Today we took a day trip to Antigua which included a visit to a coffee plantation. We were lucky to be the only ones, so we had our guide Louis all to ourselves. He picked us up directly from our hotel, and then we first went to the coffee plantation. After a tour, we also got to taste some coffee.

Afterwards, we headed straight to Antigua. The city is particularly known for its buildings from the Spanish colonial period. That day, it was bustling with activity, as many tourists from a cruise ship were visiting the city!

Last night we flew from San Jose to Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala. Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America with 17.2 million inhabitants. Of these, 1.2 million live in the capital. The country has one of the highest crime rates in Latin America. Initially, I was a bit skeptical as it is often suggested not to carry valuables and to avoid certain areas (referred to as zones in Guatemala City). Honestly, I felt safer here than in Nicaragua. The advice to avoid certain places also applies to major cities in Europe, and one is not safe from theft or the like there either!!! The people here are very friendly and helpful. In the markets, when browsing, you are not rudely harassed if you do not make a purchase.

Today, we took the local bus in the city, also called the Metrobus. At the stops, you buy a ticket for one direction, which does not even cost 12 cents when converted. At one boarding point, we asked an employee where we could buy a ticket since we could not find a machine. Once she realized that we did not speak Spanish well and she spoke no English, she simply let us get on the bus without us having paid.

The relatively short onward journey from Santa Ana and the border crossing to Guatemala went rather smoothly (except for some shady character who tried to rip me off during the currency exchange), and after the overcrowded chicken bus finally fought through the disastrous city traffic of Guatemala City, I arrived in Antigua in the evening, where Colin was already waiting for me. We checked in at the Tropicana Hostel. I had stayed here a few years ago, and the hostel features friendly staff, comfortable beds, and a rooftop terrace with a wonderful view. In good weather conditions, one can even see the eruptions of the home volcano, Fuego, which is already impressive from a distance.

But not only the scenery is special here; the city of Antigua (formerly the capital of Guatemala) has much to offer. Nestled in a picturesque valley and surrounded by the three volcanoes Acatenango, Agua, and Fuego, the city is bursting with colonial charm. Colorful facades, majestic churches, and endless cobblestone streets give Antigua a truly unique flair. With numerous bars, restaurants, galleries, and other cultural endeavors, the city attracts countless visitors from all over the world every year, probably making it the ultimate tourist hotspot in Guatemala. Although its popularity and proximity to the capital significantly raise the price level, it is simply incredibly beautiful here, and one could easily spend a long time, especially considering the seemingly endless options for activities and excursions in the surrounding area.

After spending the first two days strolling through the city, playing pool, and enjoying beer in one of the countless bars, we planned to head up to Volcano Acatenango on the third day, a trek I had already completed during my last visit to Guatemala but couldn’t fully enjoy. One of the tacos I had devoured in Mexico City did not sit well, and I had to tackle the ascent back then with considerable stomach problems. Though I made it to the summit of Acatenango (which stands at 3,976 m), I could only partially enjoy the whole journey there and especially the spectacular eruptions of the neighboring Fuego volcano. This time, it was meant to be without restrictions as we climbed the fiery mountain, and I was optimistic that it would work out. Another little highlight awaited us on the evening before the ascent at the hostel. While we had already met various characters during the previous days, we also got acquainted with Wyatt, a laid-back and quite nice American who could play an unbelievably vast repertoire of songs on his guitar (which he had bought somewhere in Guatemala). It seemed like every classic or evergreen was expertly played by Wyatt without him batting an eye. Absolutely impressive and, of course, a great mood booster, especially in pleasant gatherings filled with new acquaintances. On that fateful evening, the remaining guests of Tropicana gathered in a cozy corner after a few drinks, and Wyatt strummed one song after another on his guitar. Keeping him company was, among others, a pretty wild Canadian woman, and the two became more flirtatious and cuddly as they enjoyed their drinks and songs. It was a wonderful spectacle to observe, eventually culminating in the Canadian woman unpacking a tattoo machine and offering her skills to the group. Skeptical due to the woman’s quite intoxicated state, most of the attendees immediately declined, but Wyatt was evidently intrigued by the idea and offered his thigh as a canvas for a piece of art. The lady wasted no time and immediately started painting. And yes, what unfolded next was an absolutely delicious spectacle for the uninvolved observers. Wyatt sat on a sort of garden bench, played his guitar while the lady was defacing his leg. Really, it can’t be said any differently: I have no clue if it was just due to her inebriated state, but the execution and application were truly horrendous. It felt like an eternity before the design was applied to the skin; the lines were crooked and skewed, and there were multiple instances of the tattoo being redone. She constantly slipped with her hand and her entire forearm ended up over the freshly tattooed area. Terrible, and aside from the craftsmanship aspect, even to this day, I am not sure what the design was actually supposed to represent (I’ve attached a photo for reference). Wyatt endured the bodily harm with grace, and the tattoo just kept getting bigger and uglier. Fortunately, it ended up being just that one design, and while they embraced closely on the bench after completing the artistically so high-quality piece of work, I would have loved to see Wyatt's facial expression the following morning, once his sober mind realized what he would have to carry with him from then on. Haha, simply delightful and shocking at the same time – but yeah, those who suffer the damage indeed have nothing to fear regarding mockery.

With a grin and a shake of my head, I went to bed, and the next morning after a short night, we had breakfast at 7:00 AM and then drove to the foot of Acatenango, from where the group was to set off. 23 people gathered for the ascent, and I was briefly startled by the size of the group (during the last ascent to the volcano, we were only 11 people). Ultimately, the group size was not a problem; everyone was fairly relaxed, and we quickly made new connections. From the start in the valley, it would take almost 6 hours to reach the base camp on the slope of Acatenango, steadily climbing upwards. The trek is steep in places, but (in my opinion) absolutely doable in terms of difficulty. Also, many long breaks are taken, so one doesn’t really reach their physical limits. After starting in an idyllic landscape of fields and farms, the path gradually gets steeper and winds first through dense pine and then through cloud forests. The chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves are very pleasant companions, and as the air becomes cooler and fresher with increasing altitude, the view opens more with every step, finally revealing the surrounding volcanoes beyond the treeline. At least in theory; in practice, it was quite cloudy today, and only occasionally could one enjoy a view into the valley. A girl from our group was now making her way up to Acatenango for the second time within a week because she hadn’t seen anything during her first ascent and didn’t want to leave Guatemala without catching a glimpse of Fuego. She looked up at the sky with concern a few times, and I reassured her not to worry while telling her about my almost eerie connection with the weather god on my travels.

Around 5 PM, we eventually reached the base camp at Acatenango, from which one can also enjoy the famous view of the fire-spitting Fuego – and indeed we got to witness that. Though the weather was still not optimal, the cloud cover opened at regular intervals, granting us a clear view of the main attraction up here. The guides assigned us a spot in the two-story wooden structure, and we stored our luggage. During my first visit here five years ago, there were only very few makeshift accommodation options – I can only recall 2 or 3. That has changed significantly, and along the slopes of Acatenango, various accommodations run by different tour providers stretch out. Almost like a small settlement, one can stay here in various comfort and price levels. We had booked the basic option, which was completely sufficient, and with a sleeping mat and a thick sleeping bag, it was quite adequate for the environment here on the mountain. It should cost around 60 euros for the trek – all inclusive – a fair price, I think. For about 18 euros more, you can spontaneously decide, depending on the weather conditions, to take an additional trek to Fuego and have the chance to get within a few hundred meters of the fire-spewing crater. Our guide asked the group for interested parties for this extra hike, and part of the group opted for the adventurous variant to explore Fuego up close. I also said a clear yes; when one is here and has the opportunity to get so close to the crater of one of the Earth's most active volcanoes, one should definitely take it.

After a short rest in the camp, about 20 minutes later, a group of approximately 10 people set out for Fuego while the rest stayed with one of the guides in the camp. Our guide pointed out the fairly high difficulty level of the extra hike and reminded everyone to bring weather-resistant clothing; although it was currently dry, the weather on the mountain can change quite rapidly.

As the fiery mountain in the background drew attention with several huge jets of ash and smoke, we descended steeply into the valley on a fairly steep path. At times, the descent could only be accomplished with concentrated climbing, and I was already dreading the return journey up the same path, and in the dark. After about 45 minutes, we reached the valley between the two mountains; night fell, and in the dusk, the harbingers of a thunderstorm made themselves known. Just before reaching the valley, the sky was lit up brilliantly by the lightning, and it rumbled loudly. We paused briefly in the wooded area, and the weather situation worsened. While the intervals between the thunder and lightning were still relatively long at first, they drastically shortened, and we seemed to be unlucky as the thunderstorm was now incredibly close.

