Guatemala

August 2023

15 Days

Why am I traveling to Guatemala?

In January 2023 I decided to have one big goal for the year, to learn Spanish. On January 1st I knew zero Spanish. I could say, “hello” and that was about it. I started out with Duolingo and then moved over to live classes at Baselang. From there I took Baselang’s “Grammarless Program.” Two hours a day for two months. It was a game changer for me. My instructor was great, too! After that I continued with the Real World program at Baselang and decided to make my solo trip somewhere where I could use the language and experience cultural immersion. Normally I go for long hiking treks. Although there was going to be some hiking on this trip, it was more about the cultural immersion and use of the language that I was looking for. With a little bit of research I found a fantastic Spanish school in Antigua, Guatemala that provides 5 hours of in person lessons per day, a week long homestay with a family and three meals per day all for about $270 USD for the week! I couldn’t pass it up and I’m SO happy I didn’t. Below are the accounts of my two week solo trip to Guatemala and all the incredible adventures I had while there.

GUA arrival

Planning the trip to Guatemala was a lot of fun. I was curious how their casual style of, “We’ll pick you up at X time in front of Y place…” would work out. Upon arriving at the airport the school I was going to be attending in Antigua said they would have a driver waiting for me at the airport to take me to my home stay in Antigua from the Guatemala City Airport.

However, upon my arrival, no one was there. I didn’t panic, I just walked around for a bit. Sat down and tried to get an internet connection. I was told that I would have great reception from the Mint Mobile support rep I talked to before leaving for Guatemala, however my connection on the trip was pretty much non-existent unless I was using the internet at my homestay, hotel or coffee shops; e.g, WIFI.

During my trip, Guatemala would be having their presidential election and I knew the tension could be quite high, but I still decided to go on the trip. I’m happy to say the people’s desired candidate, Bernardo Arévalo was elected, however the current government is doing everything they can to keep him from taking office in January, 2024 which, since my return back to the states, has been causing many protests and unrest. I am sending good vibes to the people of Guatemala that this transition is smooth and that Bernardo is able to take office and make the needed changes that the people of Guatemala so desperately want.

After about a half hour of walking back and forth at the airport entrance I finally spotted someone holding a sign with my name. Whew! It was all good and I was off to Antigua. The adventure begins!

Antigua

Snapped right after I arrived in Antigua. Santa Catalina Arch

Wow! Immediately upon arrival I walked to the famous arch, The Santa Catalina Arch, and also found Starbucks, which would serve as my base for WIFI while roaming around downtown Antigua for the next 5 days. Apparently this Starbucks was recently voted the nicest in the world. It’s pretty outstanding. Granted I don’t drink coffee and Guatemala is famous for their coffee, I figured Starbucks would be taboo, but the space is truly inviting and the people did not seem to be opposed to it.

The courtyard of Starbucks in Antigua. This entire place and all rooms are part of Starbucks. WOW!

I went to a restaurant and had a quick bite and a drink. I knew it was important to not drink the water, but I forgot about the ice cubes! I can only imagine it’s the ice from the drink I had that gave me, yes, Montezuma's revenge! Luckily I had gotten some medicine from my doctor before I left for just this sort of thing and, within 24 hours, I was back to normal. Lesson learned and I was super careful after that for the rest of the trip, however, I was a bit worried about eating out after that.

My homestay family, Teresa and Luis, were amazing! Their home is incredible and they were so accommodating, sweet and helpful with my spotty Spanish. All meals around the table were shared with Teresa, Luis and three other students also staying in their home, Stacey and a couple from Germany who were sailing around the world. All conversations were in Spanish. The goal was to stumble through to overcome the fear of speaking. It was great and I tried my best to bring up topics and talk with the others so I could also overcome this fear. I’m happy to say that after the first few days I was a new person. I didn’t fear speaking Spanish at all anymore. I was happy to try and, if I stumbled, I figured out how to work around it and keep going with the conversations.

