We woke up at our normal time, around 7am, since our flight wasn’t until 10:45. Nice! It feels great not waking up in the dark for an early departure. Hehe. Dana and I had some morning java and we got a bit of work done before packing up and tidying the apartment before check out. 

We took an Uber to the airport, and had to put our masks on again, and we waltzed straight through security and found some seats near our gate. We were there super early, as we weren’t sure if we could make it to the lounge or not. Turns out the lounge was just for international travelers in the international terminal. So, no. We wouldn’t get to grab breakfast and water from the lounge. Too bad for us, lol.

We pass the time watching silly TikTok and instagram videos, and before we know it, it’s almost time to board the plane. We bought a ticket on Viva Airlines, and it appears to be the Spirit of South America, hehe. Bright yellow budget airplane, here we come! We were a bit worried about getting our bags stowed, so we did what I hate to see in airports and crowded the gate area, hoping to sneak on sooner than our boarding zone. Another great friend of mine did this when we were trying to fly out of Cairo together, and it worked to our benefit. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and sometimes, you just gotta be selfish and take care of you. I got a bit behind Dana and Hayden and scanned my boarding pass after them, but all the passengers were corralled in a long line waiting to go outside to the tarmac. So, I just scoot myself up to them, and we look around us, all thinking the worst about our bags. Flying budget airlines is pure chaos, lol. 

We are boarding from the front and the back, so Hayden goes to the rear door, and Dana and I board from the front. There was plenty of space for our bags, and we quickly stow our backpacks and take our seats. Watching the rest of the passengers file on and attempt to find their seats was a great reminder as to why I prefer to fly “flight leader” or in the way back of the plane, where there is less chance of dealing with this 3-ring circus. I am also thinking about how grateful I am to work for the airline I work for: mental note to remember not to take it for granted, hehe. 

The flight to Medellin is only about an hour, and we arrive on time. The landscape is very different from Cartagena, as we are now in the mountains. It’s cloudy, and feels as though it has just rained. The landscape is so green and lush, and I can almost taste the delicious coffee awaiting us. The Uber ride to our apartment was quite long, but we got to see a lot of the countryside, and it was gorgeous! I’m stoked to be here, especially after getting beat down and burned by the hot sun on the coast. I’m so ready to be in a mountain city, and I’m hoping it stays cool here. 

We get to our apartment, and it’s adorable, as always. Thanks, Dana! Hayden and I ventured out to the local grocery store to grab some goodies, and we all decided we’d have a rest day today. Rule number one: don’t go grocery shopping when you’re hungry! Haha. Hayden and I bought so many snacks! Hehe. All worth it, except for the long wait to check out. Apparently their computer systems were wicked slow, so we just had to attempt it and see what fate had in store for us. The woman in front of us took forever, but when it was finally our turn, we managed to get through relatively quickly. 

We traipse back to the apartment, and Hayden begins working on dinner. I just love traveling with a chef. I’ve only made one meal this entire time hehe. Thanks, Hayden! 

After we finish dinner, we retreat to our rooms and just get comfy and ready to watch Netflix. Dana wasn’t feeling 100%, and we all decided it was best for us to rest, as we didn’t want to wear down our bodies any more or risk anyone feeling unhealthy or over-tired. 

I didn’t realize how badly I needed a “do-nothing” day, hehe. I started to watch a series about Pablo Escobar, because, you know… lol. We’ve read and heard contrasting opinions on the infamous narcotraficante; some say it’s better not to mention his name or go on the tours, because the city is still healing and wants to forget those times. Other sources recommend the tour, and there is one neighborhood that was essentially built from Escobar’s personal money, so they adore him in that area. Hmm.. I think it best to learn about this history from Netflix. Maybe next time we can hit up a tour. 🙂

We all fall asleep early, with stars in our eyes, thinking about the adventures awaiting us tomorrow. 

Tomorrow morning comes quickly, and we wake up like clockwork at 7am! Haha, I guess we’re trained now, lol. Dana started making the coffee, and we were ready to take turns peeing in the 1 bathroom we are now sharing. So much for these apartments with private bathrooms. Dana: We need to talk about your choices hehe. Just kidding! The apartment is lovely. 

Medellin is HUGE. So we create a plan for the day and decide to Uber around, as it’s just too big to walk conveniently. We go to the center of town first, where we are warned by our Uber driver to not go down the streets behind our drop-off location. He explained that the heart of Medellin is not the safest and to be extra careful when walking around here. Yikes! I mean, I think we’ve all been to places like this, but it’s always a bit unnerving when a local tells you what it’s really like. The three of us are pretty well traveled, and we understand the mission. Keep your belongings close, don’t keep your phone out too much, and being three people, we can look out for each other. Done! I love traveling with friends :). 

The Plaza Botero is the very heart of the city, and the plaza has several statues from a Colombian artist, Fernando Botero, who exaggerates the shapes of his subjects, mostly humans and animals. Back in Cartagena, we saw so many paintings of quite voluptuous ladies, and we wondered what the story was. I finally googled it, and found out about the artist. Aha! It all makes sense now hehe. 

Dana found a neat picture of a place in the old National Palace, which has been converted into a kind of bazaar. We walked inside, and it was stunning! I really didn’t expect to see something like that. It was a decadently designed building, complete with multiple floors and chandeliers. It reminded us a bit of something we’d see in a Harry Potter movie, perhaps. We spent some time walking around and gawking at the beautiful architecture. 

From here, we decide to grab another Uber and head to the cable car that will take us to the top of one of the mountains surrounding the city. The end point of the cable car is the Arvi Park. Little did we know, this drive would be a ride to remember. 

Lorena picks up in the center of town, in the middle of the traffic. She admits that she doesn’t come to town often and is heavily relying on Waze to get her out of there. Our ride starts off just fine, but then the GPS tells her to turn left, and it doesn’t really look like a road, but okay. She must know where she is going? 

Nope! Haha. We are driving right down a pedestrian/bike lane, and on either side of us are street vendors. Lucky for us, her car was small enough to fit through, so we just kept going. We saw some local police ahead of us, and I thought they would stop her or say something to her, but they didn’t! I’m sure they were wondering what the hell we were doing there, but Lorena kept on going. Now we were in the middle of a square, with more street vendors, park benches, and plenty of pedestrians. How on earth are we gonna get out of this mess? 

Lorena spots an exit, or more realistically, a small gap between vendor carts that is flush with the actual road, so we head in that direction. As we’re passing by, some of the owners of the carts angrily shout and look at us as if we’re absolutely nuts. But we found the main road once again. Phew! We’re all dying laughing, saying this will be quite the story for the day. 

But the ride isn’t over yet! 

We didn’t realize that the cable car we want to take is already halfway up the mountain, so Lorena needs to get us up some incredibly steep hills. She’s driving a standard, and we all know San Francisco has some tough streets to maneuver a manual car, but the streets on these mountains have nothing on SFO. Lorena’s poor car couldn’t quite get the gumption to make it up one of the steeper hills. Oh dear. So backwards we go. She tries to give the car all its go to gain traction and get us up the hill. No luck. So she backs all the way down and looks for an alternative route. Oh man. If that was me, I think I’d just park the car and cry, lol. We tried a few more times to get her car up different hills with varying degrees of steepness, and we failed a couple more times. Each failure leads us to a new hill and a new attempt. Finally! We make it! Lorena is our hero, and she pulls off to the side of the street, and we hop out, giving her all the thanks we can and we sincerely apologize for having her bring us this high. Thank you, Lorena! 

We go to the cable car station and pay our ticket, and wait to snag a gondola for ourselves. The ride is supposed to take 15 minutes to the top. Sweet! We jump in and are instantly amazed with the views. Behind us is the sweeping valley that is filled with the bustling city of Medellin, and in front of us, on the steep slopes of the mountain are tons of homes, built right into the side of the mountain. Dana has an observation that most of the homes are in rough shape, and we figure some of those people are struggling. And here we are, the “rich,” literally floating above them in a gondola. Talk about a contradiction! Our ride up took a somber turn as we discussed this. 

Traveling is such an amazing privilege, and it’s in these moments I’m most grateful for it. Seeing how other people live in different countries really puts things into perspective. We are not rich by our definition of the word, or in comparison to the 1% in the US, but we are rich when compared to the majority of the world’s population, and almost certainly compared to the people living in the homes we saw as we swung high above, admiring the landscape. It’s hard not to feel guilty at times. We discussed the different definitions of rich; that a person can be rich with money, but poor in quality of life, or vice versa. Even so, that stark contrast is a reminder not to take anything for granted. 

