Day 1
While I wished we had more time in Guatemala we made the most of our week there! We took a flight from Costa Rica to Guatemala City in the afternoon. The airport was pretty small and once you leave you are unable to reenter. I highly recommend hitting the ATM on the inside however, there is a second one located in the parking garage across the street. You will need cash immediately. On the first night, we stayed at Somos Hostel in Antigua. This hostel was the perfect accommodation for our group of 7. The staff was so welcoming and helpful. I was able to reach out to them on Instagram to schedule a shuttle from the airport to the hostel. The hostel is a beautifully preserved colonial home complete with a hot tub, bar, and killer rooftop views! There were places to chill, watch Netflix on the TV, or tables to play games. There are daily activities posted daily as well as great local restaurant recommendations. For dinner, we ate at Tacorazon which was delicious!
Day 2
Early in the morning, we all crawled out of our pods to start our hike to Volcano Acentenago. Some of us are more excited than others. We decided to book through Soy Tours which I would highly recommend. Our base camp was in an excellent location and the food portions were huge. The group I was traveling in consisted of military, nurses, and fire medics. I think we all underestimated how challenging the hike was going to be. Altitude sickness was a very real thing for us. After several hours of straight elevation gain, we finally made it to the top. I can not stress wearing layers enough as well as bringing extra water. I would honestly recommend between 2-4 liters per person.
I have never been more happy to make it to a base camp in my entire life. We got settled into our tents and then gathered around the fire for dinner. We were able to see the volcano erupt a few times before heading off to bed. I had issues sleeping from the smoke, noise, and altitude sickness.
Day 3
When I say we woke up at the ass crack of dawn. I mean that. The energy and morale of the entire group was very low. However, we had been keeping a secret in our friend group. Blaine was planning on proposing to Abby at the summit during sunrise. The warriors also decided to do the additional hike to Fuego the night before. I have no idea how they were still standing after that entire day of hiking yesterday. When we finally summited the top we lost our friend Mandi and my dad, who had both turned back to base camp. While we waited for sunrise Blaine got down on one knee and asked for Abby’s hand. She was over the moon. The crowd broke out in a thunderous applause. And in that exact moment, the volcano erupted. It was pure magic. After about an hour up top with freezing winds may I add we began our descent back to the bottom. The hike down was so much nicer. You could see Lake Atitlan from the top of the volcano. The steep road down was brutal on the knees. Several of us ran down to lessen the pain. By the time we made it down, we were ready for our victory beers and well-deserved showers.
That afternoon we returned to Somos Hostel, showered, collected our belongings, and began to explore downtown Antigua. We had a few hours before the last shuttle to Lake Atitlan left for the day. We decided to go check out some local shops, go to the yellow arch, and happened upon the coolest Starbucks we had ever seen. If I could do it over again I would have given myself at least two whole days to explore Antigua because it was stunning!
After an incredible day, we took a shared shuttle to the lake. Half the van was carsick. Those were the most windy terrible roads. When we were dropped off it was dark outside and I had made friends with an expat sitting next to me. She told us to follow her down this dark alley to get to the boat docks. I am not going to lie it was sketchy as hell. I accepted that this situation could go wrong at any second. However, after about two minutes of walking in complete darkness, we wound up at a boat dock. From there we were quickly whisked away to our next hostel, Free Cervezas Hostel.
Day 4
Disaster Struck!
