The first "big" city in Guatemala

First of all, Guatemala is great! I like it so much here, the people are nice, everything is relaxed and the food is super cheap. The Colectivos and Chickenbuses rides are fun and every place here is pretty in its own way. Many women still wear traditional clothes and also speak a Mayan language. Simply great.

As it turned out, an American family was actually there overnight, but they left again the next morning. So the next day I was the only guest in the entire hostel. I spent part of the day (02/16/24) in Coban. This is the next big city and I didn't know what to do in Santa Cruz Verapaz. I then strolled through a mall and then went hiking in a small national park. For lunch I once again had pupusas, El Salvadorian stuffed corn flatbreads. At around 2 p.m. I was back at the hostel, went into the city center again and hung out in the hammock.

On February 17th, 2024 we went to Quetzaltenango or also called Xela. After I asked the hostel owner after breakfast how I got there, we set off at 7:20. When I got to the stop I was told that the next bus was at 8:30...well great. But I drove to the next town, which ultimately made no difference, but it didn't hurt either.😅 At 9:00 a.m. we went on to Uspantan, got out there and all possible connections were announced. And after 5 minutes I drove on to the next Colectivo. This time I was able to move my arms and legs, in the first Colectivo it was too crowded for that😂 I thought the Colectivo only goes to Sacapulas but when I got there I was held back with the information that we were going through to Sante Cruz del Quiche. Easy. From there we went on a chicken bus for the first time. These are old American school buses that are completely colorfully painted. They have different horns... different rhythms and sometimes even the beginnings of songs like "We will rock you" or "The final Countdown", very crazy. I actually thought it would be a relaxing ride...These buses are awesome, they're tuned like that, it's not normal. Uphill we overtook pickups with ease. And we even pulled away cars when we started. But it was very tiring, of course there are no seatbelts and the speed is not reduced in curves or in narrow places. Starting and braking is only possible completely, there is no feeling. And while I can barely stay on the seat, someone is climbing on the roof?! around and tightens the luggage again or unties some. Completely absurd. Just imagine a go-kart with a school bus and the driver is a wannabe racing driver. But I think it's cool and I'm looking forward to the next trip haha. Anyway, I was at the hostel around 4:30 p.m. and was happy to have only spent €15 for the route; a direct shuttle would have cost at least €40. After shopping and a hearty dinner, we went to sleep.

I don't have much planned for February 18, 2024, just relax and stroll through the city. The entire city was without power until around 2:30 p.m. But that's probably normal, as many shops had a generator running in front of the door. I definitely think the city is great, despite 300,000 inhabitants it is very quiet but there is everything. Huge markets, great restaurants, cafes and much more. And all at low prices, fantastic. I spent some time at a large open air market. I've never seen so much fresh fruit and vegetables in one place, it's just amazing. It all looks so great and wants to be bought for a few cents. In the evening I extended my stay and I will stay here until Saturday (02/24/24). Firstly, there are still many things you can do here and secondly, I have booked a trekking tour. A 3 day tour from here (Quetzaltenango) to Lake Atitlán, which would be my next stop anyway. So it fits quite well and a bit of hiking and sleeping in a sleeping bag is nice again.

Today (02/19/24) I had to get out early again because I wanted to take a colectivo to the Chicabal volcano at 6:30 a.m. The notice here in the hostel for this tour says that it takes 2.5-3 hours to climb. So I thought I would leave early. At 7:10 I was at the road before the hike to the volcano. At 8:20 a.m. I was on the volcano...wow, I could have slept in there. Anyway, at the top I enjoyed the view of two other volcanoes as well as the highlight of Chicabal Volcano, the crater lake. The volcano is inactive and has a lake in the crater with forest around it. The lake is still used today for ceremonies or prayers by the locals. But to get from the top to the lake, you have to go down almost 600 steps. But it's worth it, you can walk around the lake in 20 minutes and it's very beautiful. At the time I was at the lake, 2 women were holding a ceremony and singing something. After spending some time at the lake, I went back down, but first went up the 600 steps again... Not cool at all. After an hour I was back on the road and a colectivo drove me back to the city. On the way back I went to the market and picked up fruit and vegetables again. There wasn't much left to do in the hostel, just a little shopping, laundry (having it done) and cooking again. It's so great😊.