This is part of the campus of The Spanish Academy. :)

The Spanish Academy is in a truly magical jungle campus. Each student has a teacher so all learning is one-on-one. My teacher’s name was Olga. She’s a sweet woman who made the lessons fun and engaging. After the second day we mostly spoke about different life topics and events in Spanish. I was so happy that my learning up to this point was really paying off. At the break many of the students would climb up the big spiral staircase to the rooftop platform. This was a great place to meet others and practice Spanish.

Olga, my Spanish teacher for the week and me

After classes each day I would take a moment to rest, as 5 hours of straight Spanish one-on-one was exhausting. After a short rest I was off to explore the town of Antigua and all the amazing things to see.

Antigua is truly a magical town. Perhaps one of the most incredible towns I’ve ever been in. I could live here and I don’t say that lightly. I just loved the vibe, the history, the culture, the colors, the view, etc. It’s just… wow!

Click to view each image larger

I explored ruins, churches, markets, miradors and tried to get lost. It’s easy to get lost, but once you understand the grid structure and geographical icons, Volcan Agua - the big Volcano that sets as the backdrop to Antigua, I found it incredibly easy to maneuver.

One day, after class, some of the students and I went to a free Salsa dancing class downtown. It was super fun and the energy was just incredible.

On another occasion, I was walking and saw this group of high school kids wearing signs on their chests that said, “Help me practice my English.” I immediately went up to them and started speaking to them. Mostly in English, so I could help them, but sometimes they asked me questions, like, “why are you in Guatemala?” and I answered in Spanish. They were such great kids and I loved their energy.

I looked online quite a bit to make sure I was seeing some of the best sites in Antigua, but one of the most incredible was Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. It’s a hotel and museum. It’s an old convent and cathedral. You can walk around the whole place and take in the beauty, but one of the best parts is paying a small fee (20Q) to explore the ruins. There are tunnels, corridors and many incredible ruins to explore. This was SUCH a highlight for me that I went back another time with one of the students, Laura, from the Spanish School.

Some snaps I took at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo

One evening I had dinner on top of the mirador with a view of Volcans Agua, Acatenango and Fuego! I was pinching myself as this was the most spectacular view I’d ever encountered.

On my second to last day after class I decided to visit Hobbitenango. It’s a Lord of the Rings inspired village just outside of Antigua. I organized a ride there and back from the Hobbitenango office in downtown Antigua. The ride up there was super bumpy and STEEP, but the views were outstanding. The grounds of Hobbitenango are awesome. They did a great job creating this place and giving it an authentic feel, while also being different enough to give it its own mystique.

Some snaps from Hobbitenango

I had to try the swing. It was SO much fun!

The people in Antigua are very friendly. Everyone says, “Hola!” and greets you genuinely. There are vendors but I never felt like they were invasive in any way. They were there enjoying their country and town too. This place truly has such a magical vibe.

Acatenango

Me in the early morning at the top of Volcan Acatenango looking at Volcan Fuego

I was sad to end my stay with my homestay family a bit early, but I had another adventure awaiting. It was time to hike an active volcano! Two days of hiking with a group of strangers was up next and I had no idea what I was in store for.

Volcan Acatenango is an inactive volcano, but it connects to another volcano named, volcan Fuego. Fuego is very active and spews smoke and lava from the top about every 5 minutes. The desire of hiking volcan Acatenango is to be able to camp at the top and watch volcan Fuego go off all night long like a magnificent fireworks show. Here we go!

The company I organized the hike up volcan Acatenango said they would pick me up in front of my Spanish school at 6:45am. Again, I love the casual, “trust that we’ll be there” approach. It worked!

I crammed into a mini van with several other travelers who I would be hiking with over the next two days. The first was a couple who were recently married and still in school. They were there with their big cameras and binoculars. They wanted to capture all the birds they could on this trip as that is their jam. They were praying that they would catch a glimpse of the quetzal bird, which is the state bird and also the name of the Guatemalan currency; quetzales.

After about an hour's drive we stopped at the owner of the trekking company’s house to have breakfast with the hiking team. They gave a big speech all in Spanish and I understood about 40% of it. Enough to get an idea of the things we needed to be aware of; really steep, stop if you need it, very difficult, etc. After a great breakfast of eggs, beans, tortillas and watermelon we all got into about 4 mini vans and drove to the start of the hike.