We pull ourselves out of the slightly depressing theme and begin to imagine what the park will be like when we arrive. It’s a long 15 minutes, but we finally get there, and as we get off the gondola, it’s quite clear we’ve gained altitude. It’s so chilly! Hehe. We expected to enter the Arvi Park and walk a few trails, but it cost $10 to get in. We didn’t do enough research, and we decided we’d skip it and just hang out in the free areas. Dana and I bought a coffee, and we added cinnamon! Such a nice touch :). Hayden got a bowl of strawberries and raspberries, with a raspberry sauce on top. Yum! We wandered about through the vendor area, and I was drawn to a copper ring with what looked like a raw emerald in it. The woman said she makes them all by hand and that it is, in fact, a real emerald. A young, raw emerald. I paid $10 for it, and it was hard for me to believe it was in fact a true emerald, but later in the day, Dana looked up how to tell if it’s a real one or not, and we did our best to inspect the stone, and we agreed that maybe it is! The raw emeralds are readily available here in Colombia, and their prices can range anywhere between $1 and hundreds, if not thousands. So, with that kind of price range, maybe the stone I have really is an emerald! And, to think I was considering buying an expensive piece of jewelry with an emerald since that is a big precious gem here in Colombia. I like my $10 raw emerald the best :). 

We head back down the cable car, and we have a good time trying to get the perfect photos and videos, although the dirty windows made it difficult. We also decided it’d be best not to ask an Uber to come up the harrowing streets Lorena had to endure for us, so we bought tickets for the metrocable, another cable car, but this one is part of the Medellin metro line. So cool! I don’t know of any other cities that have metros that include cable cars. What a fun experience! 

Once back on sturdy land, we grab another Uber to head to a hipster market to hopefully find some grub. This Uber driver was a hoot! I sat in the front, and began speaking with him in Spanish. He was trying to convince me to invest in some land of his, and to start a coffee business, haha. He explained how he knew about the entire process of coffee, from planting it, taking care of it, picking it when it’s ready, toasting it, etc. He even said his coffee farm doesn’t use pesticides or any other chemicals. He was really trying to sell it! After I declined a few times, he came back to me with the great exchange rate between the US dollar and the Colombian peso. I kept telling him how someday in the future, that’d be great, but I’m not ready just yet to invest in and start an international coffee business, lol. He was so nice, though, just excited, I think. 

Once at the market, the three of us are hangry and unable to make solid decisions. Uh-oh! So we walk around this place, which has tons of food options, and we study several menus, but none of us can really make a choice as to what we want to eat. Great. It’s now or never for food, before we start really getting hangry. With some frustration, we opt to walk back towards the apartment, as there are restaurant options there. We pop into the apartment to chug some water and to find a place that looks good. 

Dana finds one and makes a final decision. This is where we are going. Great! Let’s go before we kill each other, lol. We head over there, just a block away from where we’re staying, and it turns out to be a space with 5 different restaurants! Haha. The irony of leaving one market with several options and ending up in another. How will we ever choose what to eat?! Gah!

It takes us a while, but we do order some food, and Dana and I try two different microbrew beers. Colombia is home to 33 microbreweries! Sweeeet! The one Dana picks is called “Rosada.” “Like a rosé wine,” we wonder? It IS! So weird, yet tasty. Almost like a sour beer, in that it is fruity, but it’s sweet like a rosé wine. I have never heard of anything like this, and now will be on the lookout. I don’t think it’ll be my new favorite, but it gets points for being unique, that’s for sure.

As we’re finishing dinner, the dark clouds roll in and we know we’re in for it, lol. We finish paying, and it starts to pour rain. We carried our raincoats all day, well, Hayden carried them all day in the backpack. Thanks, Hayden! But when we stopped by the apartment before dinner, we left the bag because we didn’t think we’d need it anymore. Ooops! 

We decide to make a run for it, and are rewarded. It stopped pouring, and we made it back to the apartment with just a few sprinkles of rain here and there. Phew! What a day! 

Back inside, we start to do work, polishing up blog posts, pictures, and journaling for the day. Tomorrow we have a few things on our list of what to see in the city, and we hope the weather holds out for us. Fingers crossed!

Good morning, Cartagena! Today we decided to take it more leisurely and not put a set time on our departure from the apartment. Our main plan is to check out the Getsemani neighborhood, which is famous for all of its street art, and to revisit some places in the walled city we didn’t get to yesterday. 

Getsemani was a funky, colorful little place. We got dropped off at the far end of it, and we just started walking and exploring the side streets covered in murals. There were a few streets that were decorated with flags, umbrellas, and even kites! We had fun taking pictures and getting in each other’s way when framing the perfect shot haha. 

We even got a nice view of the castle, but we decided to focus our energies on what was right in front of us for now. Maybe later we’ll be up for a castle visit. After getting our fill of Getsemani, we walked back towards the walled city to finish what we started yesterday. We had another mission to find the perfect shot of the cathedral from a rooftop. This was inspired by a photograph in our apartment that Hayden fell in love with. He wanted to have his very own picture of the same angle, requiring a rooftop photo-op. We went to one that had great reviews, but they didn’t open until noon. It was only 10am hehe. Now what?

Smoothie time! Hayden finds the second best smoothie place in the city, as the first best was temporarily closed, and we were on our way! We get there, and this place looks fabulous! But, the woman behind the counter told us all they had were prepared eparfaits, no smoothies. Bummer! We all agree we really want a smoothie, so we duck out of there and find another option. All the way back across town haha. We make our way back, still soaking in all the colors and flowery balconies that we’re passing. Hayden and I are trigger happy with the photos, and Dana begs Hayden not to take any more pictures, as she’s the one who has to go through them and delete and edit them later. 

We get to the new smoothie place, and we’re in luck! They do have smoothies, and a whole bunch of different ones! We each order and have a seat, grateful to be sheltered from the sun and drinking a refreshing fruit cocktail. We created a game plan for the rest of the afternoon, which included walking along the wall and passing by the Gabriel Garcia Marquez house, and “las bovedas,” which used to be dungeons, but are now souvenir shops. I was especially interested to see the house because I read one GGM’s books, Love in the Time of Cholera, in Spanish, with two of my best friends. We started a little book club during covid, and we would read a chapter or so at a time and talk about it. The Spanish was difficult for me to understand at times, and the genre being magical realism sometimes threw me for a loop, hehe. But I loved the challenge of reading such an iconic Spanish Literature piece, and I hope to tackle more in the future. 

The house came up quickly, and I took a good look at it from the wall, but it didn’t look like something I wanted or needed to get closer to. Maybe I would’ve taken a tour or paid an entry fee, if such a thing existed, but I didn’t feel the draw as much as I thought I would’ve. Maybe it was the pounding heat getting to me, hehe. So we continued on towards “las bovedas.”

We arrive there, and we spot our dreaded enemy: the cruise ship busses. Oh no. This place is packed like sardines! But, it’s a neat building, and Dana requires a Colombia patch. We muster what little strength and gumption we have left and begin our search. The first store we went to, we found a super cool and unique patch! Hooray! But, Hayden suggests we look at some other stores before deciding on which patch to buy. Dana is up to going to 3 more shops, but by the time we were leaving the 3rd shop, we were committed, lol. We walked the whole length and went inside nearly every souvenir shop that looked like it might have a patch. At the end, we all felt that the first patch was THE patch. 

So back we go! Thanks to Dana and Hayden, I’ve now learned that when purchasing a patch, it’s always good to double check the spelling of the country, and to check the quality. So we sift through all the patches, but as it turns out, the first patch on the pile, in the first store we went in, was THE patch. Sweet! Totally meant to be. I also found an adorable little coin purse I had been keeping my out for since Guatemala. I guess I was meant to find one here :). Hayden also scored a little treat. Earlier in the day, I bought some typical sweets, and was given a 1.000 peso coin in change. It was soooooo neat! Hayden and I both like to collect currency, so he saw it and needed to have one too. So when Dana bought her patch, she received 2-500 peso coins, and Hayden asked her to see if they could exchange it for a 1000 coin. She lovingly told him to ask, and because I would want one if the roles were reversed, I went and asked on Hayden’s behalf. Score! One of the women working there had one right in her pocket :). So a trade was made, and a happy camper was born. Your welcome, Hayden! 

We’re about to head back to the apartment, but after a quick check-in with everyone, we realize Hayden is still hankering for that perfect rooftop shot of the cathedral. Awesome! Let’s do this. So we go back to the first rooftop bar, since they’re now open, and climb up an incalculable amount of stairs. We get to the top, out of breath and begin checking out the view. Well, it IS nice, of the clock tower, but the cathedral is barely peeking around another big building between us and the church. Haha. Womp Womp. Back to the drawing board. 

I ask one of the servers where we can find a rooftop that would have the view we’re looking for, and she gives me a name. Excellent! Off we go! We get there, I check to make sure they have a rooftop restaurant, and they say yes, but they don’t open it until 4pm! Haha what? It’s 1pm and we’re about as dead as can be, and most definitely won’t be making it until 4. Dang! I guess that perfect shot was not destined for us. 

So we walked back across town. Again. At this point, we feel we’ve covered each street at least a couple of times, haha. We grab some supplies at our favorite grocery store that looks like a target, complete with clothes, electronics, and groceries. We buy a baguette, mozzarella cheese slices, and a few other things. We’re making chicken parm, a la backpacker style! Hayden cooked some frozen chicken nuggets, and then cut the baguette into 3 sections, divided the cheese amongst the thirds, and then we added the nuggets into the sandwiches. And we had leftover ketchup from last night’s chicken nugget dinner, so we added that as our marinara sauce. Buen Provecho! Haha And welcome to a full-time traveler’s budget lifestyle! Hehe

After dinner, we showered and did a final load of laundry. This apartment has been amazing. Hot water, working washer and dryer, and just a really nice, clean, modern feel to it. It will be missed. 

