25.rainforest and the birdlife, the howler monkeys, the mists floating
:06:26. > :06:31.over the canopy in the morning. It's one of the finest places to visit on
:06:32. > :06:34.the planet. The time may soon come when
:06:35. > :06:39.Guatemala's great potential for tourism is realised and the hordes
:06:40. > :06:42.will descend. But, in the meantime, this place will continue to be a
:06:43. > :06:47.hidden gem for travellers to explore.
:06:48. > :06:53.Well, if you're thinking of heading to Guatemala here is some more
:06:54. > :06:55.information you might find useful. It's worth checking your
:06:56. > :06:58.government's travel advice website before you head off in order to get
:06:59. > :07:02.the latest information. Despite the high crime rate, most visits here
:07:03. > :07:05.are trouble-free but just to stay on the safe side it's best to avoid
:07:06. > :07:09.catching the brightly-coloured public buses like these found across
:07:10. > :07:13.the country. El Mirador is also a place to visit if you've got time on
:07:14. > :07:17.your hands. It was a major Mayan city that flourished from the sixth
:07:18. > :07:21.century BC and was abandoned at the end of the ninth century. But, be
:07:22. > :07:23.warned, it takes a gruelling trek of at least five days through the
:07:24. > :07:31.jungle to get there. The procession season in Antigua
:07:32. > :07:33.runs from early March until Easter and it's one of the busiest times to
:07:34. > :07:51.visit so be sure to book well ahead. Tango. Since its invention in the
:07:52. > :07:55.1890s no other genre of music seems to sum up the passion, the beauty,
:07:56. > :08:02.the sex and the attitude of Buenos Aires so perfectly. But the Tango we
:08:03. > :08:06.know is not always the Tango that was. See, almost 100 years ago, one
:08:07. > :08:09.baritone voice performer would, with one startling act, catapult Tango
:08:10. > :08:17.from a lower class pastime to a classy international phenomenon.
:08:18. > :08:36.And that man's name? Carlos Gardel. When Gardel put lyrics to a
:08:37. > :08:42.previously instrumental music, it created a massive stir both in
:08:43. > :08:46.Uruguay and Argentina. So big was the stir that the international
:08:47. > :08:50.media got ahold of it and thus became our introduction to tango. I
:08:51. > :08:54.was essentially looking for the first tango song the world had ever
:08:55. > :09:02.known, and so my first stop was La Boca - a picturesque bohemia known
:09:03. > :09:07.for its homage to all things tango. But this place was not the answer.
:09:08. > :09:16.Every single person I approach wanting to talk about tango with
:09:17. > :09:20.wanted money. Every time I tried to take a photo, somebody wanted a tip,
:09:21. > :09:27.so if I'm looking for the real tango in Buenos Aires it's definitely not
:09:28. > :09:29.going to be here in La Boca. Next, I headed to Abastos the
:09:30. > :09:35.neighbourhood that Gardel supposedly grew up in. But that was equally
:09:36. > :09:43.exasperating as, even on the street dedicated to him, no-one was around.
:09:44. > :09:47.Needing to go inside and warm up for a bit, I headed to the trendy area
:09:48. > :09:51.of Palermo to visit a record shop that I had seen earlier. I had
:09:52. > :09:55.originally passed it off as too rock'n'roll for what I was after,
:09:56. > :09:59.but I thought I'd least ask whoever was inside for some guidance. But
:10:00. > :10:06.the owner, Paco, didn't seem too hopeful. It's going to be hard, man.
:10:07. > :10:13.Like, nobody carries gramophones now. You could get, like, a really
:10:14. > :10:20.fine vinyl copy, maybe a really good audio print. I know a place you
:10:21. > :10:23.could go to. Nobody knows about that place, I don't tell my customers
:10:24. > :10:27.because I buy my records and the stuff I sell here there but you
:10:28. > :10:36.deserve it because you came a long way to find that song, man. And so
:10:37. > :10:40.my treasure hunt had been changed from an old gramophone record to an
:10:41. > :10:46.old Odeon recording. Found a tango collection, found Gardel and found
:10:47. > :10:50.my treasure. A forest green background with Gardel smiling back
:10:51. > :11:18.at me and on the back, side two, song two, Mi Noche Triste.
:11:19. > :11:26.Germany's airports reflect to buy a strike this week. More than 1500
:11:27. > :11:36.flights were cancelled or delayed at airports across the country. I plan
:11:37. > :11:41.to weekend with my girlfriend and we had to reschedule everything. We are
:11:42. > :11:46.going to be delayed on our flight. We are going back to the United
:11:47. > :11:50.States and flight is cancelled. At this point, we don't know when we
:11:51. > :11:55.will be able to get back home. It is ridiculous. I don't know what
:11:56. > :12:03.Germany has got going on, but they need to work on it. These dramatic
:12:04. > :12:12.pictures show the moment when a train derailed. The train travel
:12:13. > :12:16.partway up an escalator. Amazingly, there were no serious injuries.
