On January 3rd, 2016 we packed our things in our hostel in Antigua. After gathering all of our belongings into our backpacks, we went out to the street to await our van to take us to Lago de Atitlán (Lake Atitlán)! This was super exciting for us as it was an internet picture of Lake Atitlán that drew us to Guatemala in the first place. We were excited to see the lake in person. But first we had to get there. We had purchased tickets in Antigua for a van ride to San Marcos la Laguna (San Marcos at the lake). We were told the ride from Antigua would be about 3 hours. Whenever the van showed up. As we were waiting, we debated on going back to Fernando's for a coffee. But I talked Rob out of it in case we missed the van. We definitely would have had time as the van showed up about an hour late. We piled our gear on top, and piled our bodies inside and hit the road. Apparently we were the last passengers for pick up. Rob got shotgun while I had to ride in the middle between him and the driver. We were again glued to the windows, watching everything as it passed us by.

Originally, when we'd arrived in Antigua, we had felt as if we'd stepped back in time in some ways. There is a lot of old architecture and cobblestone streets. It doesn't seem that there is an abundance of money there, but the people get by. In short, it was a bit of a shock to us. By the third day, we had begun to get used to it though. We felt safe and pretty comfortable there. But, as we inched closer and closer to the lake, we wondered what had we gotten ourselves into with this trip. The small, single-story city blocks enclosed by brick and cement that comprise Antigua central gave way to standalone single family homes that were fashioned from cinder blocks and corrugated sheet metal and were mostly open to the air. Along the drive, these slowly became more scarce and were replaced instead with open landscapes dotted with sheet-metal-and-stick lean-tos.

Our van crested a mountain ridge and we caught the briefest glimpse of the lake. Our worries were quelled for the moment as our excitement skyrocketed. We made it! Our driver began a very long, very slow, very twisty descent down to the lake. The road was laden with giant potholes and was washed out all over the place. The shoulders were nearly vertical on both sides with scant guardrail. I noted that a good mechanic could probably do very well for himself here just replacing brakes. Our lives were fully in our driver's hands through these countless switchbacks. Before each turn, he laid on the horn as a warning for any approaching vehicles. He was laser-focused and we averaged maybe 5mph for the last 2-3 miles down to San Pablo la Laguna. Our van driver informed us that we would be getting out here as he was continuing with the remaining passengers to San Pedro center. He hailed us a tuk-tuk (imagine a quasi-enclosed, motorized tricycle) driver and we climbed in with our backpacks. We asked our driver if he knew how to get to Castro's in San Marcos. "Si." We were in luck and on our way to our house on the lake!

Because there are no street addresses in San Marcos, our landmark to find our temporary new home as told us by our host Castro was a "multi-colored flag hanging in a tree 50m before the burned-out truck". For months we had tried to imagine this scene. What if we walk right past it? Will we notice? What if the truck gets removed? What if someone else's truck breaks down somewhere else? Is this truck destined to be there permanently? The questions vanished when we found it, though; it was quite obvious. Our tuk-tuk driver parked on the side of the road and pointed to the trail up the mountain side as our destination. Following Castro's instructions, we went up the path and through the gate. Then up the trail into the woods. We felt like we were on a jungle safari now, as all we could see everywhere was green; we were deep in the thicket. "Turn right at the path" (this would have us now walking across the hill rather than straight up it. We appreciated this change) and follow it down a ways...suddenly we were in front of the house!

We walked up to the house and found a woman cleaning. Rob communicated with her that we were looking for Castro. The lady walked through a path near the house and came back shortly with a man who introduced himself as Karsten (aka Castro). He welcomed us to the house and stated that it wasn't quite ready for us as we were a little early. This was fine with us as we were very hungry. Karsten gave us a quick tour of the house and a key. We locked up our valuables in the safe and left our bags so we could go get some food while the house was being prepared. We walked back down the path to the dirt road and made our way into San Marcos center.