Our guide conveyed the impression that everything was still within limits and safe, and we began the final ascent. After a while, the sky lit up continuously, and it cracked and boomed at a volume I had never heard during a thunderstorm before. No idea if this is characteristic of a volcanic cone, but the situation was definitely becoming increasingly frightening. Several small groups came down from Fuego and unanimously claimed that the weather up top was catastrophic and that one could see absolutely nothing. I repeatedly gathered the same information, and a guide who had just come down from the mountain advised us to abort – a terrible thunderstorm was raging at the summit, too much electricity in the air, and this entire endeavor was too dangerous under these conditions. Puhhh – great prospects and a completely uncomfortable scenario. I consulted with the others in our group; as our guide also thought we could continue to ascend, we decided to keep going. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly comfortable, and I also remembered a story from my last visit here: A guide had told me then that there had been fatalities on these tours, and when I inquired about the cause, it included “lightning strike.” Damn it, why did that come back to me just now? But in the interest of transparency, I shared this information with the group. Unbelievingly, we slowly climbed further up the slope; it was pouring, the wind blew dust and ash into our faces, and after each lightning strike followed a loud murmur among the group – we were in the midst of a thunderstorm, and it was genuinely terrifying. At that moment, I honestly didn’t know if I fully trusted the guide anymore. And although I didn’t think he would intentionally put his group in danger, my gut feeling told me that this was no longer a relaxed situation, and the faces and reactions of the other expedition participants only reinforced my impression. I have no idea how long we crawled up the mountain; due to the extremely uncomfortable situation, I lost sense of time and space and was just trying to convince myself that nothing was going to happen, while the lightning struck nearby in the surrounding slopes. Eventually, we reached the dusty ground of the summit, and while we were still caught in that dreadful thunderstorm, the clouds behind us parted, revealing the view down into the valley, where we saw the lights of Antigua shimmering in the distance. A surreal sight, and except for the town behind us, we could see nothing else in front. We advanced in monotonous steps; only the shimmering of headlamps was visible through the dense cloud cover while the lightning continuously illuminated the sky. For a brief moment, I wondered why I was even putting myself through this mess, and probably as an absolute joke, since there was no chance of seeing Fuego, lava, and fire at that moment. At some point, our guide said we should stop for a moment, and the group gathered as we stared into the void together, mocking this ridiculous situation with a sense of morbid humor. While it continued to illuminate and crash around us, suddenly, out of nowhere, Colin jumped down the slope with a great leap, emitting some kind of sound. “Fuck,” I heard him scream several times, and while I laughed (yes, the action came unexpectedly and completely out of nowhere, so I really couldn’t help but laugh) inquiring after my friend's well-being, Colin said he briefly thought he had been struck by lightning. I was completely confused, and Colin mentioned that a drop of water located on his hood in front of his face began to glow, and this was perhaps a sign of an impending lightning strike. No idea what to make of that statement; it certainly didn’t improve my sense of well-being, and while I continued staring into the cloud cover, I heard my name being called loudly from the background. I turned around, and Colin beckoned me over to him and the guide while he incredulously gazed at the trekking poles our guide was holding. As he held one of the poles up, the metallic tip actually began to glow. What the fuck – I had never seen anything like that before, and it was somehow both fascinating and frightening, a clear indication of how much electrical charge was in the atmosphere up here. A wild occurrence for sure, and likely the same phenomenon as the glowing drop of water on Colin's hood. Colin was not entirely wrong in his assessment, by the way. This phenomenon is called St. Elmo's Fire and clearly indicates that the environment is very highly electrically charged and that a lightning strike could be imminent.

I thought it would be a good idea to spend the waiting time (for whatever) squatting down, and after a while, the storm weakened, and we even caught glimpses of the ash plume on the horizon. We now moved a few hundred meters closer to the summit, and the cloud cover became slightly more transparent. Eventually, our guide halted the group and stated that we had now stepped within approximately 150 meters of the crater of Fuego. The outlines of the summit cone became visible; the storm had subsided, and we could now only perceive the glow of the sky from a distance. From this point, the situation became significantly more relaxed, and after a few more minutes, the entire cloud cover opened up, providing a clearer view of Fuego. Incredible – and while numerous groups in the days prior had seen almost nothing, and the hikers we passed on their way back were all long-faced, we had caught the perfect timing, with the summit now clearly revealing its full splendor. Minute by minute, Fuego erupted, spitting fire into the sky more or less violently, and with loud astonishment, we watched lava flows cascade down the slopes of the volcano. For over an hour, we observed this surreal spectacle, and it was more than a fitting reward for the frightening journey up here. With such special natural phenomena, one can never get enough, and with each eruption, we gawked in awe at the powers and the show this mountain put on for visitors. And once again, the weather had been kind; by now, it's almost a bit eerie how it always seems to align perfectly, but of course, one can only be grateful when it does. Perfect! Eventually, we got moving again, as the return journey obviously also had to be tackled, and that meant: descending completely from Fuego and climbing back up Acatenango to the base camp. Exhausting, but after the view up there, the journey should certainly be tackled with broad smiles on our faces. In the valley, we distributed two packs of marshmallows as a treat, and as we climbed the steep ascent, the clouds had completely cleared, and from a safe distance, we could observe the constant eruptions of Fuego. We frequently stopped to look back at the fiery mountain, which truly lived up to its name. Almost 5 hours after setting off, we reached the base camp somewhat exhausted; it had gotten pretty cold by now, and we received a delicious meal of chicken, potatoes, and vegetables while warming ourselves by a campfire. The night remained clear, and while we still couldn’t get enough of the spectacular backdrop in the background, one by one, the participants’ eyes started to droop, and people retreated into the hut. I was completely satisfied because compared to my first visit here and the stomach problems, this time I was spared the half-hour night excursion to a restroom disguised as a wooden shed. Moreover, the excursion back then was not possible for some unknown reason so close to the crater of Fuego. I sat by the fire with Colin for a while, and eventually, we also retreated to our sleeping quarters. To my surprise, a dog was sitting on my sleeping mat, looking at me with a “Please don’t chase me outside” expression. The little guy had followed us all the way up and apparently had no desire to spend the night in the cold. I let him stay, and we shared the narrow niche for the night. I crawled into my sleeping bag alone, but the little dog eventually crawled completely under the thick blanket over my sleeping bag and soon fell comfortably asleep. At some point early in the morning, part of the group set off for the summit of Acatenango. However, not me (and Colin) – I was more than satisfied with the trip to Fuego, and I had already fully summited Acatenango during my last visit.

After the traveling group returned to camp, we enjoyed a small breakfast, and around 8 AM it was time to head back down to the valley. The relaxed descent took about 3 hours, and on the way, we encountered quite a few larger groups heading up. Back on the narrow paths through the fields, this sometimes led to bottlenecks, and we had to let each other pass. I have no idea why there were suddenly so many people on the way to the summit the following day, but I was quite glad that our group was quite limited – the turnout was already pretty extreme. Down in the valley, there was a trailer for the climbers of Fuego, featuring an image of the fire volcano as a kind of medal – a nice gesture, I think. I was certainly pleased and reflected on the previous day during the return journey. I have no idea whether what happened up there was simply incredibly reckless and we were lucky or if it was a calculable risk – in any case, it was an absolutely unique experience, and I can only recommend to anyone who finds themselves in Guatemala to add this ascent to their list – whether with or without Fuego.

In the next few days, we continued to explore the city and wandered through the countless small art and trinket markets and on the rooftop terrace of our hostel. I also met Anna and Andre here, a couple from Australia (Anna is originally from Madrid) – two unbelievably relaxed and cool people, and since the two of them were traveling further south, we loosely agreed to meet in Colombia in a few weeks. Of course, we also watched football in Antigua, and the local first league team had a good fire in the building, with a small barra providing excellent support.

Before I was to return to Quito, there were a few farewell beers in a cozy bar with Colin, Andre, Anna, and all the other nice personalities I had gotten to know here again. It was definitely nice – my second stay in Antigua de Guatemala. Whether I will come back here again, I don’t know – but this relaxed town with its colossal volcanoes and natural spectacle has definitely left a lasting impression in my memories. There are just unique places on Earth, and this one definitely belongs to that group.

The rising morning sun transforms the storm clouds and the sea into a golden hue. Pelicans flank our boat on either side as we watch the dolphins hunting.

What sounds like my first bad novel actually happened, because at 6:30 a.m. the sea is still calm and the animals are much more active.

About 1.5 hours later we reached our actual destination, the whale sharks off the coast of Holbox.

Suddenly, everything happened very quickly; the first two climbed over the railing and waited for the captain's command. It didn't take longer than two to three minutes before jumping in, as it is quite exhausting to swim after these large animals.

Then it was my turn; swimming next to these massive creatures was incredibly fascinating, with nothing but 100 meters of deep blue water beneath. I didn't take any videos myself, as everyone else jumped into the water with cameras and various equipment. I didn't want to deal with how to best film the whale shark, so I could fully enjoy those 2 to 3 minutes. Two people from our boat, however, were more concerned with the camera than with the animal itself, and soon the whale shark was no longer visible...