Tomorrow we’re off on another jet plane to Medellin! Chau!

We landed in Cartagena, Colombia! Another dream come true! I’ve heard so many excellent things about Cartagena, and I’ve been itching to go for a while now, and I’m so glad we worked it into this trip! After El Salvador, we were supposed to go to Nicaragua, but it ended up being too complicated, lol. Either a 16-hour bus or expensive flights in and out, so the natural solution to the problem was obviously to fly to Colombia! Hehe.

We got a quick Uber ride to our airbnb, which wasn’t ready yet, so we left our bags in the apartment and walked to the walled city. There is a part of Cartagena that is surrounded by an old wall, and that’s the main attraction here. We went in search of an ATM and some food. Another typical routine of ours…cash, food, and a grocery store, lol. We found a place to try arepas, a typical food from Colombia. Not completely unlike pupusas, they are fried corn tortillas stuffed with a variety of ingredients. Delicious! And of course, Dana and I tried a local beer, the Club Colombia. We were served the coldest, crispest beers we’ve had on this trip so far. Perfect for such hot weather. Although, the wind is also brutally strong here, too, so that helps to cool off a bit. 

After a trip to the grocery store to get some staples for breakfast, we walk back to the airbnb and check out the rooftop pool! The airbnb is in one of those tall condo buildings I saw from the plane and it has an infinity pool on the roof. What?! Haha. This is awesome! We get up there, and the water is luke warm at best, and the wind was so fierce, it actually made us cold, hehe. So we didn’t stay for long, but we observed our surroundings, which were still very hazy. I wonder if it is like this all the time, or if today is just especially hazy. Time will tell!

Once back inside the apartment, we shower…hot water! Woohoo! And begin doing our work :). Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Alarm is set for 6:30am, but I’m awake before then, as has now become customary, lol. I stay in bed until just before 7, when I finally get up and put on a pot of coffee. I’m excited (anyone surprised? Haha) to try the coffee we picked up at the grocery store yesterday. It was the cheapest bag we could find, but it is Colombian coffee. I settle in and get some writing and picture editing work done while the java is brewing. As soon as it’s done, I grab myself a cup and dive in. It smells heavenly, and my first sips of the black gold can only be described as pure bliss. It’s so flavorful, with notes of acidic berries and rich chocolate. I’m in love. Hehe. 

We head out the door by 8:30 and walk to the walled city, hoping to grab a few pictures before meeting our walking tour at 10. It’s morning, but the sun is out with a vengeance, and sweat is literally dripping down my face, and I’m quite positive each one of my pores was on overdrive, lol. This is gonna be a tough day. 😅

We meet our walking tour just outside the walled city, near the clock tower. We’re early, naturally, and end up waiting quite a while before the tour starts. It’s a HUGE group, and Dana, Hayden, and I all give each other the look, thinking this isn’t gonna be good. Our guide takes us over to some shade, and begins explaining a couple of basic facts about the city of Cartagena. She has a microphone and a small speaker, but it just doesn’t compete with the busses and traffic passing us by on the road. This will be a long 2-hour tour. 

We move on to the next stop, now inside the city walls, and again, even protected from the main street, it’s difficult to hear our guide. There are other groups near us doing similar tours, and honestly, it’s tiring to strain your ears to hear. I’m doing alright, and she asked us a trivia question about something she had just told us, and I answered and got it right! And was rewarded with a little mango candy. Hehe. Yes! And now, onto the third stop. By this point, the three of us were already discussing whether or not we’d stick it out. We didn’t want to waste 2 hours following a guide around that we could barely hear. So we stay for another two stops, and finally decide we’ll conveniently “lose” the group and go on our own self-guided wandering tour. Haha 

While plotting our getaway, we did actually lose sight of the group, and we just slowly skirted away to the opposite of the plaza we were in. Success! We all felt a tad guilty, as it wasn’t the guide’s fault, but it just wasn’t worth it to us. We hope she made out okay with her tips, despite us and some others bailing on her, since it was such a large tour group.

We walk around on our own, simply letting our eyes guide us. If we spot something interesting, we’ll head in that direction. We eventually come to a road lined with tour busses which we think must be from cruises. And sure enough, each of the busses has a sign identifying which cruise it’s from and which number bus it is. Oh god. There have got to be hundreds, if not thousands of cruise people roaming the streets with us. Hehe. I wouldn’t say that’s a terrible thing in itself, but the sheer quantity of people inundating the city sure is. The sidewalks are so filled with people it’s difficult to walk on the sidewalks without nearly tripping over someone’s feet, or being bumped into the road, narrowly missing the one brave car that has attempted to traverse the people filled streets. Yikes! 

Continuing on our stroll, we see various artwork on the streets, and start asking for prices. To our surprise, most people give us a similar price, although we know we can probably haggle and get it for cheaper. We make a plan to come back tomorrow with a game plan. Our walk takes us past beautiful colonial buildings with the most ornate balconies, covered in flowers and vines. Cartagena is such a beautiful place to just walk around and admire the colorful architecture. 

Expect for the heat. Haha. We’re good and toasted at this point, so we head to a restaurant for lunch. One of the sides that came with our meals was coconut rice, and it was so delicious! I ordered a fish fillet with a creamy garlic-lemon sauce. It was also yummy, but the sauce was all I could taste. I figured getting fish in a sea-side city would be the right choice, and maybe it was, but not with a strong flavored sauce on top hehe. 

Once we had our fill and cooled off for a bit, back out we went, iinto the sauna that is Cartagena. We had a few missions to accomplish before heading back to our wonderful apartment. I was tasked with getting a t-shirt from a specific hotel for a friend of mine, and Hayden was bent on getting “the shot” he saw on google. We attempt to find the street that would give us said shot, but it’s just not quite right. We look at the picture again to try and determine where it was taken from, but we finally decide it must’ve been photoshopped or manipulated to the point where we couldn’t take the same shot naturally. Oh well. We got really close, but didn’t quite complete the mission. Onto the next: operation find a t-shirt. We walk to the boutique hotel, which is wicked adorable, and ask for a shirt. They have plenty, and it turns out to be really cute! I’m almost tempted to buy one for myself, but we weren’t staying there, nor were we going to go to the rooftop bar, so I opted not to. I was simply satisfied with fulfilling my mission! Maybe there will be a girl’s trip there in the future? What do you say, Josie and Connie? 😁

On our way back to the apartment, we stop by the grocery store and get some goodies for dinner. We’re calling it early today. Start early, end early, haha. We take an Uber back to the apartment because we’re just not up to walking it again, and the Uber is a whopping $2. We get back, put the groceries away and take showers. Hayden made us some dinner, and we found Netflix on the tv, and put on the latest season of “You.” We didn’t know it then, but we were gonna binge it all, hehe. It was so nice to just relax and do nothing for a change. I think we all needed it after such a long and hot day walking around in the sun.

Until next time! 🤗😊.

Oh boy oh boy! Today we get to fly to a new country! And it’s new for all three of us, too! I am beyond excited to see this mystery country, as it’s been on my list for a while, but, this bed we have at the hotel in San Salvador is SUPER comfortable, I think it’s the best one we’ve had yet, so it’s hard to get out of bed. But, if you know me at all, I’m usually wicked excited to begin a new adventure….so all in all, it was pretty easy for me to get up, say goodbye to the luxiorious bed, and finish packing my bag.

Edgardo picked us up right at 4:30am, and he had a surprise for us. He found some different currencies, including some old Salvadoran colones and Cuban bills, among others. He gave these to Hayden because he knew how much Hayden enjoys collecting currencies. Awwww! And he gave me a small artisan purse, which his wife wanted to gift me, and inside, there was a small table cloth with a knit border and flowers, which his daughter had made for me! My heart immediately melted from this kind and thoughtful gesture. This is a prime example of the golden hearts of the people I’ve met and created friendships with here in El Salvador. And if you recall, Marcela wanted us to have something to remember her town by, and again, I’m reminded of the down-to-earth kindness so many of the people I met in El Salvador share. I’m so glad that Dana and Hayden not only got to experience one of my favorite countries, but were also welcomed with the same love as I was when I first arrived. 

We get to the airport, take one last group photo with Edgardo, zip right through security, and find ourselves a Priority Pass Lounge! This would mark my first time utilizing it! I got to bring Dana and Hayden in as my guests, and we had breakfast and coffee in a quiet lounge while waiting for our plane to board. It was so neat! Everything was for free, obviously, but it was so awesome to just help yourself to the mini-fridge of drinks, and to ask for more coffee. Dana and I were trying to get some work done, but I was getting distracted by all the amenities, including showers in the bathroom! Sweet! I’m looking forward to taking advantage of the lounge in my future travels. 🙂

Our first flight goes well, I got a window seat! I expected to get a drink and snack service, but I guess Avianca doesn’t do that. Lol. I am reminded to be grateful for my airline :). We have a stop in San José, Costa Rica….Any guesses where we’re headed yet? We have just about an hour, but we decide to try to and squeeze in a quick lounge visit before our flight. We rush up there and snag some pastries and a bathroom break, and fly back outta there, as our plane should be boarding by now. Well, we rushed for nothing. Haha. Oh well. I run over to the little store and grab us some waters, and an overpriced snack from the Britt Coffee Shop: chocolate covered guayba jam balls. They’re sooo good! And they come in a ton of different varieties, are all overpriced, and oh so worth it, lol. 