:12:17. > :12:25.The Burmese government have placed a ban on more hotels in its home to
:12:26. > :12:29.thousands of temples and shrines. It claims the previous military regime
:12:30. > :12:34.for a underside Lee hotels in the ancient compacts years ago.
:12:35. > :12:42.If you're heading to New York this weekend, be sure to visit the city
:12:43. > :12:46.'s first cupcake vending machine. On the upper East side, it holds
:12:47. > :12:55.cupcake of up to 16 different flavours. It is some. It is so
:12:56. > :12:59.exciting. I love cupcakes. I hope they open more. There is always a
:13:00. > :13:23.need for cupcake 's, right? Next up, London's East End. It is
:13:24. > :13:29.home to one of the best circus schools in the world. They're now
:13:30. > :13:33.offering visitors to the capital the chance to learn from the experts.
:13:34. > :13:44.The Travel Show went along to take a look.
:13:45. > :13:49.The kind of circus we are talking about here at the National Centre is
:13:50. > :13:55.very much acrobatic and aerial-based. It has to have an
:13:56. > :13:58.element... Well, I call it the wow factor, and if it doesn't make you
:13:59. > :14:06.go "Wow!" It's probably not a very successful circus! But equally it
:14:07. > :14:10.has to have aesthetic, as well, so you can't get away with just being a
:14:11. > :14:12.daredevil. You do have to have an aesthetic and that's what makes an
:14:13. > :14:22.artist. The National Centre for Circus arts
:14:23. > :14:25.is not just about people wanting to train to become a professional
:14:26. > :14:28.artists, although that does happen. Experience days are offered at the
:14:29. > :14:31.weekends and people come in from the outside and get to try different
:14:32. > :14:35.skills. So it might be flying trapeze, it might be acrobalance, it
:14:36. > :14:39.might be juggling or tight wire, but they'll get to try different things
:14:40. > :14:43.and have some fun doing it. I just got to the end of the tightrope. It
:14:44. > :14:47.was incredibly satisfying. I went from only taking two steps in a row
:14:48. > :14:51.and falling off to getting all the way to the end in one big leap, and
:14:52. > :15:02.I just had to stop thinking. It was fantastic.
:15:03. > :15:11.Why don't you trust me? I do trust you! I trust you!
:15:12. > :15:16.So when people come in and it's the first time ever on the trapeze,
:15:17. > :15:19.normally they're scared, a bit apprehensive, which is a totally
:15:20. > :15:21.human reaction, totally get that, but they're excited, too, and
:15:22. > :15:26.they're enthusiastic and that's quite infectious so, as a teacher,
:15:27. > :15:30.that's brilliant. Keep stretching up. Right, Zach, so, now that we've
:15:31. > :15:34.got your safety belt on we're going to put you up on the flying trapeze.
:15:35. > :15:38.You're going to ve be standing up there with those two lovely women
:15:39. > :15:42.who are going to help you, and it's all about keeping your arms straight
:15:43. > :15:45.when you first get on the bar there, yeah? And keeping your head up.
:15:46. > :15:51.Yeah? Head up. Nothing to it. Straight.
:15:52. > :15:57.I'm actually pretty bad at heights. I'm one of those people who are the
:15:58. > :16:01.last to jump in a swimming pool, but I figured, why not? I'm here in
:16:02. > :16:04.London so I'll give it a go. My first thoughts were this is a lot
:16:05. > :16:09.higher than I was expecting. After that it was, "I really hope I don't
:16:10. > :16:33.fall before I get my hands on the bar!"
:16:34. > :16:40.I was glad to find that I actually did it well. I felt like, at least -
:16:41. > :16:43.I don't know how it looked! But it was really awesome, so exhilarating.
:16:44. > :16:46.I actually felt very secure the entire time with keeping both hands
:16:47. > :16:49.on the ropes and then the connections, and, of course, having
:16:50. > :16:57.two professionals by my side might have helped a little bit! I had a
:16:58. > :17:01.blast. I want to do it again. You normally get people who just
:17:02. > :17:05.want to do it as a hobby, and that's fine, and most of what we do here
:17:06. > :17:08.for the adults and the children, that's what we do. But occasionally
:17:09. > :17:13.you get somebody who starts doing it as a hobby and actually is quite
:17:14. > :17:16.good at it and then wants to do a bit more, and then, actually, why
:17:17. > :17:19.don't I apply for full-time training? Why don't I become an
:17:20. > :17:25.acrobat or trapeze artis? And that's great. It doesn't happen often, but
:17:26. > :17:27.when it does, fantastic! The higher end stuff, the aspiring
:17:28. > :17:32.professionals and the professionals themselves, are graduates. You've
:17:33. > :17:36.got people who specialise ver much in one or two disciplines and whoo
:17:37. > :17:40.show that off to good effect, as you saw earlier. So, they'll pick a
:17:41. > :17:43.discipline and work until they're masters of it, until they're
:17:44. > :17:45.experts, in fact, so it's not something you can pick up overnight.
