Guatemala - a round up

Total days in Guatemala: 40

Total trip days: 103

Distance travelled in Guatemala: 704 miles 

Total distance travelled: 8099 miles

Number of places stayed: 7

Number of planes: 0

Number of ferries: (too many lancha journeys to count!)

Number of buses: 6

Number of trains: 0

Number of Mayan sites visited: 1

Favourite place: 

Ash - Antigua! He liked the quaint cobblestone streets, quirky shops, calm vibes, and variety of activities we did there. 

Holly - Lago Atitlán. They say that the lake is a vortex in that it’s healing and mystical properties draw people to it, and I can understand why. The lake was such a beautiful place to be; the views of the surrounding volcanoes, the cool calm waters, and the Mayan culture in the lakeside towns all made it my favourite place in Guatemala. 

Highlights:
Hiking up volcan Acatenango and sleeping on the volcano watching volcán fuego erupt throughout the night.

Swimming in the cool water pools at Semuc Champney and enjoying the surrounding mountains and nature.


Spending a month at Lago Atitlan: exploring the different towns, relaxing, spending Christmas in a lovely lakeside house, the sunrises and sunsets over the lake, and swimming in the beautiful water.



A week learning Spanish in school (we both learnt lots), and staying in the home of the lovely Garcia family. 


Visiting the artists’ town San Juan del Laguna.

Having a salsa lesson in San Pedro del Laguna.

A wonderfully relaxing week at the Yoga Forest (Holly). 

Overall reflections:  

Guatemala has been our favourite country so far, we really enjoyed our time here, and stayed longer than we had originally planned. We spent much less time on buses, and more time in each place so we were able to really explore and experience the Guatemalan culture. The Guatemalan people are incredibly friendly and hospitable - everyone wants to talk to you and help you if they can. We enjoyed learning about the Mayan culture and languages in Guatemala, and seeing the women in traditional dress. Like other Latin American countries, we heard about some problems facing Guatemalan people; poverty, lack of education provision, lack of sanitation, pollution and lack of rubbish collection, corruption etc. We would definitely come back to Guatemala in the future.