They start to make announcements for boarding, and we’re told we need to wear masks for the boarding process. Did we just hear that right? Did we overlook something and covid restrictions are in full effect there? Uh-oh. Dana saves the day though, by having some extra masks readily available, so I snag one, and we board the plane. Window seat again! Wooohoo! 

On the plane, I commit to going through some photos, and nearly catch up to current times, lol. It’s tough work! Traveling with Dana and Hayden allows me to see the insider’s perspective on this kind of lifestyle. To document everything is hard work! Taking the pictures, going through them and deleing unnecessary ones, editing some, putting together an album with descriptions, writing blog posts or emails, posting to instagram and maybe TikTok lol. Truly, a mound of homework awaits us at the end of each day, but it is always made better by some beer and friends :). That’s been the routine this whole trip…Go out for the day, and come home to the apartment and take care of business, whether that’s documentation, or research for next steps, or booking accommodations or flights. 

Soon we hear the announcement that we’re about to land! Ooooo! We’re getting so close! I can’t wait! Everything looks hazy, and it’s hard to make out the city, but it almost looks like Miami…lots of tall white condo or apartment buildings, I’m guessing. The pilot told us it was a warm 92 degrees….yikes! Haha So far you know we traveled south from El Salvador to San José, and we’re landing somewhere that maybe sort of looks like Miami Beach. Where are we? 🧐🤔😍

Today, we woke up and went straight to the breakfast that was included in our hotel. So good! Beans, eggs, plantains, cheese, and tamales. Oh, and of course, coffee! 

We had time after breakfast to get some “work” done and make some plans for our next steps. That time passed by quickly, and Edgardo arrived at the hotel, and off we went towards Suchitoto! But not before stopping at a gas station to get some coffee, water, and a Kolashanpan, the local soda of El Salvador. Hayden made the mistake of telling me he likes to try local beverages, so, being the good friend that I am , I couldn’t let him leave El Salvador without trying it! Lol. No surprise to me, nobody liked it. Hehe, Don’t say I didn’t warn you! 😅. However, we did decide it was better than the banana juice soda from Honduras. Sorry, Honduras! Hehe.

We continued on our way to Suchitoto and arrived in the town center while mass was going on, so the town square was nearly empty. It was nice to walk around without too much hustle and bustle. We find a little coffee shop and grab some drinks, and again, I make Hayden try a local drink, but this time it’s Horchata. It’s not his favorite, but that works out for us because Dana and I like it, and it becomes our post-coffee dessert. :). We enjoy some conversations about how Italians and Salvadorans talk a lot with their hands hehe. I don’t think I’ve ever learned so much from a short 15-minute conversation, lol.

As we were finishing our drinks, Edgardo asked about how to get to the waterfalls nearby, but the waitress told us there wasn’t any water since we were in the dry season. So we decide it’ll be better to skip the “water” falls and just go to the lookout to see Suchitoto Lake. Before we drive over there, we wanted to walk around the town just a bit. And we find a place to get chocobananos, and these ones were massive! It took us a while to eat them, but we enjoyed every minute of it. Once we had our fill and taken our pictures, we piled back into the car, and onwards we went to see the lake lookout. 

Something that struck us about the lake is how undeveloped it is in the sense of tourism. It’s absolutely beautiful, and it reminds us a bit of Lake Atitlan. However, besides the town itself and the waterfalls, there aren’t many attractions in the area. Part of me loves this, as it’s not overrun by tourists and feels more local, but if the local population could benefit from tourism, maybe it would be a good thing? Tough conversation, and maybe there is no great answer, but it’s something I think about a lot when I’m in El Salvador. I wish for nothing less than the very best for this beautiful country, which has left such a loving and lasting mark on my heart. I have so much love for this place, and I am forever grateful for all the experiences and adventures it’s offered me over the years, and of course, for all the wonderful people I’ve been blessed with meeting and befriending. ❤️

Next stop is Cihuatán Ruins, and I’ve never been there before! Hooray for a new place! It’s not a far drive from Suchitoto, and soon we’re pulling into the long dirt driveway of the archaeological site. We are required to have a guide in the park, and we’re all a bit nervous as to whether or not we need to pay for the guide or not. I ask her, and she says no, that the guide is included with the entry fee. We’re unsure if, at the end, there would be a moment where a tip would be expected, but we go ahead and rush through the site. It’s a rather large area, and there is a lot to learn, but we still had another two stops to make, so we didn’t want to get too carried away there. The big pyramid is front and center and is covered in a lot of grass. I’ve come to really appreciate these kinds of ruins, as it shows what happens over time to such magnificent structures. Sometimes, I imagine iconic buildings today being uncovered thousands of years in the future, such as the Eiffel Tower, and what that might look like after being abandoned and left ot nature for so long. 

This ancient city had 2 ball game courts, one of which was under construction when the city was abandoned. In the acropolis of the site, they found a female skeleton, next to the most famous artifact found in El Salvador, the dog with the wheels. This piece is so important because for a long time there was a belief that the Maya never invented the wheel, but in reality, the wheel was not as useful to them for carts or work implements, due to the landscape, but rather, the wheels were used for children’s toys. 

Our guide also told us they think this city was a city of just women. I’d like to know more about this, as it seems pretty rare. The name ‘Cihua’ means woman, or the feminine, in Nahuat. And ‘Tan’ means next to, and it just so happens there is a mountain nearby that has the shape of, and is called the sleeping woman. Here is born the belief that the nahuat name of the city comes from the proximity of the city to this mountain.

The larger ball game court has an annex that contains a room, a temple, and a temezcal, or a steam spa. An interesting arrangement that hasn’t been found in many other, if any, other sites. I’d really like to spend some time reading about this site, as it is quite large, and I’m extra curious about the all female city bit. As we rush through the site, trying to hide from the beating sun, we come across a group of people sitting in a circle. They’re students learning the ways of the ancient Maya and are training to become Mayan priests and priestesses. Sweet! They want to rescue the indigenous culture and promote it, and although they’ll never be true Maya ‘tatas’ or ‘nanas’ (wise Mayan elders), they will be contributing to the survival of the culture and the Mayan cosmovision. Just love this! 

On our way back towards San Salvador, we pull over on the side of the road to grab some fresh coconut water. I had been telling Edgardo that I used to love getting one on the way to or from the airport, and he knew we’d be leaving so early tomorrow, that the likelihood of finding a coconut vendor would be next to none. So, eagle-eye Edgardo spots a coconut stand, and we all get out and ask for 3 coconuts. Hacked open just a few feet from us with giant machetes, and the water expertly drained into a plastic bag by a woman directly in front of us, I ask myself, “if this isn’t living, then what is?” Hehe. There is nothing more refreshing than fresh coconut water. It’s so tasty and filled with so many electrolytes that after just a few sips, it’s as if my body has been completely recharged. Nature’s miracle! And not to mention the coconut meat, which is dense and nutrious, and fills you up with just a few bites. Back home, I’m sometimes swayed to try a coconut water for sale in a grocery store, but I’ve decided it’s never worth it. Nothing will ever come close to a fresh coconut. That’s something worth traveling for. 🙂

Our next stop is a quick jaunt through the Centro Historico of El Salvador. We hoped to make it into the El Rosario church to see the beautiful colors inside, but alas, it was closed. We figured being Sunday, it’d be open, but it wasn’t. Womp Womp. So we head over to the cathedral, which, according to google, is also closed. But, we’re in luck! We walk in, and I explain a bit about the iconic San Romero, and there near the altar of the church, on the right, were two giant paintings of him. How cool was it to San Romero there, watching over the congregation. 

After the center, we went up to Los Planes de Renders for a view of the city and the volcano, and well, one last pupusa dinner! Woohoo! Hehe. I loved the pupusas here, and we had a good time relaxing after another long, full day. The t-shirts the staff were wearing were epic, and I decided I needed one, lol. The front was simple, with just the name of hte place: Boomwalos, but the back of the shirt said “I ❤ pupusas,” with the heart being a pupusas split in half, to create the heart shape. So when we went to pay, I asked to check out a couple of sizes, and I snagged one. So happy! “A mi me gustan las pupusas….” 🙂 

Before heading back to the hotel, we wanted to stop by a supermarket, and Edgardo brought me to the one I used to walk to all the time from Fundahmer. It was such a blast from the past walking inside hehe. Our goal was to just grab a couple of Cadejos to sample and head back to the hotel to get some work done. We have an early morning tomorrow and a flight to a surprise country! Hehe. Any guesses where?🧐🤔🙃

We woke up early so that we could snag some breakfast at the hostel. I was expecting the somewhat traditional hostel breakfast of some white toast, a couple of jars of jam, peanut butter and if we are lucky, Nutella. At least that is what I’ve seen when I’ve stayed at hostels in the past. However, we were all pleasantly surprised when we noticed a waiter serving another group of people staying at the hostel. We had to wait a few minutes while the server prepared our meals, but we were given two pupusas, a piece of quesadilla, a Salvadoran cheese-bread specialty, and a cup of cinnamon coffee. Yum! The best way to start the day.

