Hike, enjoy and even more hike

It's been a few days since I last wrote a post, which means I have a few days to catch up. I'll still try to keep this post short.

Also on February 20, 2024 I went on a short hike up Cerro Baúl, a small mountain that can be seen from the entire city. We started the ~9km hike with minimal luggage. It was very relaxed and I was back at the hostel at 12:00. Eat a bit and chat with Gram (an American who is learning languages for fun, currently German. It's very funny.) and there wasn't much else that was possible that day.

The next day (02/21/24) had, who would have thought, another hike for me, the Cerro Quemado. You can also see it from the whole city and is much more strenuous than Cerro Baúl. In total the hike should be ~12km but with just under 800m elevation gain. It was very beautiful and apart from the village at the beginning where I had to go through, I didn't see anyone else. A hiking route is already borderline when it's named. I would be for "Klanderroute" (climbing + hiking). That was it for a few kilometers. Very strenuous and quite dangerous if you have to climb over any rocks. But it's all fun. But once we got to the top it was worth the effort, the view was just wow. As I descended, I was looking forward to the falafel burrito that would be in front of me a few minutes later. Of course, a home-made fruit salad is a must on a day like this.

There was no hike on February 22, 2024 because I wanted to be fit for the 3 day hike to Lake Atitlán. Instead we took the chicken bus to Chichicastenango, the largest outdoor market in Latin America. If you look at the city on Google Maps, you can't imagine how such a large market could fit in there. When you're in the suburbs, you still don't know. It feels like every street is lined with stalls and everything is available again. I got there and said to myself: "All right, proceed tactically. First vertical streets and then the horizontal ones.". So far so good, but after a few minutes it was over, I no longer had any idea where I was, horizontally, vertically, diagonally or upside down. All right, then just run. It somehow worked and at some point I recognized the stands and was able to get my bearings 😅

It's a huge mess and there's everything imaginable, writing it all down would annoy me and you. There was just everything. Unfortunately it was also quite touristy and the prices had to be negotiated a lot. For me it was just a pair of trousers, we started at €24 and in the end I paid a little under €10, which is probably still more than the actual price. In any case, it was a cool experience and it was fun to see a city consisting of a huge market.

On February 23rd, 2024 I was finally able to do something that I have been looking forward to for a long time. Slide😂. I took the chicken bus for almost 2 hours to a huge water park in the middle of the jungle and the nearest larger city is just 2 hours away. Why there, I have no idea but definitely super cool. The entrance fee was definitely very expensive for Guatemala at €12, but it was justified for a park like this. I have no idea how big this thing is but I've never seen anything like it. The parking lot alone can easily accommodate 3000+ cars. The park itself was pretty empty. There were over 15 large slides, all of which were mega and started from pretty high up. You always had to walk between 50 and 150 steps to slide once... If you add that up over a few hours and 15 slides, it adds up to a lot of meters 😂 I did all but two slides several times, but I wasn't comfortable with these two , for safety reasons. There were definitely minders everywhere and the slides were surprisingly in good condition. After almost 4 hours, countless steps and 12km in the water park, I went back.

The preparatory meeting for the hike was at 6 p.m. There I got to know the guides and the other participants, learned everything important for the tour and was able to borrow a larger backpack, sleeping bag and sleeping mat.

Back at the hostel, I rearranged everything accordingly so that my own backpack would then be driven to our destination.

February 24, 2024 was the first day of hiking. At 6:00 a.m. we met in the organization's office, had breakfast and then we set off. ~18km were on the plan with a few meters of elevation gain.

The route took us to the highlands of Guatemala, no other tourists, no hikers, just nature and the occasional local. Our group consisted of 9 people, Karla the 19 year old Berliner who was our guide and José our local guide. We had the first lunch and dinner in our backpacks, but there were other solutions for the next few days. Snacks were also provided in between. After delicious tostadas, guacamole, beans and vegetables for lunch, we headed into the final sprint. We arrived at our first homestay at 4 p.m. A house where we could sleep inside with our gear. After a very necessary "Temazcal shower" and a good portion of pasta, we were all happy to be in our sleeping bags.

On February 25th, 2024 we went to a Comedor at 7:00 a.m. where we all had a delicious breakfast. First egg with beans and banana, as well as a coffee and then a pancake with melon afterwards, awesome. After we were finally all ready at 8:20 a.m. we started. Into the mountains and up to the “Selfie Mountain” and back down and up to the “Ice Cream Mountain” where delicious banana ice cream was waiting for us at the top. After another 2 hours and a few river crossings, we finally had lunch. The women from the Comedor filled our Tupperware bowls with this in the morning. Rice with tortillas and vegetables. Afterwards we went through fields and more mountains. At 5:00 p.m. we arrived at the next homestay, where we had a nice shower. We cooked there for us, and later we sat around the campfire and looked forward to getting up at 3:30 a.m. (not).

On February 26, 2024 we were loaded and ready to leave at 4 a.m. With headlamps and half sleepwalking, we then walked an hour to the viewpoint for the sunrise. Once there, the sleeping mats and some sleeping bags were unpacked and we waited. The water for cocoa and coffee was put on and a small fire was lit. Around 5:45 it started to get lighter and at 6:20 the sun came out over the mountains. Before that, we could still see the erupting Fuego volcano in the distance. The hot drinks were then ready and we could enjoy them with banana bread and peanut butter. We stayed up until 8:00 a.m., ate and drank everything and went down to San Juan la Laguna. There we had a small snack and a smoothie in a café. A few minutes later we drove in a pickup to San Pedro la Laguna where a restaurant was waiting for us. It was right on the lake and you had the opportunity to jump from the terrace into the lake (4-5m) and of course you took advantage of this opportunity. And then there was a thick pizza😋. At 2:00 p.m. our backpacks arrived and we rearranged everything, said goodbye and disappeared into our accommodation. Now I'm spending a few days directly at the lake and sleeping in a large single tent but on a bed. In the evening I had a beer with three friends from the hike and then got a well-deserved sleep.

Today (02/27/24) there wasn't much going on, there's free breakfast here in the hostel, I put away my laundry and relaxed. I started talking to a Swedish woman and we decided to go kayaking (you can also rent kayaks here for free) and then we chugged across the lake for 2 hours. There's something delicious to munch on and then bed calls again.😁