Before I left I decided to rent some trekking poles from the hiking company as I always hike with them. I’m REALLY glad I rented them as they help so much for the big ups and big downs. About $5 US dollars and well worth it.

The hike starts straight away with a steep climb and doesn’t really let up until you’re nearly to the base camp. Of course this makes sense as the shape of a volcano is an upside down V.

Some snaps from the hike

The day started out super clear and gorgeous, but started getting foggy the further we went up. When we got to base camp we were all tired and we could not see volcan Fuego, he was covered with dense fog. The company asked if anyone would like to do an evening hike over to the top of volcan Fuego. Another big trek which would take roughly another 4 hours. They said there was no guarantee that the view would be any better there than it was where we were. But, hell, I was there to see Fuego so I was up for the adventure. Of the 20 people in our group only 5 decided to go for it.

Heading out was a very steep downhill climb and the thought that we’d have to hike back up this was not motivating. But we pushed on.

I joked that the trail up to fuego was going to be straight up. But it wasn’t a joke! It literally went straight up with no switchbacks!

Once we reached the top it was so cold and foggy, but so worth it. The fog would clear for brief moments and it felt like we were in the heavens with an incredible sunset. The view literally felt like we were in an airplane SO high up. It was magical to be there and we all huddled together and sought shelter on the backside of the volcano.

After about 20 minutes we started hiking back and, just as we were getting going, it started pouring rain. It was miserable, but somehow it felt okay. It was like Fuego was telling us to leave, but then it stopped and immediately the fog lifted. We paused, looked at each other and all agreed we needed to turn around and go back up to the top and see Fuego. By this point it was pitch black out and all we had was the light of our headlamps. I somehow forgot mine at basecamp so I was borrowing a handheld flashlight along with trekking poles. It was very cumbersome, but I had to make it work.

Once on the top we were treated to a wonderful fireworks show by Fuego. Lava spewing 100 feet into the air, blood red and orange. Luckily all the lava was shooting away from us, but we could see the smoke go over our heads. We were far enough to feel safe, but close enough to be aware and to feel the heat with every blast.

After about another 20 minutes it was time to hike back. At this point we were all so incredibly tired and worn out, but we were also hopped up on the awesomeness we had just seen. Our legs were all beyond jello but after about 2 hours of hiking back, we made it.

The company had meals waiting for us when we returned. Everyone else was fast asleep and we all ate by ourselves. I ate next to the last remnants of the campfire looking back at Fuego from a distance. It was so magical to be here. To really be here. Wow.

I shared my hut with a guy named Eve. He was a guide, but not with our group. He was the guide for a private group of German travelers who hired him for two weeks to take them all around Guatemala. When I got into my hut he was still awake and flashed a light so I could get into bed. Once I was in my sleeping bag the light was off and we both went out fast.

Overall I don’t think I slept at all. I have a hard time sleeping with other people as I’m a light sleeper. So the night felt like it never ended.

I got out of bed at first light and crossed my fingers that the view would be better and that the fog would have cleared. When I opened the door of the hut it was spectacular. Not a cloud in the sky! The view of Fuego was perfect. I got a fresh cup of tea and sat there taking in the beauty of this magical place.

Eve, my hut mate, got up and joined me. Eve is a super cool guy. I dug his chill confident energy. He has traveled all over the world and now lives in Guatemala. Originally from Europe, I don’t remember where. He was the guide for a private group from Germany who were in Guatemala for 3 weeks and had him as their personal guide. He had an Indiana Jones kinda vibe about him, but also treated me like he was my big brother. He made me feel welcomed and our conversations felt real and rich.

Fuego was in full effect and it was worth every difficult step to be here in all his puffy, angry glory. After a simple breakfast I laid in one of the hammocks they had there and took in my last views of Fuego and the surrounding area.

The hike back went fast and I chatted a bunch with a great lady in our group named Michelle. She’s from the Dominican Republic and it was great having deep meaningful conversations in English. It’ll be nice when my Spanish allows me to go to that level. She’s a mom with a young boy and we talked about life, dreams, personal finance and goals we both had for our lives.