Edgardo arrived early, and we weren’t quite ready, so he waited for us outside the hostel. We tried to hurry, but we ended up walking out right on time at 8:30. As soon as we exited the hostel, I saw Edgardo standing next to the car, and was sooo excited! It’s been at least 5 years, if not longer since I’ve seen him. We gave each other a giant hug, and I introduced him to Dana and Hayden. Hooray for friends!

Our first stop would be the Tazumal Ruins, a little ways outside of Santa Ana. My friend Marcela, who I met while I was living in El Salvador, was coming to meet us at Tazumal with her husband and their 7 month old baby, Adrian. I couldn’t wait to see them, and to meet Adrian for the first time!

We hit the road and are moving at a good pace, but eventually we hit some traffic…of course, lol. I text Marcela and let her know we might be a bit later than expected, and she also said they ran into traffic. Oh good! Maybe we’ll arrive at the same time after all! :). Before we know it, we’re entering the street for the ruins, and I’m getting excited, as we’re able to see the ruins right from the street. I’ve been here before, but I can’t help but feel the excitement of exploring ancient Mayan ruins every time I go. Nerd! Hehe. The entrance fee is $5 and off we go to see our first Salvadoran ruins.

I explained to Dana and Hayden that these ruins look a lot different because when they were discovered, there wasn’t a great way to protect them or to restore them, so they were covered in cement. It gives the pyramid a smooth look on the outside, very different from most Mayan ruins. However, it’s almost a glance as to what they may have looked like in their prime. We’re so accustomed to seeing unadorned, rocky pyramids, when in reality, they would’ve been magnificently ornate with colors, smooth surfaces, and sculptures.

We walk around a bit, bummed by the barrier rope they’ve put up, unable to get up close and personal with the ruins. I don’t remember climbing the big pyramid before, but there was a section I climbed once in the past, which was now completely blocked off. Dang! Honestly, it’s probably best for the preservation of the ruins, but it’s always fun to get to hike the steps and walk in the footsteps of the ancient Mayan elite. We take our pictures and goof around for a bit, waiting for Marcela and her family to arrive.

As we’re ready to leave the ruins, Marcela calls me, saying they’ve arrived! OMG! So excited to give her a big hug! Their car pulls up, and she’s in the backseat, taking care of the baby, so it’s a couple of minutes before she actually gets out of the car, but when she does, we give each other the biggest hug we can muster! And I again introduce Dana and Hayden, and Marcela takes Adrian out of his car seat. What a freaking cutie! I’ve seen so many pictures on facebook, but dang, is he just the cutest little thing.

We decide to grab a coffee and visit for a bit before deciding what’s next on this list. Our original plan was to visit San Andrés and Joya de Cerén, ending up at the hotel in San Salvador. But, after talking with Marcela and Balmore, her husband, we decided it’d be better to go to “La Ruta de Los Flores,” or the Flower Route. This route passes through several cute colonial towns that offer a lot of typical Salvadoran food and picturesque central parks and churches. With a confirmed plan, we pack up our things and begin our journey to Ataco, the first of the towns.

Ataco is as adorable as ever with its colonial buildings, cobblestone streets, and murals of wide-eyed cats and people, an exaggerated art style the town is known for. The Central Park is small with a lot of trees, and all around the park are restaurants and food vendors. I want Dana and Hayden to try all kinds of typical food, so we begin our hunt. We found “riguas,” a sweet corn and cheese treat, more sweet than savory, which Dana ended up loving! We also found Salvadoran empanadas, which are made with a plantain dough and filled with beans or cream, and then fried and covered in sugar. Delicious! Dana and I tried a local coffee of the day as well, and after a quick look in the church and a walk around a couple of streets, we were on our way to the next town, Apaneca.

Apaneca is smaller, and we were going to just get out and talk a handful of pictures and move along to the next. But, as we were walking, we noticed a sign for rolled ice cream! We were after this in Copan, but the store was closed, so of course we had to go check it out. It was down a beautiful street with a gorgeous view of a hill in the background. We make it to the ice cream cart, and we start asking about flavors. Hayden asked for chocolate-krispy, I asked for mango, and Dana wanted avocado, but he only had a tiny bit left. So, he offered to make it for us so we could try it. How nice! And all of a sudden I realize he’s wearing a Boston Red Sox hat! Awesome! He said he almost didn’t wear it that day, because sometimes the “B” can be confused for the number “18” which is a gang symbol. That makes me sad, but I’m glad he did feel safe enough to wear the hat, and it made it that more special that we were eating the rolled ice cream at his place. Marcela asked for a mango one as well, and Balmore got a mangoneada, a frozen mango popsicle placed in a cup filled with lime juice, spices similar to Tajín, and maybe “chamoy,” or a tart berry syrup. So delicious! And worth trying if you find yourself in Central America. 🙂

We chatted with the ice cream man for a bit, and then walked over to the church to take some pictures and to sight see a tad more before headed towards the next town. 

Next up on our list was Juayuá, which is known for the food festivals they have every weekend. Cannot wait to see what they have to offer! We park the car and walk just a short way until we can see and smell the food festival. We walk down one length of it, checking out all the meals and what they come with. The majority of the food stalls are serving HUGE plates of food: chicken, beef, or mixed with rice and beans, veggies, salad, tortilla, avocado, etc. Everything smells incredible, and we all agree to do a once over before deciding where to grab our lunch. On our way down the second line of food stalls, we see a street dog with an entire to-go container in his mouth. HAHAHA. It was epic! And Hayden got it on film lol. I’ve never seen anything like that. We all had a good laugh, and continued on our merry way. 

We decided to eat at the place with the tacos, and Dana and I ordered a Suprema…gotta try out all the local beers! Hehe The food was delicious and we enjoyed the ambiance of the food festival with the music, the smells, and all the people watching. As we were eating, we were talking about our next stop. We were interested in going to the waterfalls that were nearby, but we ultimately decided not to go. It would require getting a mototaxi or maybe a 4by4 vehicle and then a bit of a walk, and we weren’t prepared nor did we want to get into the water. So instead, we decided to go find some “Colones,” the old Salvadoran currency, as we saw some at a vendor stall as we entered town. Hayden and I both like to collect currencies from different countries, so we walk over to the guy and check out his stash. He wanted $5 for the 1 colón note. We thought that was a bit high, but they also don’t make them anymore, so they’re gonna be more money, either way. Hayden wasn’t satisfied, so we haggled a bit, and I asked, what if we bought 2 notes, and he dropped the price to $8, and we walked away. As we were walking away, the man dropped it again to $7 for two notes. Hayden and I thanked him and continued walking away. As we were leaving, we chatted and decided we’d regret it if we didn’t go back, so we got our $7 together, and went back and bought our colones. Mission Complete! Haha

After this grand moment, we got back in the cars and headed towards Nahuizalco, where Marcela is from. This will be our last stop of the day before going back to San Salvador. When we get to Nahuizaco, Marcela brings us around to the church, and then to a small artesanias store. She wants to gift something to each of us… What a sweetheart! Hehe. She’s so adorable, and thoughtful, and kind. We all tried to say no, but she insisted, saying this is her town, and she wants to treat us to a little something to remember Nahuizalco. She is planning on coming to the US soon, and I can’t wait to take her around and be her guide, and go on all the fun adventures! 🙂

We walk around the park, admiring the Valentine’s Day decorations, and I am keeping my eye out for pupusas made out of yuca, which you can only find in this town. Marcela took the initative and found me 3 pupusas de yuca. Again, she’s so sweet! I make Dana and Hayden try them, and they both agree that the yuca pupusas are their favorites! Sweet! I’m so glad I made them try them, and so grateful for Marcela for finding them! Thanks, girl!

We’ve finally come to the point that we have to say goodbye. I really don’t want to leave, as this whole day has been a dream. I felt like I was transported back to when I lived here, and I just ate up every minute of it! After lots of big hugs, we finally did say our goodbyes and see you soons. 

On the drive to San Salvador, I chatted with Edgardo, reminiscing about the good times in Fundahmer, and remembering certain delegations and community members, including don Pedro, who passed away a couple of years ago. We both remember him during the employee meetings, nearly or completely falling asleep, and then being asked if he had anything to add, and abruptly waking up and responding with an involved, but yet generic response. We laughed a lot and Edgardo made a comment about how beautiful it is to be remembered by others when you pass on, leaving your mark behind. Don Pedro, you certainly did this! 🙂 RIP, dear friend.

Needless to say, returning to El Salvador after all this time has been just phenomenal, and I need to come back again soon. These couple of days are not enough, but I am so grateful for every minute I have here.

