Guatemala: two weeks among volcanoes
Guatemala is well known for good quality coffee, cocoa, marvellous clothes, interesting (although dark, at moments) history and volcanoes. And it was the volcanoes that convinced us to go to Central America for holiday. Hiking Acatenango, with a view at active Fuego, will forever stay in our memories.
Antigua Guatemala
Antigua was our base for the first few days. Most of the companies organising the Acatenango hike are based here. The city has excellent connections with other parts of Guatemala.
Antigua alone is worth a visit too: surrounded by three volcanoes (Agua, Fuego and Acatenango), severely destroyed in an earthquake in the 18th century, with baroque buildings reminiscing about the tragedy. The value of the old town was recognised by putting it on the UNESCO heritage list.
A few days in the town were spent exploring the old streets, trying Guatemalan cuisine and participating in local cultural events. We started our Acatenango trip here; we also went to the Chichicastenango market.
▲ Chichicastenango market
Acatenango
The biggest highlight and the main goal of our trip to Guatemala was hiking Acatenango volcano. Slopes of this volcano offer an amazing spectacle: every few minutes nearby Fuego erupts with lava and ash. We wanted to see it so badly that we purposely did not plan anything after the hike: in case the weather was bad, we would try it again. Luckily the conditions were amazing.
Even though the hike to the camp is not very long, it is challenging: steep, with heavy backpacks and reaching high altitude (over 3500m over the sea level). At night the temperature dropped below zero and a warm sleeping bag could only help us this much. But it was spectacular: watching Fuego erupting all night under the sky full of stars and sunrise above the clouds will stay in my memory forever.
El Salvador
While Guatemala was the main destination for the trip, after descending from Acatenango we decided to hop on a bus and go to El Salvador. We wanted to see the Pacific Ocean, try surfing for the first time and hike another volcano: Santa Ana (Ilamatepec). Most important of all, we wanted to rest a bit: it was nice to enjoy warm water and hot temperatures after a freezing night at the volcano.
Lake Atitlán
Lake Atitlán is another Guatemalan gem. A huge lake occupying the caldera, surrounded by mountains and three volcanoes (San Pedro, Tolimán, Atitlán). Small towns located on the banks of the lake are connected by a short boat ride.
We spent a few days there, resting and hiking. We walked the Lower Mayan Trail leading along the cliffs from Santa Cruz to San Marcos, we hiked to Rostro Maya viewpoint for a sunrise and we explored nearby towns. San Juan La Laguna, with its colorful murals, became our favourite. We were lucky to be there for the event of turning the Christmas lights on for the first time this season.
Transportation
It is hard to travel Central America without mentioning so-called chicken buses (camionetas). These buses, popular both among locals and backpackers, are old school buses from the United States. After their end of service, they are imported to Central America, repaired, painted in vibrant colors and decorated with lights. Here they continue their service as a substitute for public transport. It is probably the cheapest (although not the fastest) way of travelling in Central America.