It was about a twenty minute walk into town from our house. The views of the lake along the walk were amazing. Our stomachs were getting angry at us so we ate at the first place we could find when we got into town; Los Abrazos (the hugs). When we walked into the building we first saw information for the travel opportunities that could be arranged on site. Next, we saw the restaurant dining area which looks as if it is in the living room of the family's home. We sat down and ordered our meals. I got tacos and Rob ordered a burrito. The experience was pleasant although maybe slightly slow but we didn't mind. Rob even had the opportunity to translate for a lady that came in looking to rent an apartment from the restaurant owner. This was totally pushing the limits of my Spanish speaking skills. I hope I got the proper message across. When it came time to pay, we realized we only had large bills with us. The meal cost much less than our smallest bill and the restaurant could not make change for us. They suggested that we go break the bill at another business and come back to settle our tab. So that is what we did.

We left Los Abrazos without paying in search of a place that we could make some change. We wanted to get some things to bring back to the house for preparing our own meals anyway. There was a roadside stand that seemed to sell a bit of everything including eggs and veggies. We stopped here and gathered some things to make our own breakfast. We learned that eggs are sold as singles and do not come in a carton. We ordered a dozen eggs and received a queer look from the store attendant (maybe it's more typical to buy them one or two at a time?) and we got them handed to us loose in a plastic bag. This was frightening. What if the eggs broke on our trek back to the house?! I had brought a reusable compact grocery bag in my purse that I put the eggs and other items in. This seemed to work well for extra strength and protection. After we got our change, we quickly went back to Los Abrazos to pay our bill before exploring the town.

San Marcos la Laguna is a small village. It is known around the lake for it's holistic and spiritual vibe. There are several yoga, meditation, and massage centers. We wandered the narrow paths off from the main road and made our way to the dock. This is where locals and visitors can take a boat to any of the other lakeside villages for a small fee. There are several children who seem to hang around the docks and gather around tourists when they arrive via boat. They ask where you are going and offer to show you around the town (generally in English, and this seems to be about the extent of their English vocabulary). We were very well versed in "No, gracias!" in short order. After checking out the water tempurature (it was warm) we wandered back through other paths to the main road. The town seemed to be organized exactly how we had read that it would be. Businesses/hostels/tourist spots were located closest to the water, this is where the "gringos" (expats and hippies, mostly) lived and frequented. Further into town and up the hillsides is where most of the indigenous Mayan families resided.

The walk back to the house was pleasant and offered generous views of the lake again and surrounding volcanoes. We offered pleasantries to all the passersby with a friendly "Buenos dias!" Everyone we met was in good spirits. How could you be anything but happy when you're in a place so beautiful with such amazing weather?! Before we knew it we were back at the burned out truck and our signal to start our hike up the mountainside to the house. This week was definitely good for our calves! We arrived to a house that seemed like it was fit for a king and queen with its outrageous view. The hostel in Antigua was comfortable for us but this house raised everything to the next level.

After appreciating the view from the house we started to unpack our things. We were going to be here for a whole week so we figured we should make ourselves feel at home in this paradise. Karsten stopped by as we were settling in to greet us again and ask us if we needed anything. He provided us with phone numbers of local men who could provide us with tuk-tuk and/or guide service. He also showed us where we could refill our filtered drinking water vessel and gave us a quick rundown of the area. It was safe to walk in the area but we were getting into the high tourist season and there was a small chance of being held up by machete in certain areas outside town. Karsten said that we likely wouldn't have any issues (especially with Rob's big muscles) but to be safe we should carry only small amounts of cash and give it away if threatened rather than risk injury. We asked him about places to eat/things to do and he recommended Maya Moon (further up the road away from San Marcos) for drinks and/or food as well as a good swimming spot. It was safe to walk there on the road and further past Maya Moon to Tzununa. But, he stated that to continue on past Tzununa to Jaibalito he would recommend a guide for safety. We thanked Karsten for his information and finished settling into the house as he left. He lived down a short path from the house so if we needed anything he was nearby. For anyone checking out the area we highly recommend renting this property.