I am truly grateful to have seen that, but I am also aware that 40 to 50 boats daily certainly disturb the animals. Nowadays, only 5 to 10 animals come to the surface; according to our guide, there used to be close to 100.

Due to overfishing and climate change, the animals are lacking food, unfortunately just like everywhere...

The trip went unremarkably, the flight was good, the first night was relaxed. The obligatory bank and hairdresser visit was also no problem.

However, I woke up in the morning before the boat tour with a sore throat, headaches, and a slight fever. I don't know if it's just aftereffects from the last dengue fever vaccination or, as feared, simply the falling 'stress' from the last weeks or perhaps just the weather and air conditioning. But it’s not so bad; I spent the rest of the day in the hammock sleeping, reading, and eating, and went to bed on time at 9 p.m.

As I mentioned, since I had already been to Holbox, I headed directly towards Palenque with a stop in Merida and Campeche, breaking the bus ride into 3 hours, 2 hours, and 7 hours. This decision turned out to be exactly right. By now, the humidity had climbed over 90%, at 44 degrees. Since I had slept poorly the past few nights and the journey to the ferry as well as to the bus had already worn me out, I spent the evening, aside from a short walk around Merida, in the cool room.

Merida and Campeche are nice cities at least in the city center, but one need not stay here longer than half a day or at most a day.

Next, we headed towards Palenque; the roughly 7-hour bus ride passed fairly quickly, but I arrived just in time for the evening rain and had to wait for over an hour at the bus terminal before I could walk the 400 meters to the hostel without getting wet.

The city made a great impression; there are trendy shops and restaurants for tourists, and a few streets over you find markets, street food, and everything Mexicans need, but I preferred it significantly outside the hotel zone :)

Since my hostel was really great, I immediately extended my stay by a night and split the tour to the ruins and waterfalls over two days. We took colectivos (small buses) to the respective attractions.

Each of these small vans departs from a different location; you just have to inquire beforehand where, and it works, even without Spanish...

The ruins were impressive, and one could also climb some of the ruins here. To be honest, I have to say that I will also look at the ruins of Tikal next, but then I will have enough of Maya ruins for a while.

Good thing I wore black pants since otherwise, one could have thought I had been swimming; I could have rung out both the pants and my t-shirt because the sweat just dripped from my back into my pants. The humidity also renders sunscreen useless since you sweat it off immediately.

The first border crossing went smoothly.

In Palenque, I took the first colectivo for about 2.5 hours; I already wondered why I was the only tourist. Well, I had to change buses again.

But even in the second colectivo, there was no one in sight, and the Mexicans got off one by one in their villages.

I actually thought the border crossing would be quite large and that I'd easily find an ATM because I had spent my last pesos on the last colectivo and thus had no money left with me.

I slowly began to sense that I was completely mistaken. Indeed, that was the case, and I was the only one who made the last 500 meters to the border. In fact, I was even the first one who needed a stamp since the border officer had to first change the date on the stamp, and that was at 1 p.m....

On the other side, everything went smoothly, and I had the stamp in my passport after ten seconds.

Now my money problem remained; of course, there was no ATM, which is quite a rookie mistake, so I went into one of the first stores and asked for 'Cambio Euros,' and lo and behold, shortly after, I had my first quetzales in my hand, even if it was at a fantastically bad exchange rate; but that's how it goes when one does not think ahead.

Flores is nice and quite calm, at least now in the rainy season; by the way, it hasn’t rained the last few days, so much for that.

I crossed over with a small boat to reach a viewpoint; 30 minutes of walking and I was there—soaking wet again. The next day I headed at 6 a.m. towards Tikal. Just right, as I found; 4:30 a.m. was too early for me, and after two hours of driving, not many people were there by 8 a.m.

Since I was the only one on the bus who had booked the tour without a guide, I was at least personally sent off before the gathered crowd; thank you!

The decision was just right; I read through the few information signs and simply wandered freely through the national park for 3 hours. Along the way, I climbed on some temples, took two long breaks, observed some animals like spider monkeys, howler monkeys, paca, foxes, and various spiders (thankfully only from a distance) and was back at the bus right on time.

The next day, at exactly 6 a.m., I took the bus towards Rio Dulce, and then directly to my accommodation, which could only be reached by boat. After a ten-minute boat ride, I was a bit further into the jungle. In the mornings, you get gently awakened by the surrounding howler monkeys, and if you manage to fall asleep again, it becomes too warm to sleep by 8 a.m.

I spent the two days just reading and sleeping.

Due to the national holiday, all tourist buses were full, so I took a regular bus to Antigua.

The bus was scheduled to depart at 11:15 a.m. and take about 4 to 5 hours. We left at 1 p.m. and the trip lasted 6 hours. So I’m heading to Antigua one day later.

As luck would have it, Yarden from Israel is also in Antigua right now. We rode motorcycles together in Vietnam 5 years ago, and I saw on Instagram that he is in Antigua at the same time.

So, we explored the city together, enjoyed delicious food, and watched the parades for the national holiday together; impressive.

Together, we then headed to the Volcano Fuego after three days in Antigua.

The struggles of climbing from about 2100 meters to 3600 meters were definitely worth it! The path to the summit was not particularly beautiful, but when we reached the top, the sky cleared, we heard the rumble of the first eruption, and the sight of the massive ash cloud made us almost forget all the effort.

We did not make the way to the viewpoint due to the clouds that kept rolling in, and it would have been another 600 meters of ascent.

It was impressive even so, and eventually, we had to get up for sunrise the next morning at 4 a.m. with flashlight and headlamp.

In the evening, however, it was freezing cold; the 'hut' was very spartan, and everything inside was damp and chilly.

The campfire provided a brief warmth, but with temperatures around freezing, we quickly dove into our sleeping bags or two sleeping bags. Fortunately, as there were only two of us in our hut, we could each use the second sleeping bag; otherwise, it would have been a really cold night.

After too little sleep during the night, we left promptly just before four towards the summit of the 3950 meter high Acatenango.

Since visibility was hampered by fog and darkness, the hike was not entirely easy.

Upon reaching the top, it was even colder, and I literally froze my butt off because while climbing, you naturally sweat a lot, and in combination with the icy wind, the cold was really hard to bear.

Just in time for sunrise, the clouds cleared, and we had a perfect view of three volcanoes.

When Fuego erupted and you could see the glowing rocks and the lava, one quickly warmed up!

Absolutely breathtaking and worth every bit of effort!

After the equally exhausting descent, we headed straight to Lago de Atitlan. The second-largest lake in Guatemala was formed from an explosion of a volcano and gradually filled with water. I had already wondered why no one had tried to cheat me yet; everyone had been quite honest so far. I knew that the ferry from Panajachel to San Pedro should cost around €3. The guy with the conspicuous 'Tourismo' shirt wanted €15 for the public ferry which should take at least 1 hour or he generously offered to drive us across for €35.

As more and more guys with such shirts appeared, I became skeptical and asked Yarden if we could turn around and go to the pier ourselves.

What can I say, the boat cost €3 and took 35 minutes to reach San Pedro...

A nice little place. You can swim at several

A great little story about women in society among the great Mayans. I asked our guide about it and he then explained to us, based on two temples, how wonderful it was and what a great role women had: two temples, one with 9 steps (represents the man), the other with 3 (represents the woman). BECAUSE: the man GIVES us 9 months of pregnancy and women giving birth then give birth to life. Legitimately the only task of giving birth to life, even the 9 months of pregnancy were attributed to men. I was endlessly moved and thrilled to find out. I showed it that way too. My guide couldn't understand it, nope.

Climbing up to the temples was still great, even if it was tiring on the hottest day of my trip so far. In the afternoon we went back and I just managed to book my bus to Belize and measure something and then I fell into bed dead tired :D

This morning we drove to Belize in an extremely relaxed manner within 3 hours, border control was no problem at all and we met a really lovely woman who explained pretty much everything to us, where we could get sim cards and the like. Tomorrow we're going on a tour of caves near here, which was supposed to be very adventurous and is definitely by far the most expensive that I have booked and will book (otherwise I have to go home next week :D). I hope I can do that.

I'm getting careless when it comes to my blog.😅 Actually, it's because I haven't done too much in the last few days. I was in San Pedro until today (03/04/24) and just enjoyed it. It was just good not to have planned anything. Get up, do sports, shower and have breakfast every day. I was somehow missing the routine and I was able to live out that for a few days. Just not driving anywhere, not worrying about the next city, but just living a “normal” life. I also had a "single room", actually it was a tent, for just under €8 and I just enjoyed that. Most recently, apart from the hostel in Santa Cruz where I was the only guest, I had this in Oaxaca, my second place on the trip. Just being able to relax and spread your stuff out as you please, sleep when you want and not have to take others into consideration is what you need sometimes.

