Visiting Central America (Part 1) El Paredon, Acatenango 🏄🌋

**Guest post Sandra & Max**

For a long time it looked as if visiting Seline and Benny would not be possible. Almost 4 weeks before our trip, we managed to get the travel destination, flight and vacation planning under one roof.

On December 8th, 2023 we set out to accompany them both on their long-awaited journey. Guatemala and Belize were our destinations. Two countries that offer a lot and in which we experienced many great moments together.

The start was a bit bumpy. When we arrived in Guatemala City around midnight, we were supposed to meet at the hostel. Seline and Benny should have been there about 5 hours before us on the bus from Nicaragua. At the hostel we found out that this wasn't the case. Since none of us had a SIM card for the countries, communication was a bit difficult. Luckily we received a text message telling us that their bus ride was slightly delayed by 8 hours. 🤦🏼‍♂️

The joy was even greater the next morning when we realized that we had actually made it and found the two of them in the next room - the journey could begin!

After our first breakfast together, we grabbed our rental car and headed to El Parédon, a small surfing village on the west coast of Guatemala. Let's go to the Pacific Ocean! The journey there had included everything that travel guides or car rental companies warn about: breakneck scooter drivers in the city, country roads with huge potholes, bus drivers who think they are sitting in Formula 1 cars, unpredictable tumults (road elevations to regulate speed) and tarred roads that suddenly switched to gravel paths. Attentive driving and enough time are essential to arrive safely at your destination.

The atmosphere in El Parédon, on the other hand, is casual and relaxed, you are surrounded by cool vibes and nice people.

Since our accommodation didn't have WiFi, we sneaked the password at a beach bar. We had a drink there once and stood/sat in front of it countless times to google information or book the next accommodation. 😄

The weather was outstanding, more than 30 degrees during the day, bright sunshine and a great black beach. Perfect for unpacking our surfing skills. 🏄🏼 Let's put it this way, we were a little better at the card game “The Game” and drinking rum in the evening. 🃏🍹

After three nights we went to Volcano Atacenango with a stopover in Antigua, the old capital of Guatemala. There we faced an extremely demanding hike with over 4,600 meters in altitude (up and down summed up), a night in the base camp at 3,700 m and the additional ascent of the active Volcano Fuego. The two days were tough, but the view of the lava-spewing Fuego was definitely worth it! We were motivated by our very helpful and friendly tour guides with the battle cry “Vamos Chicos! Vamos!”. 😄