We woke up early this morning in order to get to the ruins right when they opened, all of us tired after having a rest day and staying up later than usual. Oh well, time for some coffee and leftover baleadas, heheh. We totally took those home with us!

We got ready quickly, preparing for an early arrival at the archeology site to beat the crowds. We had a plan for how much to pay for a Tuk Tuk, which our airbnb host told us: 15L/person, or 45L total. We decided that if the driver asked for and pushed for 60, we’d be okay with that. We start to walk towards the town square, and a Tuk Tuk beeps at us, and we ask him his price to the ruins, and he immediately says 15. Perfect! It was so nice not to have to haggle! Wow! We love this place! Lol. We jump in and away we go! We bop around the cobblestone streets, and before we know it, we’re arriving at the ruins. YAY! So excited! This is my first ruins visit since I joined up with Dana and Hayden and a new site for me! I always wanted to visit Copán while I was living in El Salvador, as it was “only” a 6 hour ride from San Salvador, and now it’s finally happening! 🤗

We pay our entry fee, and take a quick walk through the free museum, and scurry down the stairs and towards the path to the ruins. As we’re walking we hear that crazy screaming child sound, and we knew we’d be lucky enough to see some more Macaws! And we spot them high in the tree, and we notice that there is a mandmade nest there. Cool! So we continue walking, and we see signs about how they are rehabilitating the Macaws, who are born on Macaw Mountain, and moved to the park where they adapt to the local Macaw population, and once they’ve fully adapted, they are released into the wild. We also read a plaque that Macaws are monogamous…awwww hehe. 🥰

We walk through the park entrance, and we see and hear a ton of these birds. Sooo cool! Apparently it’s feeding time, and there are multiple perches filled with fruit and at least 3 birds on each perch! Wow! We got up close and personal with them, and we felt so lucky to be in their presence! 

As we continue down the path, we start to get our first glimpses of some for the ruins! The first notable pyramid we see looks like its been refurbished, and boy is she beautiful. We have a great time walking around with nobody there, the only exception being the workers who are raking up the fallen leaves. I am again in my element, and so excited to see the stelae with such detailed carvings, and even some red color left! Wow! I don’t think I’ve seen any maya ruins still stained with colors. We quickly hurry to the biggest pyramid and get shots with nobody else in them, and check out the ball court. So cool!

I love gazing at the hieroglyphs, and one particular pyramid has the longest Mayan inscription found to date. Around 1,800 glyphs! Most are difficult to see with the naked eye, if not impossible, but a few were notable! Sweet! The entire site is comprised of the ceremonial center, the acropolis, and a couple of residential areas for the nobles and the elites. Something interesting is that the elites and nobles buried their loved ones next to where they lived and not in a communal cemetery. I was also super intrigued to see the ancient stone structures of the residential areas, as it’s the first I’ve seen seen at any archeological site. Awesome! 🤩

It took us around 3 hours to walk the entire area and get our fill of the site. By the end, we were all ready for a smoothie, and we called our old pal, Wilson, the Tuk Tuk driver. He was so kind to us, giving us all the tips, and he didn’t try to charge us the “tourist tax,” so we agreed to pay him double for our ride back to town. Pay it forward! 🙂

We find “the best smoothie” spot in town, San Rafael Cafe. We show up and realize it’s quite fancy and is probably more expensive. We get the menu, and we start to get carried away, dreaming about what to order, and thinking if we don’t have enough cash, we can pay with a card. But that’s just the hunger and heat talking for us, lol. We cool our jets and decide to JUST order smoothies, and we’ll try to find food elsewhere. I got a dragon fruit or a “pitaya.” So yummy! And while we were enjoying that, we looked up a restaurant that came up yesterday. It is on the central square and overlooks the park. Awesome! The food looked good online, so we meander over there.

Once at the restaurant, Dana and I decided to have a passion fruit juice, but as it turns out, there was no electricity, so they couldn’t run the blender. Bummer! Guess we’ll have to settle for a beer! Haha, booo hooo. Just kidding. It was great. We also order “gorditas,” which are similar to pupusas in that they are stuffed corn tortillas, but these were filled with chicken, beans, cheese, avocado, and onions, almost like a sanwhich. And they were fried, so the outside was quite crunchy. Score for another local dish! I’ve had gorditas in Mexico, and they’re basically sandwiches, so this was a fun new variation to try.

Hayden had a hankering for heladdooo! And he found a cool place called Maya Helado Rolls, so we go there….only to find they’re closed! Oh no! They have pictures outside, and its literally sheets of ice cream rolled up. It looks so cool! But why are they closed? It dons on us that there isn’t any power… We had stopped by a souvenir shop to find Dana a patch, and they didn’t have power either. Ahhhh, ok, so it must be a town-wide situation. That’s when we start to notice the generators on the sidewalks, lol. So we figure the ice cream shop closed due to that? Either way, we walk away, disappointed, and head back to chill at the apartment. Wait. Will the apartment have power? Ugghh. Haha

Nope! Ahh, oh well, lol. We checked the laundry we started earlier, and it appears that the power cut out at the beginning of the cycle. Dang! The sheet of laundry soap has started to dissolve but not completely. And the clothes are wet. Do we hand wash them or do we just hang them up to dry? It was just a load from the previous day, so they weren’t really that dirty. Thankfully we did the majority of the laundry yesterday.

With no power, we have no AC, and no WiFi. So, no getting work done, and with the afternoon heat and full bellies, we decide to play a game of cards to entertain ourselves, and we agree the loser will drink a nasty local banana juice soda lol. We all tried this drink, as it is a local Honduran soda, but we all detested it. The stakes are high for this card game! Hehe. We have a great time, and around 4pm, we decide to start packing and to shower before we lose daylight.

Right around 5:15, the power comes back on! Yay! Now we can make some coffee and get some work done. Yes! We spent the rest of the evening working away, still trying to figure out what’s next after El Salvador. Where will we end up? The options that came up were Nicaragua, México City, Colombia, and Belgium!

The next morning, I woke up earlier than my alarm, did some work on my volcano blog post, and just enjoyed some time in bed. I heard Dana and Hayden, so when my alarm actually went off, I left my bedroom and saw Dana already making coffee! Score! We woke up with plenty of time to pack our things and ease into another shuttle day, this time to El Salvador! Wooohoo! Allegedly, it would be around 5 hours, but given our recent experiences, that’s just never the case.

Once we had a delicious breakfast of a banana and some breakfast oat cookies, we tidied the space and got our bags together. We left the airbnb with extra time to stop by a small store to spend the rest of the cash we had. Our choices? Very important and necessary items: water and Oreos! 

We head to the meeting spot, and we’re half an hour early. We were told to show up 10 minutes before, and the last shuttle picked us up right around then, so we didn’t want to chance it. Well, 10:00 came and went and nothing. 10:15 and nothing. Around 10:20, Dana sent the shuttle company a message, and we were told that the shuttle was coming, but it was delayed because some people coming into Copán didn’t have any money with them to pay the entry fee for Honduras. Seriously? Well, what can you do? Haha

The shuttle comes around close to 11, so we’re already an hour behind. We’ll see how long it takes us to actually get to El Salvador. 😅 I asked our driver if we were picking up any other people, and he said just one more person. We all thought it would be this guy, Fredo, who we met on our shuttle into Copán. He was going to San Salvador, where we wanted to go initially, but the website said the shuttle was full. So we checked the shuttle to Santa Ana, a city in western El Salvador: wide open. But Santa Ana is on the way to San Salvador, so we assume this shuttle stops in Santa Ana first before continuing on towards the capital, lol. The shuttle must pick up passengers in Santa Ana, otherwise, why weren’t we able to book through to San Salvador? 🤔 So, our guess was correct, and we picked up Fredo at his hotel. Interesting, but we loved knowing it would only be the 4 of us, as our previous shuttles had been filled to the brim. We also expected to breeze through the borders being a smaller group. We never did ask if our driver would be picking more people, hehe. It’ll remain a mystery!

The Honduran-Guatemala border was only about 15 minutes away from Copán, and we get there just in time. Right after we got in line, there was a huge group of people who filled in behind us. It took roughly 30-45 minutes to exit Honduras and enter Guatemala, all in the same building we did on the way in. Easy Peasy!

Back on the road again, and it would be just under 2 hours before reaching the Guatemalan-Salvadoran border. This shuttle ride made me feel carsick…not as bad as the first one to Lake Atitlan, but it wasn’t great either, lol. Luckily, I was able to sleep a bit, and when I woke up, we were fairly close to the border. Yay!

The Guatemalan side of the border was straight forward, we just walked up to a window and the guy checked and stamped our passport. Awesome, back in the shuttle and onwards to one of my favorite places….El Salvador! 

The shuttle stops right on the border and an immigration officer asks to see our passports. Ok, cool. We expect to continue further and go into a building to get stamped, or scanned, or something. But we don’t! Thats all she needed, just to see the exit stamp from Guatemala, I guess. We made it! We’re in El Salvador! Woooohooooo! My first time in 5 years! I’m embarrassed I haven’t made it back sooner, but I’m here now, even if its only for a short time.