Of course I wasn't idle either, I went kayaking a few times or looked at other places around the lake. One day (02/28/24) I was in San Juan, a neighboring town of San Pedro that is within walking distance. I was already there when we came back from the hike, but it was only for a short time. So I strolled along and had dinner in a good comedor. By the way, comedores are my absolute favorite here in Guatemala, a healthy and wholesome lunch with a drink for around €3, simply perfect.

The nature around the lake is breathtaking, several volcanoes and many mountains, the only problem is the bandits who occasionally attack tourists. I don't know how often this happens, but the locals warn against going up without a guide/alone. Of course you can get up there without a cell phone and just a little money, but it wasn't worth the risk to me. So I decided to just take a short hike from one place to another. The Lower Mayan Trail went from Santa Cruz la Laguna to San Marcos. Since robberies occasionally happen here too, I only brought my old cell phone with me so I could use Google Maps to find my way if necessary. Of course, I didn't mark the start of the hike because, according to a blog, it's "easy to find." After walking around for 50 minutes and asking several locals, I was shown the entrance. Ultimately, I could have been on the way after 5 minutes, but that would be boring... Since there was nothing signposted, I had to roughly orientate myself along the lake. At some point I thought I was lost, but luckily I met a French couple who had directions on their cell phones. So I joined them and the three of us walked the path. It wasn't a crazy hiking trail, you only had a good view for 20 minutes, the rest of the time was pretty mediocre. But you feel productive and I also wanted to explore San Marcos. A "hippie village" by the lake, I expected a lot from it but I didn't think it was particularly great. It's interesting that the tourist scene has developed so much there, many vegan restaurants, superfoods, yoga workshops, "natural products" and much more. But everything was just super expensive and somehow artificial, even the otherwise cheap Comedore were all €5 without a drink and I don't need to start with the vegan restaurants. If you have the necessary money and are into the stuff, you're in good hands there. But I didn't find it authentic and the tourist scene was too extreme for me. It was still interesting to take a look. At around 2 p.m. we drove back, the two of us to San Juan and I to San Pedro.

The next day (03/01/24) I went with Max the Frenchman to another city, Santiago Atitlán. We wanted to take a boat at 1:30 p.m., but since we were in different cities and I don't have internet, we just had to hope that the other one could make it. I was still sitting in the Comedor at 1:20 p.m. and suddenly looked up from my watch in a panic... sprinted to the hostel with a full stomach, grabbed my things and then ran to the dock 1:29 p.m., not bad. I was told "No boats to Santiago" so I had to go to a dock at the other end of town. Since it is a small town, I was there less than 10 minutes later and was able to jump straight into the boat and then wait another 15 minutes until the boat was full to leave. In Santiago I looked in vain for Max. After waiting for 40 minutes I then started asking people about hotspot to ask him where he was. But then the boat came with him on it. He had to take a TukTuk to San Pedro and then wait for the next boat...of course I didn't know anything about it without the internet. Well, the reason we were in Santiago now was Maximon. Don't ask me how Max decided to visit him. It's a smoking and drinking saint who can rid you of just about anything, unemployment, relationship problems or epilepsy. Every year the location of the saint changes to a different house in Santiago. A room there is always completely decorated with Maximon and various other dolls as well as lots of incense. There are always two men sitting next to Maximon, traditionally dressed, who have been given permission by Maximon to drink all day long. Entry costs €0.6 and taking photos costs twice as much (that's why there won't be any photos from me, but you can see them on the internet). So two drunk men sit there next to a doll for a year and locals and tourists come in every day to look at it and use it to finance their alcohol? Exactly!

After this spectacle we walked through the city and it is much more authentic there. Even the men wear traditional clothing, otherwise only the women and in general we were almost the only tourists there. Very nice in any case.

The next two days weren't really spectacular, they were just everyday life.

Today we went to Antigua, my last stop in Guatemala. The journey went a little differently than I expected but the people are all very helpful and always show you which bus you have to change to. But since the next bus was waiting for the previous bus, there was no time for a pee break. The journey was supposed to take another 2 hours and the jerking of the bus didn't exactly help my bladder. When paying, I asked if we would take a break first. He said something I didn't understand and went back to the front. Another 20 minutes passed with just one thought until we stopped on the road and I was waved forward. In the middle of the street, with a small supermarket behind me and the bus in front of me, I should pee...😂 Different countries, different customs or as the saying goes? I'm not proud of it but it was necessary😅.

When I arrived in Antigua, I first had to buy something to eat and walk around a bit. My first impression is too touristy, tons of souvenir shops and everyone is selling you something. I don't like it that much but maybe that will change tomorrow.

I'll be on a meditation retreat for a few days starting Wednesday, so the next post will be a little later.

Yesterday morning I was briefly at a huge market nearby that had everything from fruit to spices, even a huge market hall with second hand clothes. Tomorrow I'll fill my stomach here again and in the evening I'll start my 14 hour journey towards Flores and thus a huge step closer to Belize :)

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.😁

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😊.

Somehow the post got very long...if you don't feel like reading the stuff, just look at the pictures😂

On February 11, 2024, after a delicious burrito and a drink we made ourselves (milk, peanuts, pineapple and powder from a healthy plant (I forgot the name)), we went by boat to the hotel. It was almost 15 minutes up the river and therefore very remote and quiet. It was very nice and the various huts were only accessible via footbridges. You had to rely on your own restaurant for food. Since my stomach was still stressing me out, I couldn't eat that much anyway. There's not much you can do there, other than hanging in a hammock, kayaking (free), eating and sleeping. Yes, I had actually only planned one day, but since I couldn't go canoeing today, I booked another night. The food was super tasty and also reasonably priced.

The first night was very interesting, the sounds that start as soon as it gets dark are very cool. No more birds, just the insects that chirp and make other noises. And how loud, crazy. My bed was right next to a "window" so there was a hole in the wall with a metal grille and a fly screen in front of it, so you were basically outside😅

Sleep is definitely more restful at home but at least no roosters crowed there like everywhere else. At around 7:00 a.m. I was awake (02/12/24) and couldn't sleep anymore. After the standard breakfast here in Guatemala: eggs and beans, I got ready for the kayak tour. First time in something like this, I have no idea how it works properly, but just put it in the water. I was very surprised at how strenuous it is, an hour of cycling is no problem, but an hour of rowing is not without it. I actually wanted to drive to a castle in Rio Dulce (it's supposed to look super cool from the water) but that would have been twice as far as I ended up driving. I didn't quite believe it, my choice of kayak was perhaps not the best...it was very narrow and when a motorboat goes by, you rock quite a bit. But I definitely had fun. The rest of the day was quiet. By the way, the hotel owner is Swiss. 20+ years ago he and a few friends had the crazy idea of buying an area in the jungle and yeah, they just built the Hotel Casa Perico there.

February 13th, 2024 was supposed to be another wonderful travel day. The boat left at 6:00 a.m. and at 6:30 a.m. I took the first Colectivo to El Estor. An hour later I was there and found out that the bus to Coban leaves at 8:00 a.m. Perfect, enough time to get something for breakfast. Everything went well and then we went another 5 hours towards Lanquin. The day before someone who works at the hotel told me how to drive. I previously wanted to drive differently but he said that the road was very bad and would take longer than the other route. And I'm glad I listened to him, if the other road is even worse than the first few kilometers between El Estor and Coban, then I would have at least a few bruises on my body. Boy, just a gravel road that we drove over in a 30-year-old school bus. There were bags full of beans, tables and other things attached to the roof and the bags flew off the shelf in the bus and I was more in the air than in the seat. But credit to the bus for enduring that. After about an hour and a half the road became nicer, at least on the left side, our side was still terrible😂 But that only lasted for half an hour, then we would also have asphalt under our wheels. Taking the bus here is different than in Europe... you don't question it, you're just happy that you only paid €6. When we arrived in Coban, we stood in a huge square with what felt like a hundred buses that were all going somewhere else. My bus took me almost directly to the toilet, only almost directly because there was a market in between. Fruit, vegetables, chicken (live, dead, fresh or breaded), tacos or just anything that people no longer need at home. When I got back to the buses, I was chatted up straight away and he helped me find the bus to Lanquin. On the bus I realized that I was hungry and should have bought something but then I didn't want to go back. Luckily, there are people who take advantage of exactly that. They then have their basket or tablet and come into the stationary bus. Everything is offered for snacking, peeled fruit, chips, drinks or a portion of red and white fries and for 60 cents you don't have to be told twice. And how could it be otherwise, the only other tourist who comes in is a German😂 It was nice to chat with him, but at some point it became so crowded that we didn't even feel like we could see each other anymore, even though there was only one seat between us. It's always exciting to see how many people, animals and bags fit into such vehicles. After another 2 hours we arrived in Lanquin. I had a hostel in the city and Valentin outside, but close to Semuc Champey. We exchanged numbers so we could do something together the next day. I then went to the hostel and it is a really nice hostel, well outside the city but still within 15/20 minutes. In the middle of a mountain and the buildings all have thatched roofs and are built on stilts. But unfortunately there is again no kitchen to cook for yourself, just a restaurant with somewhat expensive prices. However, I found two restaurants in the city where the locals also eat and the prices there are significantly cheaper. That day I only walked around the very small town once, ate two burritos in one restaurant and then went back to the hostel.

