Lake Atitlán & Antigua 🌋

After what felt like an endless 24-hour journey, I finally arrived in Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala. At first, the joy of the long-awaited reunion was immense! Then it was planned that we would get out of this city as quickly as possible. But well, we didn't manage that very fast. First, our shuttle to the car rental arrived an hour late to pick us up. In the end, everyone was super nice, and we got our car quite quickly. The way out of the city was less quick, though. After what felt like an eternity, we finally arrived at Lake Atitlán. Then it was just a tired crawl into bed for us. The next day, we made the most of it to explore the little towns around the lake. First there was breakfast in the hip San Marcos, then we strolled through the lively San Pedro, and concluded with a walk through the colorful San Juan. All the towns are connected by rickety water taxis. Of course, we also had to take a dip in the lake surrounded by volcanoes - surprisingly warm and clear water. So that was the first day already over. The next day, we continued to Antigua. First, we had to find hiking boots and a backpack for my upcoming volcano hike. After finally finding what we needed at the local market, we could also take a little look around the city. Quite cute but small. The next day, we got up early. First at 7 for breakfast, then the first instructions for the hike, and an hour's drive into the mountains. The group seems quite nice, and our motivation is definitely there. Once we finally set off, it quickly became clear that this would be a rather relaxed affair for us. After many breaks and a leisurely pace, we arrived in the afternoon at our sleeping camp for the night. Definitely cozier than expected. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate; it was really foggy, and we could only see the volcano briefly. But we had a campfire with marshmallows and wine from Chile. The next day, the alarm went off at 3:30 AM because we had a sunrise hike ahead of us. But unfortunately, the fog also spoiled that plan. However, we didn’t give up hope and waited outside until the fog really cleared. And it took less than 10 minutes before we saw the volcano spit lava for the first time. My joy and fascination were immense! I couldn't stop grinning. On our right, a lava-spewing volcano, and on our left, a breathtaking sunrise - honestly, life can't get much better than that. At half-past 6, there was breakfast with a view of the volcano. The rather mediocre breakfast was forgotten at that moment; it was just the moment that counted! After that, we all went back down into the valley. Well, I would describe that part as rather tedious, but it passed too. The next few days were spent just relaxed in Antigua. We explored the city with its famous city gate and alleys. A bit of shopping and ice cream were also part of it. In the evening, we had dinner at the local market before we have a 10-hour drive ahead of us the next day! So far, we find Guatemala really cool 🫶🏼