From the border we drove about 1.5 hours to our hostel in Santa Ana. I realize I’ve never actually stayed in Santa Ana before, maybe nearby, but I never really visited the city. Cool! 

So we check into the hostel, drop our bags, and head out for food. We got a recommendation for a pupuseria, but it didn’t open until 5. We had 2 hours to kill, so we decided to go to the main square and see the cathedral. Whomp Womp. It has so much scaffolding, it looks like a metal facade. 🤣 Too bad! I was really looking forward to seeing it, since I never had. Oh well, I’ll just need to come back, hehe. 

We walk around a few streets, just meandering and hoping to find an artisan market so Dana can find a patch, and so we can find some smoothies to tide us over until dinner. No luck on either end, so we look up a second place that one of the hostel workers gave us. Before we got there, we found a cute cafe, so we just went here instead. 

We got the menu, and I saw a couple of things I’d completely forgotten about: budín and arrayan! So naturally, I ordered both of these, but it turns out they didn’t have arrayan….a local fruit, which I ordered as a smoothie. So I got maracuya, or passion fruit. Not a terrible runner up, hehe. 

We sat here for almost an hour, battling hanger and sheer exhaustion. We NEEDED the pupusa place to open up, lol. The budín saved us a bit, but right at 5, we decided to walk over and get ourselves some much needed and desired pupusas. I simply could not wait! I haven’t had a real pupusa in 5 years! 

We ordered a variety of pupusas, some rice and some corn, and went to town. Dana and I had a Pilsner, of course. Hehe. Next up will be a Suprema, and then hopefully Cadejo :).

On our walk back to the hostel, we were a much merrier bunch, calling out the dog poop on the sidewalk, and the death holes, which were just gaping holes in the sidewalk, waiting to sprain or break an ankle lol. We stopped by a small artisan shop, and Dana found a patch! Sweet! So back to the hostel we go, to do some work on our next steps and to catch up on the day’s writing and pictures. Until next time! Chau!

Woke up at 3am for the 4am shuttle to Copán…ugghhhh…it’ll be worth it! Haha. We got picked up 10 minutes early… a promising start to our shortest shuttle ride yet…or so we thought. Haha.

We waste almost an hour running around Antigua, collecting more passengers. Dang! We thought we might get away with a lighter load. Nope! Completely full! We had 2 spots left, that were to be filled by a couple in Guatemala City, that we’d pick up on the way.

We finally leave Antigua, and not long after, we hit THE WORST traffic. Ambulances are going by, and we all realize we’ll be sitting here for a while. Uh-oh! As we inch along the road, we never see the accident we presume is the reason for the traffic. Then it hits us; this was probably just regular Guatemala City traffic. Horrible! Like a giant parking lot that slowly moves forward, half a car length at a time. The roads are narrow and just can’t handle the crazy amount of cars. It took us 3 hours to get to the gas station in Guatemala City, where we picked up the 2 new people. Omg. We should’ve been arriving in 2 hours time, but we haven’t even left the city yet! Haha. So much for this being our shortest ride!

Meanwhile, during the worst traffic, about an hour into the drive, the driver realizes he forgot to load the surf board of one of the people on board. He pulled over to double check, and it wasn’t there. Turns out he left it on the street where we picked up the woman. As a collective group, using a guy’s phone with Guatemalan cell service and a couple that translated for the woman, we managed to call the hotel and have them go out and look for the surfboard. They found it! Next step was to try and contact the boyfriend, who owns the surfboard, who so inconveniently didn’t have a cell phone and was also planning to leave on a chicken bus for the Honduran border later that day. He was doing it this way because he is Peruvian, and his passport expired 10 years ago, and he never renewed it. So, his plan is to sneak across the border somehow. What?!!! Lol, hot mess express if I’ve ever witnessed one, lol. Good luck, dude!

We collectively decided not to stop for food, as we all are desperate to get to Copán. Not to mention, this van was the least comfortable yet. I was on a double seat with a space to my left, and the seat was not wide enough for 2 adult butts… so, my left butt cheek was pretty much hanging off the entire ride, haha…which ended up being 9.5 hours. Have you ever experienced one butt cheeck falling asleep? 10/10 do NOT recommend, haha.

On top of a tingly butt, I was unable to use the “oh shit” bar in front of my seat. Early on during the ride, it came in handy several times, going around tight curves. If it weren’t for the seatbelt holding me in place and that handle for balance, I would’ve easily fallen into the aisle next to my seat. Bad news though, by this point, the woman seated in front of me had her hair down, and for the last half of the ride, I couldn’t use it without grabbing some of her hair. Haha. Grrrreat. The good news? Those snickers we bought yesterday really came in handy!

And now, I think, after three 10-hour shuttles in a 4 day time span, I am a certified pro!

We finally made it to the Guatemalan-Honduran border, and it was quite a breeze! It took a long time, but it was a smooth transition. A new country for me! Wooohooo! I technically drove through Honduras on the way to Nicaragua way back, but that just doesn’t count. After the border, it was a short 10-minute drive into town, Copán Ruinas. Our driver made a joke and said just an hour more to go, and for a minute, we all were concerned, lol. But we had already been tracking the GPS, and we knew it wasn’t that far. Thank all the gods, lol.

Once we arrived to Copán, we got off the shuttle and began making our way towards the airbnb. Easier said than done, as it became quite the journey of nearly wrong turns that were actually correct; we essentially walked around the one dirt path we needed to go up, and instead, hike up 3 different long steep hills, haha. Our last attempt brought us to a GIANT steep hill, and we climb halfway up before we stop and rethink our life decisions. 🤣 We reviewed the video that the airbnb host sent Dana, showing us how to get to the apartment from a landmark hotel, which is perched on this huge hill, out of eyesight at this point. We try to find buildings that look familiar to us on the street we’re on, but to no avail. Hayden hikes it to the top of the steepest part and yells back to us that this is the correct road. Ugggghhhh….it’ll be worth it! Lol. And it was! This apartment has an adorable open and modern concept, with two bedrooms, each with a private bathroom. And there is a washing machine! Yassssss! So we’re doing all the laundry, lol. 

We settle into the apartment and shortly head out to the grocery store and bank. The first bank we go to has a screen that is nearly illegible, and we try to take out 3,000 Lempira, but we can’t see how many zeros are there, so Dana tries to take it out, and the machine says it doesn’t have enough money in it, lol. It must’ve been 30,000 Lempira, hahaha. So the security guard tells us there is another bank across the park. We head there, but to enter, this security told us we needed face masks, even though we just saw someone walk out without one. Lol Okay……so we continue towards the supermarket and happen to stumble across another bank. We walk right in and have no problem reading the screen, and we successfully got our money. Hayden and I were desperate to find a good-looking Lempira bill for our collections. We were going to battle to the death for the bill in the best condition. Turns out the grocery store gave us 4 lovely single Lempira notes, so we didn’t have to duke it out. If we come across some 20 notes, though, we may have to battle it out, hehe. 

Back home at the airbnb, Hayden begins cooking what is going to be a bomb-ass veggie bowl dinner. It was soooo good! And Dana and I were getting “work” done, catching up on posts and journaling. We also did some laundry, and we solved our El Salvador route! Yipeeeee! More to come. 

We agreed to take a rest day tomorrow, so we didn’t set any alarms, but I still managed to be up early, lol. I continued editing and going through pictures, waiting for Dana and Hayden to get up. Once we were all awake, Hayden made us some breakfast: oatmeal with bananas, strawberries, and honey. So yummy! And all of a sudden, while finishing our breakfast, we heard the loudest, strangest cries. Hayden and I both thought it was a small child, but Dana got up and looked out the sliding doors. They were macaws! Wow! They were so beautiful, and we attempted to get photos, but the sunlight was not on our side. We stood for a minute, soaking up the view and enjoying our sheer luck. This was only the second time I had ever seen these birds in the wild. The other time was on a beach in Costa Rica. 

We spent the day working on various projects. Hayden researching next steps after El Salvador, Dana working on TikTok’s, and emails, and I was working on journaling and getting back into my blog. I think I’d like to upkeep it and continue to write travel stories and tips, etc. It was a fun resvist. 

At around 4pm, we got ready and headed out on a small self-guided chocolate and beer tour. First stop was Chocolate and Tea. Clearly a touristy spot, and not so cheap, but equally as cute and inviting. We each got a drink, Dana and I chose the spicy hot chocolate, and Hayden got a lemongrass tea. While we waited for the drinks to come out, we sampled tons of chocolate bars they had out; mint chocolate, chile with salt, honey, vanilla, cardamom, too many to even remember. They also had hot sauces, and boy, were they spicy! I wanted to take one home, but they were bigger than 3oz, and I don’t plan on checking my bag. *Sigh.*

We found a table and sat to await our chosen beverages, and when we got our hot chocolate, the waitress delivered a small bowl of chilli powder, and another with panela, or pure sugarcane. I guess we get to mix it all ourselves! Sweet! Of course, we tried a sip or two with nothing added, and it was quite bitter, although not as bitter as I know pure chocolate to be. We added in our doses of chilli and sugar, and once we found perfection, we sat back and enjoyed. 