On February 14th, 2024 I arranged to meet Valentin at 9:00/9:30 a.m. in front of the entrance to the Semuc Champey National Park. But we both don't have WiFi outside the hostel. I wanted to have breakfast at the Comedor and then take a truck to the park and he has to walk to the park and have breakfast at the hostel.

At the Comedor (local restaurant) I had eggs with beans and tortillas with a coffee for €3. Meanwhile a 16? Year old full but I had the impression that it wasn't quite as bright. I don't know what exactly he wanted. He sat there in the Comedor but didn't eat anything, played around with money but didn't pay anything and was somehow waiting for me. He probably works in transport for people who want to go to the national park, but he was too young to drive. When I finished and went to the street, he came with me. The transport system is very simple: you stand on the street and when a pickup truck comes by you jump up and get driven up. But he talked the whole time and then showed me a pickup truck that ended up driving me up. Maybe he was just being nice and wanted to help me...but you have better things to do, right? Well, I was standing in the back of the pickup and it got bumpy. Almost 30 minutes uphill, downhill and only over gravel. Sometimes the tires spun because it got so steep and sometimes he was racing through curves on this gravel at 50 speeds... When I got to Semic Champey, I waited until 9:40 and when Valentin still wasn't there, I went alone pure. Semuc Champey is unique, it's just huge natural pools with little steps in between. I think the pools are all made of sandstone or something and have formed that way over thousands of years. You can swim everywhere there, some of the pools are up to 5m deep and completely clear everywhere. It's very difficult to describe. Definitely a great experience, the weather was cloudy and it rained every now and then but it was still really beautiful. I was completely alone in two pools for almost an hour because they weren't the "main pools", but I didn't know that. Later I went further and noticed that the people were there too. It was much easier to swim there, but there was more hustle and bustle here compared to the lower ones. If you stood still for a few moments, the fish would come and nibble old skin flakes from your body. After this bathing session, I went to the viewpoint. On the way there I met Valentin, who had taken longer than planned to get here. And I finally saw howler monkeys. Seeing might be an exaggeration since they were so far up in the tree that you could barely see them, but still. Little black monkeys and they are loud... The viewpoint is awesome, from there you can see all the pools and the spectacular surroundings. The trip was definitely worth it!

Around 1:30 p.m. I hopped back in a pickup truck and went to the Comedor in town for a sandwich. It turned out to be 3 slices of toast with rice, beans, pasta with tomato sauce and vegetables. Strange sandwich but for €3 you can't complain about it either.

At 4 p.m. we actually met and went into a cave together. Thousands of bats were supposed to come out around 6 p.m., so we had enough time to explore the cave. In front of the cave they tried to offer us a tour again, but you don't need a guide for the cave. We went into the cave and there was no one there, completely alone in a gigantic cave, really awesome. After 3 minutes we heard footsteps behind us and a little Guatemalan came towards us. He was rambling wild things and smelled unbelievably of alcohol. An uneasy feeling spread but he didn't want to let go of us, he also wanted to give us a tour. But he was such a hoe and sweating excessively that we just wanted to get rid of him. After a little discussion we moved on. He was still hitting rocks or something and then probably went out. So we could continue to enjoy the cave. The path was lit and reasonably passable. The size of the cave was simply impressive, never seen anything like it. A few more tourists actually came later and also guided groups on our way back. So we had chosen the right time. We waited in front of the cave for a few minutes and gradually saw the bats fly out. And more and more of them flew out through the entrance, it was crazy. Afterwards we said goodbye and returned to the hostels.

I didn't feel like driving tomorrow so I asked if I could extend another night. No. Okay, so I still have to look for a place where I want to go...

Today (02/15/24) after breakfast we headed towards Santa Cruz Verapaz. There was the next best hostel on the way to the south of Guatemala. I arrived here after a 3.5 hour drive. It's not a touristy place but it's also interesting. I haven't met any other guests in the hostel so far and otherwise it's very quiet here. But actually a nice hostel. I don't know what I'll do here tomorrow, we'll see.

On 07.02.24 I just wanted to go for a short hike and I did. About a kilometer away from the hotel, a hiking trail starts up a mountain, through the jungle here in El Remate. It actually costed about 5€ to enter but it was worth it. There was a 4km and a 6km route, which doesn't sound like much but it was quite exhausting considering the temperatures and elevation. Along the way, there were 3 viewpoints and the view of the lake was amazing. During the 3 hours I was there, I only saw 2 other people, so it was quite peaceful. I also got to watch some spider monkeys for a few minutes, they were snacking on fruits right above me. There were also some birds around, actually less than I expected, and a few small lizards. On the way back, the howler monkeys started screaming again and I thought I would finally see them. Wrong. 

Back at the hotel, I spent some time in the hammock planning my next destination and then spent almost 2 hours on the pier/in the lake until sunset. The hotel was quite empty that day, mostly older people on vacation. 

The next day (08.02.24) I went back to Flores because the next morning I was planning to take a shuttle to Rio Dulce. This time, I was staying in a different hostel and didn't do much. I had a little conversation with a German lady and after a few sentences, I found out that she is a 'horse girl'. Turns out, she used to ride horses before her trip haha. It was a pretty superficial conversation because I didn't like her personality but oh well, everyone is different. I finally got a SIM card so I could have internet outside the hostel. Actually, I didn't miss having internet the last few days and it was actually freeing to only have internet at the hostel... 'in case something happens' yeah, I don't know. For lunch, I had pupusas, stuffed corn tortillas, in my case with beans and cheese. They were very tasty. I didn't do much for the rest of the day and went to bed early.

I woke up at 04:30 (09.02.24) and could doze off a little until 05:00, at 05:15 there was free breakfast (toast with peanut butter and coffee) and at 06:00 I was on the shuttle to Rio Dulce. And of course, I sat next to a German lady on the bus, she did a semester abroad in Colombia and then traveled Colombia. She gave me some tips and maybe I will visit some of the places she mentioned. After about 2.5 hours, we had a planned break, 15 minutes. That turned into a 45 minute break because the bus driver had to go to the workshop, something was wrong with the tires😂 The rest of the journey was relaxing though, and after 5 hours we arrived in Rio Dulce. I actually didn't plan to stay in the city because it's not particularly beautiful but the secluded hotel right on the river was fully booked. So I have to spend 2 days in a hostel in the city. That day, I walked around the city a little bit and later went to the pool with 2 Germans. And a German couple joined later as well 😂 I had a longer chat with the German couple and they gave me some tips for Guatemala.

Yesterday (10.02.24) was laundry day and a waterfall was on the agenda. The waterfall was recommended to me by the couple and they came along as well. The waterfall was in the middle of the jungle and had hot water. The pool was cool because it had water from the river, but the falling water was very hot because there was a hot spring above. A very interesting experience. There were also a few small caves behind the waterfall that you could dive into. It was incredibly beautiful and peaceful there, a lot of people came around noon but we were already leaving. After that, we said goodbye, they wanted to go to another city and I went back. I visited a second-hand shop and bought a Columbia fleece jacket for 2.50€?! and then went back to the hostel. My stomach was causing trouble again, so I spent the rest of the day in bed and on the toilet.

Today (11.01.24) I'm going to the hotel by the river but until then, I'm just chilling in the hostel✌️

I learned two things, the first thing is: Don't believe everything a crazy American says and second thing: Don't trust any taxi driver.

There are two ways to get from Palenque to Flores, the shuttle transfer, where you are taken to the border and picked up after the border, is of course correspondingly expensive, or by public transport. Of course I took the cheaper second option.

The first border crossing was on Saturday (03.02.24) and that meant getting up early. At 07:15 I was already sitting in the colectivo to Tenosique. After a few more people were recruited, we set off at 7:30. The journey took a little over 2.5 hours, which meant that I had 25 minutes in Tenosique to cover a distance of 3km, when it was already 26°C. My only option was a taxi. My first mistake was telling the taxi driver that I wanted to go to the bus station, which only goes to the border. Due to the lack of space, the backpacks were thrown into the trunk and I squeezed into the back seat. The first two people got out and I told the taxi driver that I was getting out too as it was only a 5 minute walk. He said no, there are no colectivos there today🤨. I tried to ask him why and he said that let's take the lady in the passenger seat away first. We stopped in a completely different direction and in the middle of the field. By now it was already 10:20 and the Colectivo was supposed to leave at 10:30. We discussed using Google Translate and somehow I believed him that because of the day (Saturday) no Colectivos go to the border. I no longer had a real choice; time had progressed so far that I wouldn't have been able to get to the Colectivo on time. And since I only had the information that the bus behind the border leaves at 12:00 and 4:00 p.m., my choice was sealed, as I wouldn't have been able to get the bus otherwise and didn't want to wait until 4:00 p.m. We agreed on €30 for an hour's journey and then reluctantly set off...