When we were in town we had picked up some rum (Ron Botran) and Coke so we cracked into this and sat to enjoy the view on the deck with each other. We each had brought a book with us as well as a deck of cards so we took the opportunity to relax and enjoy the quiet while reading followed by a game of cards. Eventually we decided that we wanted to venture out before dark to check out Maya Moon. We locked up our valuables and the house and hiked our way down the mountainside to the road and turned left to head towards Tzununa. We followed the dirt road and continued to marvel at the views. About ten minutes later we found ourselves in front of the gate for Maya Moon. The property was on the lake side of the road so we entered the door to the property and started following the path to the restaurant. This "path" was more like a neverending set of switchbacks and stairs. It took us about another five minutes (it sounds like a short period of time as you're reading this, but when it is nonstop stairs, it may well be forever) to make our way down to the base of the mountain where we found the bar/restaurant next to the waterfront. ​

We decided to eat at Posada Schumann (Hostel of Schumann) because of its awesome location right by the docks. And also because it was on the way as we headed back toward town and our house. However, it took forever for any staff to come out to us. Perhaps they didn't know we were there, but there was no notification system that we were aware of. We just walked in from the sidewalk and found a table, but there was nobody there at the time.

We got to watch the young boys hanging out on the docks waiting for the gringos to come in. This was neat because generally they're right in your face trying to sell you things or get handouts. It was much less annoying when we got to watch them from a distance, and we realized they actually offer a useful service directing people where to go and organizing the water taxi routes. The water taxis are very loosely managed, if you haven't gathered that yet. The boats have no indication on them of where they're going. It seems that they just head to whichever destination is most popular at that particular moment. If 20 passengers want to go to San Pedro, then they go. If there are only 5 people at the docks, the boat will wait for more people. The boys on the docks help coordinate who is going where, and they collect money for the taxi captains. So while they can be a nuisance, they generally seem to be working pretty hard, especially for their ages.

We finished up with our meal and decided it was time to head back to the house. It was our last night at the lake so we wanted to make sure we had everything packed and ready to go for the morning. We strolled leisurely back to the house, knowing this would be the last time we would be making our way to it.

We awoke the next morning and made breakfast per usual. We gathered all of our belongings and stuffed all of our gear and souvenirs into our backpacks. We made the walk into San Marcos smiling and waving at everyone we encountered along the way. We already knew we would miss the friendly atmosphere around the lake. Once we got into the center of town we waited for the van that would take us back to Antigua. We had arranged an early ride to Antigua so we could spend a few hours there again and then we planned to catch a different van to the airport. We again enjoyed looking out at the foreign land through our windows for the duration of the ride. 

The ride seemed to go by quickly and soon enough we were back in Antigua. Our drop off point was at a hostel close to Fernando's. We were allowed to drop our bags here to be secured in a room while we wandered Antigua waiting for our next ride. It was lunch time. The only logical place we could think of to go was Gloria's to get more of those amazing tacos! Again, we were blown away by how good they were. And the fresh juice that came with them was strawberry-pineapple this time. We strongly believe a trip to Antigua is incomplete without stopping at Gloria's. Holy crap, it's just SO GOOD.

After lunch we wandered the streets enjoying the lively atmosphere. We had a completely different perspective of the city after driving through the highland villages and visiting the lake. Antigua now seemed like a wealthy bustling metropolis as opposed to our initial impression.

Before we headed back to catch our van we stopped by Fernando's for coffees. And also to pick up coffee beans to bring home. This is another must-do in this amazing city. We bought as many packages of coffee that we thought we could fit in our bags. We knew once we ran out, it would suck to go back to store-bought coffee in America. We paid for our things and left, making our way back to our bags and catch our van to the airport.