Once we got to the bottom we waited for the mini vans to pick us up and take us back to the owner's house for a congrats song from the crew and a yummy, thick tortilla with guacamole on it.

From there it was time to head back to Antigua to where I would catch my ride to the Guatemala City airport.

My driver, Juan, was great. We talked in Spanish the entire time and I spoke back to him too, it was such an incredible empowering feeling!

Once at the airport, everything went super smooth and I was on my way to see the incredible ruins of Tikal. I can’t wait!

Tikal

Me in the main plaza at Tikal

My flight arrived early to Flores. I met a cool gay couple at the airport who we’re going to be staying in the same hotel as me in Tikal. Since we were both early we decided to share a cab into old town Flores to explore. Once we got into old town we parted ways and said we’d meet back up in two hours. I walked around the old town and had dinner on the water at a vegan restaurant called, Maracuyá. The view was incredible. My view overlooked the lake with the jungle in the background. I saw a person get in the water and start swimming. Every once in a while I’d look back and see them getting smaller and smaller. I never saw them come back. I hope they made it to wherever they were swimming to.

My view at dinner at Maracuyá - much more magical in person

When the food came I was joined by jumping lizards that jumped from vine to vine. It was really a magical place with a fantastic vibe.

Today was the big Presidential election in Guatemala so, for some reason the whole country was not allowed to sell alcohol today. I asked a local why and they said that they do this to minimize potential confrontations with drunk people.

After dinner I walked around and met up with the couple again. They showed me some great drone footage they shot and were very proud of from Belize. After a bit we caught our taxi ride to The Jungle Lodge Hotel.

Interesting thing about The Jungle Lodge is that the power shuts off early every night. 10pm. We got there at 9:30pm and shortly after that the power was out and everything was dark. Like the darkest dark you can imagine. Luckily I could use my phone’s flashlight to unpack and get ready for bed. I brought a power bank with me so I was able to charge my phone overnight.

The internet was pretty bad here, but most evenings I was able to talk to my girls via video chat. This first night I wasn’t able to connect with them. I later found out that my wife called The Jungle Lodge to make sure I arrived okay.

I was going to get up early for the sunrise tour. I set my alarm for 3:25am as they said they would knock at 3:30am and I didn’t want to be startled. But, just like clockwork, at 3:30am they knocked on my door and told me to meet in the reception area in 10 minutes. Just then a light in the reception area went on. It was the only light in the entire place.

Tikal at sunrise

A group of about 15 of us brave souls met in the lobby and we walked about 10 minutes to the Tikal park entrance. We all had to show our permits that we bought in advance so that we could enter the park at sunrise. After that we walked into the park with flashlights. We walked for about 20 minutes and it was still very dark. The guide flashed the light around and we could start to see some of the ruins. It was magical seeing them in the dark like this. Little flashes of granite grandeur were spread out all over and I knew it was going to be outstanding when the morning light came.

After a good walk into the park we reached a giant staircase. We had to climb to get to the platform that would allow us to see the sunrise from up high. This allows you to see many peaks from the temple ruins above the jungle. As we sat up high with our legs dangling below we started to see some of the peaks. The fog was thick this morning and, as the sun started to rise more, we all realized that we were “fogged out.” The fog only got more thick with the morning sun which blocked our wood-be view of the temple tops from the platform. No matter though. I still thought it was super magical to see the fog and the jungle dancing together in the morning light.

Some snaps from Tikal

From up here we watched several spider monkeys go from tree to tree super close to us. We saw about a dozen toucans fly in and out of the trees so close we could almost touch them. There were also these cool little furry animals that looked like miniature bears walking around the park freely. They called them Guatemalan racoons. It was like being in The Jungle Book movie, but for real!

For me, it was SO worth it to wake up this early to be here and see this place in such a peaceful state.

The sunrise pass in the park is like a magic morning pass at Disneyland. Only the morning group gets into the park and we have it until 9am. At that point, all the other visitors are allowed in and it becomes more packed with people.