In hindsight you're smarter, maybe he was right and there really aren't any Colectivos on Saturdays, of course I don't know, but maybe he completely fooled me. Anyway, we drove through the pampas at 140kmh sometimes without safety belts. So there were seat belts but no counterparts😅

After a short search by the police in front of the border, a siege by Mexicans eager to sell (a foreigner is taken to the border alone in a taxi -> he must have money and wants to buy all our stuff...😂) and a short hike, I arrived at the border house . And here I was faced with the next "fear" because I didn't have this document that the guy in San Cristóbal was constantly talking about. Absolutely unnecessary. I was asked where I came from, where I wanted to go, stamped in and done. I was in the first house for less than 5 minutes to leave. A few meters further, I was in Guatemala. I got my entry stamp in a small hut on the side of the road, no questions or anything. Wonderful. With a bad exchange rate, I was able to exchange my remaining pesos for Quetzales to at least pay for the bus.

I hadn't paid attention to the clock anymore but when I saw a bus pulling up to Santa Elena I knew it was 12 o'clock. So I quickly jumped up and off we went. With interruptions, many interruptions, we had to bring empty bottles to a supermarket, then someone got a few chicken eggs and then the driver bought a honeydew melon. The first stop was very beneficial to me because I hadn't been to the toilet for a few hours, but I hadn't noticed it until then. When I came back, everyone bought themselves an ice cream and we continued relaxed. This went on for 4 hours until I arrived in Flores around 4 p.m. After another 30 minutes I was at the ho(s)tel, actually a hotel with two 4-bed rooms within my budget🫠. I optimistically postponed the purchase of a SIM card until the next day and devoted myself solely to the purchase. While cooking, I chatted with a German and enjoyed the view of the lake. Because Flores is partly on an island in a lake.

After the first incredibly warm night in Flores, I went to the mall to get some cash and a SIM card. Neither one nor the other worked. It's Sunday and the cell phone providers are closed. The ATM wouldn't pay me any money, so I tracked down another one...and a third. Unsuccessful. I then checked at the hotel and found that my withdrawal limit was set too low...😑

Once that was fixed, it miraculously worked. I was also able to squeeze in a walk around the island before lunch (it only takes 20 minutes to walk around the island😂). In the middle of the island there is a small street food stand that looked very promising, and it was. A taco, a burrito, a torta and a fresh pineapple juice for €3.60, not bad. Later we went for a swim in the lake and ended the day on the terrace.

On February 5th, 2024 I tried my luck again with the cell phone providers... the entire system for new registrations in Guatemala is down, but is running. It should probably be possible again on Thursday or Friday, let's see. Then probably without internet outside of the hostels for now. I set off around 10 because I wanted to go to another village on this lake, El Remate. A colectivo then took me there. El Remate is a village of 2000? residents and actually only consists of 2 streets, a main street and a hotel and restaurant street right on the lake. My ho(s)tel (same concept as in Flores, only nicer) is located directly on the lake and the jungle, it has its own beautiful jetty with great sunsets. From here I plan to go to Tikal, one of the largest Mayan cities.

I walked a bit along the main street, which is about 20 minutes from the hotel, and noticed that there felt like nothing here😂. I threw myself into the hammock on the terrace and listened to the sounds of the jungle. At sunset we went out of the room with the others onto the jetty and into the lake, super beautiful. At around 7 p.m. we ordered our dinner here in the hotel/restaurant. Some people got the wrong thing, one wanted a soup without chicken, and a soup with chicken came. It was brought up and the soup went into the kitchen for what felt like a minute, the chicken was fished out and the same soup came back 😂. At least my noodles were right. We sat here until around 10 p.m., even though all the staff had already left.

Today (06.02.24) I got up early because the shuttle to Tikal was supposed to leave at 08:45. Since I didn't know whether breakfast would take as long as dinner, I planned enough time😅. In fact, it didn't take that long, but I got into a conversation with someone who was only in the lake for a short time yesterday, Kian. He and his wife also planned to go to Tikal today, but they have some kind of all-inclusive deal with the owner here, which is why he's going to Tikal. Yes, one thing led to another and I went to Tikal with them for free. We arrived at 10:00 a.m. and Santiago picked us up again at 4:30 p.m. Since the two of them were on a "private tour", I didn't want to disturb them and said that we would meet back at the parking lot at 4:30 p.m.

So now I was in a huge park full of Mayan temples and cool animals. It was similar to Palenque but much, much bigger. It was amazing, temples hidden everywhere and sometimes nothing at all for 20 minutes except the jungle with its inhabitants. I could see toucans, spider monkeys, (tapirs or a type of wild boar), coatis and a few birds. Beautiful. Unfortunately, I could only hear the howler monkeys again; whenever I was on their trail, they fell silent...

The view from Temple 2 and 4 was breathtaking. Especially from Temple 4, there was only jungle far and wide and a few temples that also towered over the trees. Craziness. In between I met the other two but they were also traveling alone. I took a lot of breaks at the temples to simply take in these mighty buildings. Tens of meters high and over 1,500 years old, it's unimaginable what they achieved back then. At around 3 p.m. I met Kian, he was painting and we went to the exit together. He's a really interesting guy and we had a good chat. And he, like everyone else, recommended that I stay at Lake Atitlán for a few days. I'm very excited about the places there. Anyway, we sat in the restaurant for quite some time, talking and waiting for his wife (unfortunately I can't remember her name). After she bought a few souvenirs, Santiago almost came and took us back to the hotel. Why he swapped the ancient BMW without a seat belt and without a functioning speed display for the cool pickup this time is a mystery to me. But it was an interesting trip😂 I watched the sunset again at/in the lake.

**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!”. 😄

We struggled with grief and the question of what to do: fly home or continue the journey. It felt somehow wrong to just carry on, "having fun", experiencing something, chilling on the beach, knowing the situation at home. We wanted to be there for our family and spend Christmas with them. This was also the reason not to continue writing on the travel blog. It didn't feel right. We looked for options to return to Germany.

In constant contact with Germany and several emotional lows, we came to the decision to continue traveling. Our family in particular encouraged us to continue the trip. A very emotional message from my aunt finally made me decide to stay.

But even after the decision, doubts continued to arise as to whether it was the right decision!? 😢

We were at home in our thoughts 🖤 and said goodbye in our own way in Caye Caulker and drank a Baileys Coladas by the sea 🫶🏽RIP Charly🫶🏽

After Lake Atitlan, we took the bus north to Flores, Guatemala.

Flores is a city on the edge of a vast jungle that stretches well into Mexico. We stayed on Isla de Flores, an island in the middle of Lake Petén Itzá. It's a nice, small island with many colorful houses and the charm of a jungle town. From our hostel, we could paddle out onto the lake in a canoe.

This area was inhabited early on and was part of the great Maya Empire. The capital was Tikal and housed about 50,000 people. After the fall of the empire, which is still unexplained to this day, the city was reclaimed by the jungle and rediscovered in the 19th century.

Many of the impressive temple complexes have been well preserved through extensive restoration work. When strolling through the streets of Tikal or climbing the temples, you feel transported back in time. Even today, important rituals are performed there by the descendants of the Maya on special holidays such as the summer and winter solstice, equinoxes, and full and new moon. We were fortunate to be able to witness a ceremonial celebration between the Great Jaguar Temple and the Temple of the Masks during our visit.

December in Guatemala was very eventful.

We visited the cities of San Pedro and Santiago. San Pedro is located at the foot of the volcano with the same name and is known for its many restaurants (especially Israeli) and nightlife.

Santiago is the oldest Mayan city on the lake and is famous for its large and diverse markets. Compared to San Pedro, Santiago is less touristy and has a very traditional atmosphere.

In addition to the many small towns on the lake, you can also enjoy the nature. For example, by going on a hike to one of the many waterfalls in the area.

One special highlight for us was visiting a cacao farm. It is not a conventional farm, but rather a healthy, natural ecosystem where the cacao trees can grow in the jungle without any chemical influence. The farmer, Don Juan, showed us the different varieties of cacao. Additionally, with our guide who is of Maya descent, we had a cacao and tobacco ceremony right in the forest. Tobacco is also a sacred plant in Mayan culture.

On December 24th, we had a Christmas dinner with our friends here in San Marcos. Each person contributed a dish from their home country to the dinner. We made Austrian bread dumplings with mushroom sauce.