:17:46. > :17:56.It does take years of training. So, not one for the faint-hearted
:17:57. > :18:01.but you can tell your mates back home that you've run away to join
:18:02. > :18:05.the circus, if only for the day. A typical lesson costs around ?70,
:18:06. > :18:08.or 120 US dollars but if you're not heading to the capital there are a
:18:09. > :18:13.handful of other venues around the UK where you can learn to swing from
:18:14. > :18:17.a trapeze. Now, many of us had our first
:18:18. > :18:20.passport pictures taken in these, but they've all but disappeared in
:18:21. > :18:23.many parts of the world. Old-style mechanical photo booths have given
:18:24. > :18:27.way to their more up-to-date digital counterparts, but two men in Berlin
:18:28. > :18:28.have a passion for bringing a touch of retro technology back to the
:18:29. > :19:04.streets of Europe. So, this is Photoautomat. This
:19:05. > :19:08.actually is the very first Photoautomat that we put on the
:19:09. > :19:11.streets of Berlin, and still holding up pretty well ten years in.
:19:12. > :19:15.Together we did a documentation about an art project and then we
:19:16. > :19:19.used one of the old vintage photo booths that's still left in there at
:19:20. > :19:28.this time, and the idea came up to put one of these booths in Berlin
:19:29. > :19:32.because we both loved it so much. We started out of the pure fascination
:19:33. > :19:40.of this old machine with its unique photographic quality. And, to our
:19:41. > :19:41.own surprise, the project, or the booth, was well-received among
:19:42. > :19:55.Berlin people. Now we have around 20 photo booths
:19:56. > :19:59.in Berlin, and we have two in Hamburg and one in Leipzig, and then
:20:00. > :20:02.we have some of our friends and relatives also run in co-operation
:20:03. > :20:04.with us some photo booths in different cities in Europe,
:20:05. > :20:19.actually, in London, Vienna, Florence and Cologne.
:20:20. > :20:25.It wasn't a business idea but it was the fascination for these photo
:20:26. > :20:31.booths, for the process of taking a photo in a photo booth and the
:20:32. > :20:34.actual photo stripe. Which, we feel today, everybody has a camera but
:20:35. > :20:39.nobody's actually thinking about photography. I think that's what
:20:40. > :20:41.makes these photo booths popular, too, because, you know, for once,
:20:42. > :20:47.people are confronted with photography and the abilities. It's
:20:48. > :20:49.a physical product, you can smell it, you can see it, and it's
:20:50. > :21:06.something to think about. These machines, when we started the
:21:07. > :21:16.only places you could find them were museums. There were birds inside,
:21:17. > :21:20.living birds inside, cats. But we were able to put this back into
:21:21. > :21:22.working condition, so that's kind of the expertise we have to bring these
:21:23. > :21:34.machines back to life. My best Photoautomat memory was when
:21:35. > :21:39.I took a lot of pictures with my best friend and then I made a photo
:21:40. > :21:44.wall in my room of all the pictures. With my best friend when I was 14 we
:21:45. > :21:48.went into the photo booth and took a lot of photos. Unfortunately, we're
:21:49. > :21:50.not friends any more, but I still remember her and I still have those
:21:51. > :22:00.beautiful photos. Part of the appeal is we don't put
:22:01. > :22:03.it in safe places, we put it out in the street where real street life
:22:04. > :22:05.happens. There's no surveillance here, it's just out in the street
:22:06. > :22:24.and anything could happen. It's a lovely process, it's fun
:22:25. > :22:32.work. It's fun. We are here, we have holidays and it's a nice memory to
:22:33. > :22:34.look at the pictures and know, "Oh! That was in Berlin and it was
:22:35. > :22:48.sunny," so I think it's nice. The project bringing photo booths
:22:49. > :22:52.back to the streets of Germany. Well, that's it from us for this
:22:53. > :22:55.week, thank you for joining us on our travels and here's where we're
:22:56. > :22:58.off to next week. Thailand might have a reputation for
:22:59. > :23:02.being a sun and sea destination but Henry goes off road to explore
:23:03. > :23:05.another side of the country. What these machines are really built for
:23:06. > :23:12.is off-roading and that's exactly where I'm going to take it.
:23:13. > :23:16.So, do join us there if you can. And in the meantime, and don't forget
:23:17. > :23:19.you can keep up with us while we're on the road in real-time by signing
:23:20. > :23:23.up to our social media feeds, details of which are appearing on
:23:24. > :23:27.the screen right now. But for now, from me, Christa Larwood, and the
:23:28. > :23:30.rest of The Travel Show team here in Guatemala, it's adios!