Around 7:30 nearly everyone in the sunrise tour group went back to the lodge for breakfast and a nap, but I decided to stay in the park. I spent nearly a whole hour in the main plaza by myself. It was an incredibly special experience to be the only one here for so long. It was such a gift to fully take in the majestic energy that this place undeniably radiates. I took a bunch of pictures and also took some time to meditate in the awe of it all.

Once the 9am group started coming in, I headed back to the lodge to eat breakfast and call home to chat with my girls.

Afterwards I went back and explored the entire park. It’s huge! The ruins are truly awe inspiring throughout. It’s mind boggling to think what it must have been like here when this place was thriving with the Mayan people. Here are some pictures of just some of the different places I explored in the park.

So great to experience with so few people

After several hours in the park wandering around I headed back to the main plaza to simply relax and be present. After a while I decided it was time to head back and it started raining SUPER hard. I hid in the rubble of an ancient doorway for about 10 minutes and watched as people scrambled below and the dance of the mist as it came down. After 10 minutes it let up and I was able to start back but the rain picked up again and I had to hide under the cover of a giant frond of a big tree. It rained hard for about another 10 minutes. Me and another local tourist were doing the same thing and we were laughing at how crazy the rain was and that we were both hiding under these giant leaves.

When I got back to the lodge I cleaned up and jumped in the pool. It was so needed. Now it’s time to catch my bus back to Flores where I’ll stay for the night before heading out to my next location.

Flores

Old Flores is a cool little island town. You can walk the entire place in all its labyrinthine streets in about an hour.

There are lots of shops for tourists and places to stay. One thing I noticed is on one side of the island the water level has risen a bunch and nearly a whole street is consumed with water. You can see little fish swimming around about the street lights, which still seemed to work. It was quite bizarre looking.

My hostel, Los Amigos Hostel, was super cool. The vibe there is eco-chic and the staff were all super nice. I had my own room with air conditioning! This was pure luxury as it is really humid in this area unlike Antigua and Attilan.

Chillin' at Los Amigos Hostel in Flores - such a great atmosphere

I had good conversations with the people who work here. In the morning I had a crepe with Nutella and banana. Yum. My first dessert of the trip!

I was on a mission this morning to get my laundry done. I went to two places and asked in Spanish. This was a big task as I don’t have a large vocabulary yet and I learned a bunch of new words. Unfortunately, they were not able to accommodate my request as I had to leave in a few hours back on a plane to Guatemala City as today I was heading out to the last destination of the trip. Lake Atitlan.

Before I left I spoke to Mindy, the waitress at the hostel restaurant. Really nice lady. She asked me at the end of our conversation if I remembered her name, I didn’t. But it reminded me that it is important to remember people’s names. Note taken :)

Lake Atitlan

My view at breakfast from Eagles Nest Cafe

Once in Guatemala City it took 4.5 hours to to Lake Atitlan. Normally it should take 3 hours max, but there was a ton of traffic out of the city. My driver, Jose, said some of it was because people were celebrating in the streets as the candidate they were hoping would win, who represents the people and to stop corruption was elected. Great news!

Jose was great but we mostly spoke in English. He is a good teacher as he taught me a bunch of Spanish and corrected me along the way. It made it hard to talk to him because he would always stop and correct me. I started feeling discouraged so I spoke more and more English with him as the trip went on.

Once in Lake Atitlan I took a lancha, a boat taxi, to San Marcos. This would be where I’d stay for the next few days before heading to San Pedro.

I stayed at a place called Eagles Nest. It’s a cool hippie yoga hostel with an incredible platform where they host yoga classes and dance sessions.

Some snaps from Eagles Nest.

I came to San Marcos to push myself out of my comfort zone and meet other people and to be open to new experiences. I was hoping to meet other travelers and possibly explore this area in a different way. However, most people kept to themselves so I didn’t really meet anyone here and the epic dance parties they have here are only on Friday’s and I arrived on a Tuesday.

My dorm room was actually quite nice. This is the second hostel I’ve ever stayed at in my life and I’m very impressed. It’s way better than I was thinking. I have my own space so it still feels very private.