We took the 'Chickenbus' (typical means of transportation in Guatemala) to Antigua. The bus ride itself was already an adventure. You simply hop on the nearest bus and hope you get closer to the destination. Along the way, you have to change buses.

After a wild ride, we arrived safely in Antigua, a small town near the volcanoes. From there, we were picked up the next day and driven to the base of Acatenango, where our tour started.

The climb to the camp (3700m) led us through a cloud forest, and after 4.5 hours, we reached the camp. From there, we had a great view of the Fuego volcano.

After a 1-hour break, we continued for another 2.5 hours to reach Fuego directly. At the top of the volcano's ridge, we were only 1km away from the active crater. The wind was so strong that we had to hold on to the ground to not lose our grip. From there, however, we had a spectacular view of the sunset and the glowing lava. We were able to witness the breathtaking eruptions and the raw power up close.

On the way back, our strength slowly faded, which made the hike back to the camp in complete darkness a bit more difficult. Upon our return, dinner and a hot chocolate awaited us to warm up.

After a short night, we started the ascent to the summit of Acatenango at 4 o'clock in the morning. At an altitude of nearly 4,000m, we watched the sunrise above the clouds.

We fortified ourselves with breakfast before starting the long descent.

It was an unforgettable experience to be so close to an active volcano.

There are many Maya villages around Lake Atitlán, so you also have the opportunity to learn about their culture. We participated in a Maya Cacao & Fire Ceremony, where we learned about the sacred cacao and the Maya calendar.

In addition to the cultural offerings, there are also many dance and yoga events on wooden platforms with beautiful scenery.

One of the most colorful villages on the lake is San Juan, which we visited during a day trip. The residents have decorated many streets with artistic images.

After a 38-hour journey with an overnight stay at the airport in Costa Rica, we arrived in Guatemala tired but full of anticipation.

Our accommodation is located on a hill overlooking Lake Atitlan and the surrounding volcanoes.

San Marcos is a nice little town on the shore of the lake with many good restaurants and friendly people.

We are staying at 'Casa Jaguar' together with our friend Simone, some other backpackers, and the host Tarn.

This place is wonderful for relaxation and offers many activities. We will stay here until early January.

The jungle, which dominates the landscape here, starts right behind our accommodation.

Welcome to Lake Atitlan

After this torture for our bodies, we were looking for a place where we could relax and enjoy ourselves. Of course, everything on a backpacker budget. For this, we chose Lake Atitlan. The lake is about 1/5 the size of Lake Constance. In the midst of volcanoes, an oasis of diversity has formed. Small villages are located in the individual bays, which could not be more different in vibe. However, everywhere you were reminded of Lake Como or Lake Garda. One of these places was San Pedro (a party place that we stayed away from), San Juan (the most local) or San Marcos (a hippie stronghold). We decided to take the shuttle to the latter place directly after descending from the volcano at 2 PM. We spent the first night in an unremarkable hostel, which we quickly left the next day. Then we stopped at Ahau. This hostel convinced us so much that we stayed here for 5 nights. The two owners, Erikk and Daniel, have turned the place into a small tropical home for travelers. Erikk's favorite saying was "Peace & Love" and Daniel's was "See you in the future". We lived in a German bubble of 8 people and did many day trips, family dinners, and an aloe vera production together. For example, we went to Cerro Tzankujil (Nature Reserve), Indian Nose, or Chichicastenango.

Cerro Tzankujil

On Wednesday, we walked to the small nature reserve Cerro Tzankujil. Just a 10-minute walk from our hostel at the river, there is a small oasis next to a small harbor. On the one hand, there were many viewpoints here to look out over the lake and enjoy the day in peace. The green of the trees and the blue of the lake harmonized perfectly. On the other hand, there was also a 12-meter high diving platform into the lake, to find the inner balance between adventure and relaxation.

Unfortunately, our journey changed a bit here because Tino broke his foot here. It is now forgiven. We had everything checked in a hospital with an X-ray machine. Due to the exertion from the hike to the two volcanoes, his body could no longer provide full support in case of a misstep.

Indian Nose

On Friday morning, 5 of us set our alarms at 3:45 AM so that we could start our way to Indian Nose at 4 AM. We managed to leave at 4:15 AM. It was going to be challenging because according to Apple, the sunrise was supposed to be at 5:39 AM. Since we wanted to do it without a tour, and I staged this, I was chosen as the tour guide and had this written on my chest. Unfortunately, there is no chicken bus (name for the public colorful buses) from San Marcos, so we simply set out in the dark at night and wanted to see if we could find a bus, a tuk-tuk, or a hitchhike. After a few minutes, we found a tuk-tuk driver who offered to take us to San Pablo, where we could get on a chicken bus. Since there was really nothing on the streets anymore, we agreed and negotiated the price down a bit. On the way, I had to get out several times because the slope was too steep for the 6 of us. Accordingly, I always walked a bit ahead. When we arrived in San Pablo, we realized that if we waited for the bus, we would miss the sunrise. However, we negotiated an acceptable price again and were driven to the entrance of the park. After a short time, a man with a machete and a camouflage jacket came towards us in the middle of the forest and fields and told us that he was the guard of this private property. I had heard before that a father and his son would rob tourists without a guide with a machete. I told everyone about this, and we were a little nervous, but his articulation did not match that of a robber. We decided to follow him, and he took us to the beginning of the hike, where he then asked each of us for 50 Quetzales (about €6). This was also written on a self-made sign. I knew that the entrance to Indian Nose cost exactly the same amount. We paid the bill and were supposed to do the 20-minute hike alone. When we arrived at the top, we realized that we were about 20 meters below the actual viewpoint on a privately built lookout point. However, we were there exactly at 5:39 AM and we were the only ones there with the same view. We were happy about the privacy and the fact that nothing happened to us. Now we enjoyed the rising sun over Lake Atitlan and its volcanoes for over half an hour. When we got back down, our guard was waiting for us and transported us on a pickup truck for only 5 Quetzales, which took us to the next village, from where we walked home. We stood in the back of the open load area and could continue looking out over the lake. All in all, this made the trip super adventurous and we will never forget it.

In Chichicastenango, there is the largest market in Central America. We visited it for a few hours. We took a public bus directly from Panajachel (capital of the lake) for 20 Quetzales for 1.5 hours. Before that, we had to take a public boat for 30 minutes to get there.

On the market, you can buy absolutely everything. Similar to the one in Antigua.

My highlights were the colorful cemetery and the tortilla session. Here, I ate something at a street stand and then asked if I could bake tortillas. Since I, as a Gringo (actually American), was not used to it and have a taco press at home, it was really difficult for me to shape them by hand. Everyone laughed at and with me. Unfortunately, I used too much water, so I got a second chance. However, I didn't give up and was very satisfied with my end result.

After diligently sitting in school and sitting on our white asses, it was time for a physical and mental challenge. We longed for an adventure. It should be the 3rd largest volcano 🌋 in Guatemala. The Acatenango is just under 4,000 meters high and can be climbed with an overnight stay. We left behind about 2,000 meters of altitude. From Antigua you could see it wonderfully. Behind the Acatenango is the Fuego. This volcano is still very active and you can even see it erupting from our hostel in Antigua.

We chose the most reliable organization Wicho & Charlie's. This was a vegan and sustainable tour, which was a bit more expensive than the others, but should also be well organized. I cannot judge whether this was only marketing. In any case, we had more shepherds, as many tops to borrow as we wanted, no tents but so-called cabins, and thicker sleeping bags. We felt very comfortable with our decision when booking.

We were kind enough to leave our backpacks / stuff in our hostel, so we only had 4 liters of water (one was for cooking) and a few change of clothes in the morning at 7 o'clock with our tour guide.

My anticipation increased even more on the way there. An active volcano, where is something like this possible, when will I ever experience something like this again, will it even happen again, how strenuous will it be? All questions that went through my head. Furthermore, my plan was to hike in my sneakers and jeans. Does this work?

When we arrived at Wicho & Charlie's, we were first sobered up. Unfortunately, we didn't have a confirmed booking, so we only had the option to book the private cabin for an additional charge of 25€ each. We quickly decided on it because we were already ready to go and the weather conditions were perfect. Now there was a small breakfast for strength, we received our lunch, and we could fill a bag with nuts and snacks. Then the doors for the clothing distribution were opened and it was a matter of quickly finding something suitable and warm. There was a feeling of fear in the air that you wouldn't get enough. That's why everyone stormed in like the Germans in front of Aldi in the morning when there's something cool in the flyer. I was right there at the front. 😂

At the top, it's supposed to be very windy and cold, up to minus 10 degrees. Now I was torn. On the one hand, I know that I don't get cold quickly and I want to take as little luggage as possible. On the other hand, you don't want to freeze up there either. I still had a long-sleeved lycra, sweatpants, the shirt I was wearing, and my jeans with me. I decided to put on a thick hat, neck scarf, gloves, fleece sweater, and a windbreaker. All of these parts were free. I briefly considered whether I should borrow running poles or proper hiking pants. I decided against it.

