A land of adventure, charm and beauty

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The journey from Mexico to Guatemala took us through our first land border crossing of the trip, and what a crossing it turned out to be. It sounded simple enough; a 7am shuttle from San Cristobal da Las Casas to the border where your passport is stamped and you switch buses for the five hour drive to Lake Atitlan, our first port of call in Guatemala. We were told the whole trip should take no longer than eight hours, a short journey in comparison to some others we have made previously. But, as expected, things never go according to plan and the unexpected can, and will, happen in this part of the world. The two hour journey from the Mexican Highlands to the border went smoothly enough and we even had time for one last Mexican torta sandwich en route. When we got to the border our driver made a phone call and his reaction showed there was a problem. The minibus that was due to meet us at the border had not yet left its starting point, a five hour drive away, as the route between Lake Atitlan and the border was unpassable. A roadblock had been set up by protesters and they were supposedly going to stand their ground until 4pm. It was now 10am.



With no option other than to sit around and wait, we got our passports stamped, found a small patch of concrete outside the immigration office and got comfortable. We ended up spending the next nine hours sat there, watching the comings and goings of the border as the amount of stranded backpackers piled up until there were about 30 of us. Luckily, some had guitars and others interesting stories so we had entertainment and conversation to help pass the time. Watching the hectic market that started ten feet past the border was entertaining enough in itself, as was the fact that the ‘border’ was nothing more than an open gate across a one lane road and the vast majority of people passing back and forth across it didn’t seem to go into either immigration office.



By the time our Guatemalan shuttle collected us it was 7pm and already dark. The golden rule of travelling in Guatemala is to not travel after nightfall as Guatemala is well known for highway hijackings and robberies. As a precaution, our shuttle bus joined up with three others and we drove as a convoy for the five hour journey east across the country. At one stage, our minibus was pulled over at a police checkpoint and the whole convoy stopped and waited. Although the situation was far from ideal, having strength in numbers took away some of the worry. Personally, I was more concerned about the fact we weren’t getting to see any of the passing countryside which we heard was not to be missed.



The following morning, after arriving safe and sound and enjoying some much needed sleep, we dashed down to the lake to catch our first glimpse of Guatemalan landscape. And what a sight it was. Lake Atitlan is arguably one of the most picturesque lakes in the world. A 20km wide crater lake that sits shrouded in mist each morning, eventually lifting to reveal three magnificent volcanos; Toliman, San Pedro and Atitlan. There are 12 villages dotted around the shores of the lake, many of which have their own language, dress and traditions. Our friend Becky works for an NGO (non-government organisation) in one of the villages called Santiago, and so this seemed like a natural first stop for our exploration of this interesting country. We planned on studying Spanish while travelling and Guatemala was by far the cheapest option. We did some research and decided that Lake Atitlan was the most appealing location to get our heads down and learn another language. A month or two previous, we signed up to study Spanish fulltime for a month in San Pedro La Laguna at the simply named San Pedro Spanish School. This establishment is one of the top three Spanish schools in the country and has palm frond teaching huts dotted around a lush tropical garden that stretches down to the water’s edge. For $200US a week we received 20 hours of one-on-one tuition, accommodation with a local family and three meals a day.



When we checked in at the school we were given the option to live with a family in the town, only a short walk from school, or to live with a family 10-15 minutes out of town who had a peaceful place right on the lake. We went with the second option and it turned out we definitely made the right choice. The Mendez family home was nothing short of perfect. A 200m garden full of fruit trees and exotic plants that led onto a 50m vegetable allotment continuing to a private beach on the lake. We were given a room in an outhouse across the lawn from where we could admire San Pedro volcano which began to rise from the lake only a few hundred metres from our doorstep. Not bad at all.