In the mornings I would wake up and go to the platform. I’d watch the sun rise and I’d stretch and meditate for a bit before grabbing an amazing breakfast at their café. The view here is just stunning!

At night when I slept I put ear plugs in as there were so many sounds it was hard to relax. Even with my ear plugs I could still hear the sound of dog’s barking all night long.

I woke up right at sunrise and, when I took my earplugs out, I heard the sound of what seemed to be 100 different dogs barking and 1,000 roosters screaming their wake up calls all from various distances. It sounded like a grand symphony of chaos.

Exploring the towns by lancha is super easy and smooth. I went to San Juan de la Laguna, walked around the colorful town. An umbrella lined street welcomes you right after you get off the boat up a steep street lined with vendors. I talked to an artist about his work for a while but decided not to buy anything. I walked over to Indian nose mirador and hiked up to the top where I had an incredible view of the towns below as well as Volcan San Pedro and the stunning lake.

Arriving into San Juan De la Laguna

At the top of the Mirador (Indian Nose)

After that I went back to San Marcos. Right to the left of the doc (muelle) is a little trail and, if you take it, it leads you to an outstanding eco park. They have a platform high up that you can jump off into the water. That was definitely the highest I had ever jumped from. Upon impact it was painful all over but within a few seconds it was totally fine. The water was perfect and I took a few moments to swim around. Afterwards I hiked up to the top of the park for more incredible views. It is very well manicured and very jungle-like.

View from the top of the eco park

After exploring the eco park for a while, I went into town and relaxed in a cafe with internet for a bit because the Eagles Nest’s internet is broken. It was good catching up with my wife over whatsapp and hearing what they have been up to. I’m so very grateful for this time for me here in Guatemala. I’m not taking it for granted and I’m taking in each moment and experience in total. Stopping to talk to other travelers and vendors adds a special dimension to this adventure.

I met an expat guy yesterday who has been living in Lake Atitlan for over 30 years. He looked like Jimmy cracked corn with only a few teeth left and cuts all over his face, but he was a sharp, cool person. Part of me just wanted to keep talking to this guy and I wasn’t sure why. Upon reflection, I think it may have been because he reminded me of my late father who was estranged since I was 18 and passed away a few years back. He gave me some good recommendations of things to do in the area including a local waterfall that many tourists never get to see. I later found out why.

The next day I decided to head out to find this waterfall. I'm a sucker for waterfalls and this one sounded amazing. In order to get to this place I was supposed to take a tuk tuk - a little mini bus for 3 people max (picture below). So I found a guy who would take me there. We negotiated the price at 10Q and he told me it would take about 10 minutes to get there. We were off. The funny thing that I quickly learned was that he didn't know where we were actually going. As we got out of town the road became dirt and started to become very bumpy and steep. He stopped several times to ask people where this waterfall was. People kept telling him to continue on. After about 20 minutes he stopped and told me that he would need to charge me more because this was much more difficult than he had thought. Although I didn't like this tactic, I decided it was best to agree to the new price as I didn't want to be stranded this far out of town.

As we continued on I started to feel a bit unsafe. We were a bit too far out of town for my comfort level. We made a final stop and my driver asked a guy coming down this incredibly steep, bumpy road if this was the way. He said it was just about a 5 minute drive up the steep road and that would get us to the trailhead and we'd have to hike in about 10 minutes. This guy kept looking at me and I asked him in Spanish, if it was safe or dangerous for me to be here. He looked at the driver then back and me and said, "es peligroso para ti." It's dangerous for you.

My tuk tuk to the mystery waterfall

My driver said not to worry as I was with him and I would be safe with him. My instincts were telling me otherwise, but he started up this steep monster of a hill. His engine was working as hard as it could. It was so bumpy we were both almost standing up. I'm sure from the outside this must have looked comical, this little tuk tuk going up this monstrous hill.