Now we were loaded into a shuttle bus and taken to the entrance of the national park in about 1.5 hours. Quick trip to the toilet and off we go. I estimate that my backpack weighed just under 10 kilos.

The ascent took 4.5 hours. Thank God we had nice weather and no rain until the base camp. It got cloudy in between, but that wasn't a problem. During the ascent, the vegetation kept changing. You could really perceive the different zones. Down below, it felt more like being in the jungle. Further up, I felt like I was in the Fangorn forest. Gray veils hung from the trees, catching the mist. It was a mystical feeling that overwhelmed me. Even higher up, the plants and trees got smaller or there were more shrubs, but this was almost at the top. In between, you could see the black volcanic stone everywhere.

Every now and then, it felt like there was thunder in the distance. I realized relatively early on that it wasn't thunder, but eruptions of the Fuego. I had never felt anything like this before in my life. The power of nature, the exposure, the involuntary time intervals between each eruption.

This feeling drove me on to see the Fuego from the base camp of the Acatenango.

I was always at the front and we had a very good speed. So we arrived at the camp tired but still within a reasonable range. We still had a great view of the erupting Fuego. We always saw the plumes of smoke, heard the bubbling, and slowly but surely the mist solidified.

We quickly set up our sleeping arrangements and noticed that it started to rain. Since the plan was to climb to the top of the Fuego at 6 p.m., we decided to bridge the rain with a power nap. After 20 minutes, we unfortunately had to realize that it was still raining. We gathered in the kitchen tent and talked actively with the other hikers. We all gathered from all walks of life in a yellow tent decorated with countless national flags, drinking hot chocolate, eating marshmallows, surrounded by mist and rain. Unfortunately, the bad weather accompanied us the whole night and the next morning, so we couldn't hike to the top of the Acatenango or the Fuego. In the night, we all woke up as the eruptions of the neighboring volcano shook our ground from time to time. Despite the fog, we could see the eruption relatively well at night and we saw lava rocks shooting into the air. However, since we wanted to go to the Fuego as close to the crater as possible, we decided to stay on the volcano for another day and night, hoping for a favorable time slot to see, smell, feel, and hear the forces of nature up close. The entire next day was also foggy, so we occupied ourselves with meditation, Jenga, deep conversations, fears, push-ups, and many other distractions.

At 12 o'clock, a mountain guide came and brought us food. The same meal as the day before. We all devoured it immediately. Our bodies still had to compensate for the hike of the previous day. I was glad that I didn't have any muscle soreness. However, we all vegetated in our worn clothes and I seriously considered whether I should treat myself to a shower at the next opportunity. In the end, I decided against it. It was cold and I didn't have a towel to dry myself with.

The tour for the next day reached us at 3:30 p.m. The day should repeat itself just like the previous one. We had little hope left to be able to climb the Fuego and went to bed. We set an alarm for 2:45 a.m. and hoped that we could tackle the hike at the break of day. And indeed, the mountain guides agreed and everyone put on all the clothes they had with great anticipation in the deepest night and in light fog. The hike took about 1.5 hours in complete darkness, which we illuminated with our headlamps. The path led us over narrow hiking trails past deep ravines, over makeshift wooden bridges from the base camp downhill and then uphill again to the side volcano. When we were only 300 meters away from the active volcano crater, we stayed there for a good half hour. In freezing wind without moving, we realized how cold it was and why we had dressed so warmly. I was very pleased with my choice and enjoyed the silence, the unreal ambiance, and the fresh breeze. Since the clouds move relatively quickly up there at icy heights, our guide hoped for a short clearing of the weather conditions. Unfortunately, this was not granted to us, so we were satisfied with the hike and the physical experience and hiked back to the base camp. When we arrived there, the weather suddenly cleared up and we could at least see the volcano in its full size again. After a burrito for breakfast, we headed down. Laura, one of the fellow sufferers who also stayed another night, and I practically ran down the volcano, so our shepherd had to run after us to slow us down so that we could wait for the rest. After about two hours of descent, we reached the entrance or exit of the national park, sweaty and satisfied. Even in the following days, we raved about this incredible experience over and over again and were completely satisfied with the events. This painfully reminded us of our muscle soreness, which accompanied us for three more days. Through this experience, both Tino and I have developed a real desire for the next hike.

A big thanks goes out to Clara. Here you can see a few pictures when the view is perfect. One week later, this was taken by a friend.

Pepian was supposed to be my first stew of my trip. Appropriately, it is also one of Guatemala's national dishes. Before even trying this dish, it was cooked from scratch. I opted for a veggie version. Normally, Pepian is traditionally cooked with chicken. Here, chicken broth is used as base. I replaced it with a simple vegetable broth.

Ingredients

• 1.8 liters vegetable broth

• 500 grams green princess beans

• 1.5 kg potatoes

• 2 chayotes

• 150 grams sesame seeds

• 150 grams peeled pumpkin seeds

• a small stick of cinnamon

• 12 tomatoes

• 3 dried pasilla and guajillo chillies each

• salt

• 1 tablespoon achiote paste

• 3 white onions

• 1 bunch of cilantro (including stems)

Instructions

First, add the beans, chayotes (peeled like a pumpkin) and potatoes to the finished clear vegetable broth. Let them cook for about 20 minutes.

Afterwards, roast the cinnamon stick, sesame seeds, and peeled pumpkin seeds without oil in the same pan.

In the same pan, also roast the tomatoes, chillies (remove seeds and stems beforehand), and onions without oil.

Then, grind the cinnamon, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds into powder. For this, add the chillies, tomatoes, onions, achiote paste, cilantro, and a pinch of salt and blend until it forms a fine puree. This takes some time, repeat the process frequently to ensure the mixture is really smooth.

Once you're done with this, you're almost there. Now simply mix the paste into the vegetables including broth, so that it all combines.

Let it simmer together for another 10-15 minutes.

Since something was missing in the veggie version, I added some Guatemalan dark chocolate, which fit very well. I served the Pepian with white bread.

Enjoy your meal!

Hello dear ones, I finally have some time to review the first adventures and put them into writing. As mentioned before, Tino and I started in Antigua Guatemala.

We chose this place because clear Spanish is spoken in Guatemala, so we wanted to begin our journey here with a two-week language course.

Antigua is a colonial small town with a population of about 35,000, which is about the same as Buxtehude. It is surrounded by active volcanoes. The three most famous ones are Volcan de Aqua, Fuego, and Acatenango. Antigua is also characterized by a viewpoint with a large cross, a local market, and charming colorful streets.

We quickly settled into the city due to its manageable size and our daily routine. Our great hostel (Hostal Morenos) also helped us, as we always had a great breakfast here in the mornings. There was something different every weekday. We also had to get used to the fact that firecrackers were fired in honor of a holiday at any time of the day. This happened every single day.

Language Course

We started our lessons promptly at 8:00 am on weekdays. Okay, sometimes we made Magdalena wait for 3 to 5 minutes. However, this did not bother her at all, as she could acclimate herself to her phone for a few minutes. We stayed here until noon. Tino and I were lucky that no one else booked a language course through our agency, so we had the teacher all to ourselves. She was able to focus on us better. Here, we learned the three most important tenses: present, simple future, and past, as well as many vocabulary words. We also studied for an additional 2 hours in the early afternoon to reinforce our learning. The verbs were and still are the most difficult for me. After two weeks, we had the tools to communicate simply. Now we have to keep at it, deepen our vocabulary, and try to speak a lot of Spanish. The school was located in a monastery, which was particularly noteworthy due to the many plants and beautiful architecture. It was filled with small gardens. Since it was an active monastery, Tino and I were initially very surprised. Approximately 30 aspiring priests from the USA also attended Spanish classes here to be able to preach in their native language to the Hispanos in their community. Everyone was very friendly and we learned a lot about their calling.

Cerro del la Cruz

On one side of Antigua, the Aqua volcano dominated the city with its mighty silhouette. On the other side, a large cross stood on a viewpoint. In the first week, we climbed up to the cross in good weather. We were advised to take the right path, as there were more frequent robberies on the left path. We reached the cross safely and were rewarded with a view over the city and the volcanic landscape behind it. It was up here that we met our first travel friends: Becki and Nat. The following days, we had frequent family dinners at their hostel, as the kitchen there was very well equipped. We could cook to our heart's content. We also practiced our English there instead of Spanish, as Nat is from Canada 🇨🇦. In the hostel, we also met their friends Gabi and Andrea, who are from Switzerland and the USA, respectively.

City Market

In the western part of the city, there was the large city market. It can be compared to a shopping center. Here, you could find everything you need, whether it's electronics, food, household items, or delicious street food. Tino and I bought our groceries for the next few weeks here.