We boarded our van at 6pm. The van had various other stops throughout the city to pick up other passengers. We were a few blocks away from our origination point when we were informed that we were on the wrong van. With the language barrier we couldn't quite figure out what was going on. But we grabbed our bags and made our way back the pick-up point as we were told. It seemed that the process was very disorganized. Soon, we boarded another bus. And very soon after that it was like déjà vu when we were told we were supposed to be on a different van. This time we got out and grabbed our bags and waited at that location. A coordinator from the van service was with us. Finally, we got on a third van. And thankfully, the final van. Again we stopped at different locations to pick up other passengers. Only Rob and I were going to the airport it seemed. We got to Guatemala City and dropped off some passengers at other stops. Eventually, we saw the airport entrance sign approaching. And passing. We were about to let the driver know that we needed to go there when he pulled to the side of the road and got out to give us our bags. Apparently, we weren't getting dropped off at the airport, but sort of close by to it. It was hotter in Guatemala City than Antigua and near the Lake, even though it was evening. We walked up the road, carrying all our worldly belongings on our backs, to the airport entrance and began the final steps to getting home.

Our airport experience was pretty uneventful. Since it was evening, there weren't very many people around. I think ours was the only flight going out within several hours. It seemed everyone there was at our gate. We got a final drink in the airport bar. A local beer, Moza, because who knows if we'll ever have one again. The flight was pretty rough most of the way, unfortunately. It was the first time we'd been actually somewhat nervous due to turbulence. We had a transfer in New York, and finally landed in Boston around 7am on 1/10/16, a Sunday. We were greeted with dreary, rainy weather, and cold. But it was preferable to snow! We arranged an Uber to get us home. We'd been so long out of Ipswich, we were excited to be home. And we needed to catch a nap before we were prepared to drive to pick up Loki from our friends! He was so excited to see us when we finally got to him.

We decided to spend the precious few years we have on this Earth being adventurous and exploring the globe, even if some areas may be considered unsafe. Where is safe? Where is unsafe? I suppose there is not a correct answer to those questions. All I know is that travelling and learning about new areas, people, foods, and cultures gives us amazing experiences and memories. We are determined to see as much of the world as we can while we are able.

We said: "We’re going to Guatemala.”

They said: “Why?”

This was the most common response that we received when we told friends and family of our plan to visit the central American country. The unknown instills many emotions in people. We felt curious and excited when we saw a picture of an eco-lodge situated on beautiful Lake Atitlan a year ago. We were instantly intrigued. We decided then that we would someday make a trip to visit Guatemala and see this amazing lake. After about a year, we had accrued enough vacation time. We spent that waiting period conducting research on traveling in the area. To comfort ourselves, as well as our friends and families, we worked to prepare ourselves as much as possible for the experience, so we read accounts of fellow travelers, travel alerts, and CDC websites.

During the few months prior to the trip we solidified our accommodations through AirBNB and obtained the recommended vaccinations for visiting the country. The night before our departure we drove to the lakes region of New Hampshire to drop Loki off with some friends. We would miss him but we knew that he was going to have an excellent time with Kerri and Theo and his canine friend Bambi. Finally, on 12/31/15 we got an early morning ride to the airport and awaited our flight to Guatemala City. It was about a six hour flight in total with one layover in Atlanta.

Flying into Guatemala City afforded us an amazing bird's-eye perspective of the alien landscape. It was different than anywhere I’d been before with several small dips and valleys, and many of the communities organized on the high plateaus. Having never been outside the US or Canada I expected some level of a culture shock once I arrived. It was honestly just a bit overwhelming trying to navigate through customs and get out of the airport. The process itself was quite easy, however. We stuck together and made use of Rob’s small Spanish vocabulary and basically followed the crowd. However, I don’t speak the language and am not a huge fan of crowds, so upon exiting the airport I stuck close to Rob and followed his lead. 
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Once we made it through customs I desperately needed to use the restroom. I was frantically searching for a ladies room with none to be found. There were several kiosks for people to get taxis, shuttles, and buses etc. so we stopped to ask where to find the restroom and get transportation. We decided to take a cab to Antigua which was about one hour away. The restrooms were located outside the building so we made a detour there first. The ladies room of course was closed so I waited patiently while Rob disappeared into the men’s room. It was when I was by myself that a man came up to me and started speaking Spanish. I tried to tell him that I didn’t know Spanish and finally he said “I’m the guy.” I found our taxi driver! Or he found us. Either way, as soon as Rob came back out we hopped in his cab and started our Guatemalan adventure. ​