After about five minutes we got to the trailhead. We started walking to the waterfall when I saw some locals staring at us through some trees. A couple of them ran away and I just didn't feel safe anymore. I told my driver that I wanted to head back now! I could tell by the look on his face that he agreed too. We both started running back fast to the tuk tuk. I helped him pivot the tuk tuk around to get it facing down hill. We both jumped in and he flew down that hill and back into town super fast. When we got back we both laughed. I was thankful that he was looking out for me and that we both made it back safe. I was bummed I didn't get to see the waterfall, but happy that I made the decision to return when I did.

Once I settled back into town I decided it was time for me to get back to Spanish lessons so I booked two, 4 hour lessons in San Marcos. My teacher was super fun and helpful. We talked 100% in Spanish and I learned a lot more about the nuisances of the language. There are SO many levels to a language and each time I think I “have it” I realize there are so many more levels to go. It’s a challenge I’m enjoying very much. I very much enjoyed both of my lessons in San Marcos.

This was my Spanish classroom in San Marcos = woo hoo!

Getting up before sunrise is magical. The orchestra of sounds and views around feel unreal. I love going to the Yoga platform and sitting on the edge to meditate and simply take in the awe.

In San Marcos I came up with the phrase, “Poopo de perro” because you have to look down at the ground with nearly every step or you step in dog poop. There is so much of it in the town, even on the main walkway it was really off putting. I was glad that today was my last day in San Marcos as I was ready to head to my next and last town of the trip in Lake Atitlan, San Pedro.

San Pedro has a very different vibe. My three days here were really great. It feels more local in this town. Lots of shops, street markets, children going to school, playing their instruments. There is definitely a tourist vibe when you get off the lancha, but once you start walking you get to the local areas and the town starts to come to life.

I loved my time in San Pedro

While here I stayed at a cool hotel called Zoola. There were a lot of Israelis here. In fact the food options in this town were largely Israeli. The hotel has a restaurant which had different dishes from all over the world and I mostly ate here for breakfast and dinner while I was in San Pedro.

The cool vibe restaurant at Zoola

After my last three days in San Pedro it was time for me to go. I headed to Panajachel and stayed at a really cool hostel called Selina Atitlan hotel. This hostel was very much how I imagined hostels to be. My accommodations were in one big room with about 8 bunk beds which had different people in them. I saw that another lady had put a towel tucked into the bunk above. This gave her some privacy in her space so I did the same thing in my lower bunk.

Enjoying the beach in Panajachel

When I was hiking Acatenango, Michelle told me about this cool documentary series on Netflix called Ancient Apocalypse. In the evenings I started watching this and it was SUPER interesting. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it. Even if you don’t “buy into the concept” it’s still mentally stimulating to think that there could have been a very advanced civilization well before we ever thought one existed.

I walked all around Panajachel on my last day. This is the main hub for people traveling to Lake Atitlan. It’s a bustling city with lots to see and do. I walked along the shoreline and got a great picture. There were many locals in this town as well, all enjoying the splendor. Lake Atitlan is a big destinations for locals to come and vacation too.

Snaps from Panajachel

I walked way out to the edge of town until I went a bit too far and started to feel like it would be good for me to get more on the beaten path. There were tons of markets with vendors, food shops and stalls. It was a feast for the eyes to see.

I headed back to the hostel and they had live music and a little local market with different vendors around the pool. I checked them out and decided to pick up some gifts for my family back home. It was fun talking with the local people. I was so proud of how far my Spanish had come in the last two weeks. I definitely believe that immersion is a BIG key to learning a language. But also it’s important to put yourself out there and try to speak the language. To get over the fear of making mistakes. That’s what happened for me on this trip and I’m so thankful for that.

The next morning I woke up at 5am and got ready to meet my driver Johnny who would take me back to Guatemala City airport where I’d fly back home. Johnny was my favorite driver of the entire trip. We spoke only in Spanish and the conversations were very deep and real. He told me about his life journey, how he met his wife. The struggles they’d been through and a lot about the Guatemalan people and what it was like to live there. I enjoyed this conversation and it was an incredible way to end the trip.

I have only the most amazing things to say about Guatemala. Before this trip it was never a place on my radar, but now I have to say it’s one of my favorite places on the planet and I’m SO very happy I got to be here and experience it in my lifetime. I’m forever thankful for this trip and for every experience I had on it.