We couldn’t have asked for a better home or host family. Tula made the most delicious traditional Guatemalan meals and the whole family made us feel a part of their family from the moment we arrived; ‘me casa es su casa’. During the first week or so, dinnertime conversation was pretty basic as the family knew no English and our command of the Spanish language consisted of a bunch of words and the most basic knowledge of how to form the words into sentences. Within a few weeks we were able to tell them what we had been up to each day, chat about their lives in Guatemala and even crack a poor joke or two. Not only did our lodgings and hosts tick all the boxes, but I also ended up with the most awesome of teachers. My tutor, Francisco, had a really creative style of teaching, translating Manu Chao and Guatemalan punk rock lyrics and using Pink Panther episodes to teach me different verb tenses. We had a fun six weeks living in San Pedro, studying during the week and spending weekends away seeing other parts of Guatemala. We also made a lot of good friends with other travellers who were working or studying at the lake and I even managed to wangle myself a DJ set at a beach party which went down really well but ended suddenly when the tweeters blew. And I thought it’d be the bass they couldn’t handle! Doh.



A few hours down a windy, pothole riddled road from Lake Atitlan was Antigua, Guatemala’s colonial heart. Antigua is an extremely cute city where horse drawn carts roll along the streets and on every block stands the remains of a grand church that was left in ruins after a big earthquake in 1700. The city is surrounded by three huge volcanos; Agua, Acatenango and Fuego, a highly active volcano that’s name means fire. During our time at the lake, a lot of travellers told us that we simply had to climb Acatenango and camp out for the night to witness Fuego in all its fiery glory. At just shy of 4000m, Acatenango is roughly the same height as Fuego and the peaks are just 2km apart. We heard the hike was tough and prepared ourselves by going for a 6am altitude run each morning for two weeks before the climb. Kate was most unimpressed. We signed up for the overnight expedition and gathered the essentials; snacks, a carton of wine and plenty of warm clothes as the temperature at the 3800m camp drops below zero soon after the sun dips over the horizon.



We set off at 6am for the hour long drive to the base of the volcano and began the seven hour hike to camp. Unlike the volcano hikes we climbed in Asia, when you hike in Guatemala you carry all of your own clothes, food and the recommended four litres of water plus a portion of the camping and cooking equipment. Add to that my camera and tripod and my backpack was full to capacity and weighed near enough the same as when carrying all of my travelling belongings; around 15kg. The daylong hike took us up through a variety of landscapes and climates, from farmland to cloud forest and alpine to the barren volcanic wilderness. We caught the first glimpse of Fuego erupting just as we were coming up to camp level, plumes of volcanic smoke spewing hundreds of meters from the cone. We set up camp by mid-afternoon, pulled up a log pew and began to enjoy the show. Fuego was erupting every 30-45 minutes without fail and excitement set in as day turned to night and we began to see the orange glow rising from the furnace. With dinner consumed and wine beginning to flow, Fuego gave us our first display of what she is capable of; a 30 second eruption of lava shot sky high before falling and tumbling down the sides of the volcano. Some eruptions were so immense we could feel the ground rumble below our feet, even on Acatenango. Having a front row seat as Mother Nature showed off is probably the most awe inspiring thing we have ever seen. After a jaw-dropping four hours of the fire show, we hit the sack to recharge for the 4am hike to the 4000m summit to watch the sunrise over Guatemala.



The summit hike was, by far, the toughest part of the trip with the final 200m climb taking us nearly two hours. Three steps forward on the volcanic scree were frustratingly followed by sliding two steps back and the lack of breakfast and oxygen at altitude (40% less than at sea level) made even the smallest effort exhausting. We finally made it to the summit just in time to see the sunrise behind Volcan Agua to the east and, before long, we could see as far as Lake Atitlan to the west and the pacific coast to the south. Not one to shy away from a challenge, I decide to try the Crater Rim Challenge. The rules we simple; run a loop of the 700m crater rim without stopping and you get a moneycantbuy t-shirt. It sounded easy enough but the varied gradient and thin air proved to be a killer. Within the first couple of hundred meters I felt like my body was failing but I refused to give up. Thankfully, the t-shirt was a beaut and it only took me about half an hour to catch my breath and reduce my heartbeat back to an acceptable level.



