Summiting the 3,976 metre Acatenango Volcano is, without a doubt, THE hardest, most physically challenging, and mentally confronting thing I have ever done. This bitch was DIFFICULT. So, was it worth it, and would I do it again?
Guatemala
Charming Antigua, Guatemala
For once, we did not have an epic journey ahead of us to get from one place to another – Antigua was but a mere couple of hours by shuttle from Lake Atitlan. We almost didn’t know what to do with ourselves with less than a half day’s transit ahead of us!
The colourful towns of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
Arriving in Panajachel, the vibrant, backpacker focused town on the shore of Lake Atitlan felt somewhat… familiar. Market stalls, street food carts and hawkers were as far as the eye could see, and the hustle and bustle was unlike anything we had experienced in a while. We had four nights in this beautiful Guatemalan highland region, and it had certainly been difficult to choose our base from amongst the many small towns that dotted the shore.
The spectacular pools of Semuc Champey, Guatemala
Our two nights in Flores flew by, and next think we know, we’re on yet another cross-country adventure, this time through the highlands of Guatemala to reach the very remote, teeny tiny village of Lanquin deep in the Guatemalan jungle, on our way to the stunning limestone pools of Semuc Champey.
Funky Flores and Ancient Tikal, Guatemala
To cross the border from Belize into Guatemala was an adventure in itself – first a taxi to the border; a 5 minute walk through no-mans land between the two countries thinking we had arrived in Guatemala (we hadn’t!); going through Guatemalan customs and finally entering Guatemala; catching another taxi five minutes into the nearest town; into a collectivo for 2 hours to Flores Town, then finally a quick ride in a tuk-tuk for the last leg to take us onto Flores Island and to our hostel door – PHEW!