The weather was amazing as we left Guatemala City. Dry and in the 80s. We were mesmerized by our surroundings. Lots of people, "chicken buses" loaded with luggage on top, we even saw a man on top of a bus while it was driving down the road. Since neither of us are fluent in Spanish, conversing with our driver was hard, so we mostly just stared out the taxi windows, absorbing everything we could as it whipped by.

As we approached the former central American capital city, our driver began trying to extract from us exactly where in the city we wanted him to abandon us. We were able to remember and communicate a nearby landmark, "Hotel Santo Domingo", when our actual street name didn't seem to register. A very short walk later had us standing in front of a nondescript door to the hostel Casa del Sol. A door on which the other side of was our temporary home; our solace in this crazy foreign place; our safe space, home base. A door which was locked and to which we had no key. Fortunately, we had been given special instructions by the Airbnb owner on how to get the key from a keybox.

Fernando's Kaffee on at Calle Camposeco and 7a Avenida Norte is a must-see for all you coffee drinkers. There are so many delicious options here, we had to visit it twice. Maybe three times? A popular Guatemalan coffee variation includes a special type of chocolate made for this purpose. It dissolves easily into the drink to make a rich mocha drink that is amazing. I stuck to cafe Americano which has since ruined all other coffee for me. The seating area is very relaxing here. One of the days we sat out here there was a woman making fabrics and selling them. The colors used are incredibly vibrant. Also note there is a cat that likes to hang out at Fernando's, and you will likely meet Fernando himself if you stop in here. He's super friendly and will make his presence known. We decided to forego making our own breakfast one day and stopped here for traditional Guatemalan breakfast with eggs, beans, and fresh tortillas.

 As we were walking around aimlessly one afternoon, we reached an intersection somewhere near central park. As we tried to decide which way to go, a woman approached us. She was selling fruits. We weren't particularly hungry, but we bought a bag of freshly-sliced mango for 1Q (about 13 cents) anyways. It was unbelievably good. We learned that food just tastes remarkably better when it hasn't traveled far.

If you're looking for souvenirs, Nim Po't is a great place to check out. They stock all sorts of art and crafts made (almost always by hand) in Guatemala and nearby countries. The great part about shopping here for us was that they accept major credit/debit cards. We had exchanged for an amount of Quetzales through our bank before we left home and we were hoping not to have to get any more because it's more expensive to exchange currency in Guatemala. So we took the opportunity to get some small gifts for family and friends back home, without putting a dent in our cash-on-hand.

As a recommendation from our AirBNB host we found outselves at Café No Sé (Café I don't know) on 1a Avenida Sur. This was convenient as it was right down the street from where we were saying. And they had happy hour!! This bar is known for it's Ilegal Mezcal which had been traditionally smuggled into Guatemala from Mexico. Mezcal is made from agave. It is similar to tequila (made from blue agave specifically). We each took a shot, with a couple that we had met from Chicago who were on their honeymoon. Rob enjoyed it. I on the other hand, passed on the second round. Another evening we made our way to Terrace Hostel. Here we sat on the rooftop bar and watched Volcan En Fuego erupt. It felt surreal to be drinking a cocktail on a rooftop while watching lava flow down the sides of a mountain in the distance.

We spent a total of 3 nights and most of 4 days in Antigua. We tried to explore as much of the city of possible during this time. There is amazing architecture around the city and several ruins from the old colonial capital. Rob was interested in all of the vehicles that we saw that are not available or differ slightly from what is seen in the US. ​