Another weekend away from the lake, we headed to Volcan Pacaya, a very unique volcano just outside of Guatemala City. Seven months previous, Pacaya had violently erupted and a lava river poured down its side, finally coming to rest in a natural bowl where it created a scene that looks totally otherworldly. Thankfully, the hike to the dried lava bowl was a short afternoon ramble. The formations we found were absolutely mind blowing and eerily hidden by the steaming clouds sweeping down from the volcano’s mouth. The main attraction of climbing Pacaya is cooking marshmallows in the smouldering holes that drop down below your feet to the still active lava flow. We polished off a packet in a matter of minutes with a fair amount of help from the local stray dogs (Kate's doing, obviously) that call this volcanic wasteland home. After the hike we spent a few days unwinding at a hippy hideaway called Earthlodge, a tranquil retreat and working avocado farm sliced into the side of a mountain with breath-taking views of the valley below and distant volcanoes towering above. Family style meals were served around a big table and the food was great. There wasn't a lot to do other than sit around, admire the view, eat good food and attend morning yoga classes. Perfect.



The morning of our last day at school, we made a 430am climb to an epic viewpoint called Indian Nose and watched the sunrise over the lake that had been our home for the past six weeks. After a final meal with our host family, we bid our farewell and began a two day journey to the centre of Guatemala, Lanquin; a tiny isolated settlement in the middle of mountainous jungle, accessible only by a 15ft wide road forged out of the mountainside that is in desperate need of some attention. Lanquin’s caves attract people who seek adventure with a total disregard to health and safety. In a group of 12 we were lead through a system of underground rivers by candlelight. You may think that candles and water wouldn't work but thankfully there was always someone who still had a flame to help out those who had lost theirs. We climbed precariously fixed ladders and ropes hanging down waterfalls and jumped off 5m ledges into tiny rock pools. Everyone came away with a few bangs and scrapes but no one complained and a fun time was had by all. In the afternoon, we headed on to Semuc Champey via a giant swing over the river and a 60ft bridge jump for those who craved a further adrenaline fix. Semuc Champey is one of Guatemala’s natural gems. A series of stepped emerald green pools divided by yellow and orange falls, cutting through a thick jungle valley. Due to its isolated location, smack bang in the centre of the country, not many people make the trip to see it in the flesh but if you are in the country and have the time to travel it really shouldn’t be missed.



From Lanquin, we headed to the most northern stop of our seven weeks in Guatemala, the lake island town of Flores. Our sole purpose for staying in Flores (other than to stock up on booze for Christmas in Belize where it costs as much, if not more, than it does at home) was its close proximity to Tikal, one of most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. We got to the ruins at 6am, joining the first visitors of the day which allowed us enough time to explore the site before others began to arrive by the coachload. Tikal is only partly excavated and throughout the site you see huge mounds of grassland and trees which cocoon the buildings and temples that are yet to be dug out. Within an hour or two, as amazing as the ruins were, we realised we were fully ruined out. Tikal was the 6^th ruins we had seen in half as many months and the magic and mystery was beginning to fade. Famed as one of the greatest Classic Period Maya cities, Tikal is also well known for the wildlife for which its home. We were soon ignoring the ruins and searching for wildlife we had yet to see on this trip. Tikal did not disappoint in this respect and by the end of the visit we had spotted parrots, a toucan and a 30-strong family of coatimundis (a close relative to the racoon) crossing the path in single file. We also saw howler monkeys for the first time and heard just how loud they are only a few feet away which is bloody loud considering their call can be heard over five miles away!



Although it’s hard to compare with previous countries after spending so long in one in particular, Guatemala has probably been our favourite country of the trip so far. It is full of adventure and diversity, both culturally and geographically. The people are some of the friendliest, kind, happy and hardworking we have encountered and we will look back on our time there with fond memories and an urge to one day return.

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Photos

San Pedro Spanish School
My awesome teacher, Francisco, and I taking a breather at one of the awesome lakeside classrooms.