Not too long after, a gentleman walked in, a “gringo” who we had seen the day before on our way to the supermarket. He began telling us about his story and how he owns a cacao farm in Costa Rica, and is here learning more about cacao production. He held up a fabulous conversation, and I nerded out a bit on the history and anthropology of Mesoamerica. We discussed the genius of the Maya and how so much has been lost to history and to the people who wrote it. He gave me a few book recommendations, and I’m eager to find copies and give them a read. I felt in my element, talking about how incredible and advanced the Maya were with another individual who shares the same appreciation and reverence for that culture.

We nearly finished our conversation and were getting ready to leave when we realized we never introduced ourselves, haha. This gentleman’s name is Antonio, and we swapped instagrams, and maybe one day we’ll catch up with him again in Costa Rica. Pura Vida!

After our chocolate experience, we headed to Sol de Copán, an expat-owned Bavarian Brewery, in a remote Honduran town! Who would’ve thought?! We walked down the stairs into the basement location, and there were two beers available, a white ale and an amber ale. Dana and I each got one, and we tasted them all around. We all preferred the amber ale. We sat around talking about travels and potential next steps for Dana and Hayden. It was so fun to discuss the possiblities and to hear their thoughts on doing a youtube channel or a travel blog or even starting a business. There are so many options, but none of which are speaking to them just yet. It’s hard work! Witnessing all the effort and time that goes into making the TikTok’s, writing the emails, planning where to go next…It’s a lot! Sure, it’s easy for us on the outside to see their traveling lifestyle as an ideal thing, or a 2 year vacation, but its also work. Hard work. I’ve been loving seeing the insider edition of it all :). 

After we felt nice an buzzed off one beer, we needed to find a place to eat. We had done some previous research, but nothing stood out to us, so we asked the bartender at the brewery. He told us his favorite was a burger joint. Meh. While that is probably delicious, we were on the hunt for something more local. I found in my research 2 things that appeared to be a local Honduran specialty: baleadas and anafres. Dana messaged our airbnb host, and he gave us a recommendation of Llama de Bosque. This had come up in our search, so I was immediately interested. We head over there and take a peak inside, and there aren’t many people at all. Hmmm….and across the street is a packed house. Hayden mentions this, and I think we’re all on the same page; usually, the busier a place is, the better it is, right? 

Well, we go into the Llama del Bosque and look at the menu. They definitely have baleadas and anafres. I’m in. Lol. Sold! Hayden still has a nagging feeling about the other place, so we go check it out. We immediately realize it’s all American food, burgers, fish and chips, etc. We also realize the clientele are all gringos. Hahah ok…this changes things. We all agree we came out for local food, so back to the first place. We go in sit down, and are immediately attended to. Dana and I order one of each type of baleada, sencillo, with just beans and quesillo, and one with eggs added. We also order anafres, which is a bean and quesillo dip. Omg it was sooooo good. It tasted like the insides of a pupusas, which it essentially was. We all loved it! The baleadas came and were HUGE! The woman who brought them over also laughed with us…how cold we eat all of this? They were larger than the plate they were served on, haha. Oh well, it’s time to dig in! The baleada is a flour tortilla, stretched almost like pizza dough, so it’s one giant piece, and it’s almost fluffy, bordering on the consistency of pita bread, but still very much a flour tortilla. Inside, they add beans, cheese, eggs, and then they fold it over into a half-moon shape. Dang, were they good! Dana and I also ordered a Salvavida, the local beer, and bam! I was in heaven. I was truly feeling in the vibe of Central America and in my element. The people here in Copán Ruinas have been so kind and inviting, and it was really reminding me of El Salvador. Maybe that’s not a conincidence since they’re neighbors. 🙂

After we stuffed ourselves, it was time to head home. We wandered the streets and enjoyed some of the festive lights and decorations the different restaurants and businesses had. Tomorrow will be an early day for the Copán archeological site! My favorite! Hehe. See you there! 🤗

Wow. Wow. Wow. That was a lonnnngggg time in a shuttle, about 10.5 hours on the dot. We didn’t eat much, didn’t have coffee, and we only had two stops, but surprisingly, we did just fine! It was undeniably arduous due to the sheer length of the ride, but overall it was better than the shuttle to Pana. We were on a bigger van which had to drive a bit more slowly, so we weren’t being whipped around the corners like before. And I didn’t feel carsick! Success! Or was it thanks to the anti-nausea pills I bought? Hehe. I also ended up with a seat to myself; the van had double seats on one side and singles on the other. I was set up as best as I could be for a day spent on a bus. I downloaded music and a couple of shows from Netflix on my phone, and between that and my intermittent napping, the time passed just as fast as a 10 hour shuttle ride could.

Our last stop was at a mall in Cobán, and we ate sandwiches from Pollo Campero! Yummmmy! I told Dana and Hayden it was a must try. If you don’t know, it’s a local fried chicken chain, often times compared to KFC, but KFC has nothing on Pollo Campero. It’s a big chain in El Salvador, too, and I’m so glad we got a chance to enjoy it.

Another 90 minutes and we finally pull into the gas station in Lanquín, where this shuttle dropped us off, and people from the Greengos Hostel told us to go over to a military like caravan truck, complete with a canvas stretched over the sides and roof, with padded benches in the inside, and even a rope swing style rope…I’m guessing to help you climb in and out of the truck haha. It took us about an hour in that thing, bouncing around, down a bumpy dirt road…it was fun. Sort of, hahah. My head was pounding from not drinking water all day, and the jerking motions from the truck going down the dirt road weren’t helping at all. But we made it! And as usual, it was worth it! We walk down a steep set of stairs and through a hallway and into a really beautiful building. Very eco-friendly vibes, open air, tons of seating, from traditional hammocks to chair hammocks, to a platform with pillows, to a wooden swinging chair, normal tables and chairs, and multiple seating levels. So cool! Our room is on the second floor of an a-frame tree house style cabin. It’s so cute! No bathroom in our tree house, but there is a separate bathroom down the walkway outside. Yay for that hostel life, lol.

After such a long day of doing nothing on a bus, but still feeling beyond exhausted, we simply unpacked our things and got ready for bed. There was a crazy loud party going on back in the main area of the hostel, so we weren’t sure how well we’d sleep. Once it had finally died down, falling asleep and listening to the river and jungle sounds just outside our cabin were quite amazing! I could get used to this! Haha. I love being surrounded by nature and gently being sung to sleep by birds, frogs, a babbling stream, and a gentle breeze blowing the through the tree branches. *Paradise*

The next morning, we gently woke up and opened our eyes to the sounds of the jungle and the river. Like seriously, what could be better than this? It was chilly enough to be snuggled under the blankets, and I could’ve stayed there all day, all cozy and calm, enjoying the serenity of nature. But, we have things to do and places to explore!

We got ready and left the hotel early so we could hit the entrance to Semuc Champey by 8AM, right as they open. If I’ve learned anything from the traveling power couple, it’s: always go early! Hehe. Getting our tickets was a bit of a struggle due to a couple ahead of us taking forever and asking questions in broken English/Spanish. But, with a little bit of patience, it was our turn and we paid our entrance fee and got on our way. We tackled the main lookout first, which was much harder than we anticipated lol. I thought we were done with the big hikes!? Lol. It was pretty much straight up for half an hour. Ugh. But It was worth it! Always is! And what a view! We took turns taking pictures of every possible angle and we even pulled out the selfie stick to get a group glamour shot, hehe. We paused for a few moments, took a few deep breaths in, and absorbed the beauty of the breathtaking landscape.

Once we felt we had fully taken in the scenery and got all the photos we wanted, we made our way back down the steep path, and back to the main trail. We ran into another traveler from our hostel, Casey, and we explored some of the pools together, admiring the vibrant colors. We worked up quite a sweat hiking to the look out spot and walking around the main trail, so we decided to take a dip almost immediately. We just couldn’t wait! The turquoise waters were calling to us! And there was barely anyone swimming yet; a reminder that leaving early is always the right call! We jumped in and refreshed ourselves in the cool blue waters, treading water to loosen up our stiff bodies from the long ride the previous day.

We hopped out of the water and continued further down the trail, and we hit a sign that explained how Semuc Champey was formed. There is a big river that falls into the earth, below what we can see, and what we call Semuc Champey. This is called the “sumidero” and because of it, a natural bridge was formed, where the turquoise pools are. These pools are then filled with natural springs coming down from the mountains. Sooo cool! And below the natural bridge, where the rushing water flows, is where all the caves are. Apparently there are cave tours, and I believe I read something about when you go, you’re given a candle and that’s it. Lol. Dana also heard it can be pretty dangerous and people get hurt. Now, the extent of the that, I have no idea. But either way, it’s not in our itinerary for the day.

After we took one last dip in the beautiful pools, we decided to walk back to the hostel to jump in the hot tub, but much to our dismay, the water was cold. Haha. Oh well, guess the pool it is! Hehe. We enjoyed the rinse off, contemplating whether or not the pool chemicals were a sufficient substitute for a shower. Swimming around all day gave us quite the appetite, so we dried off and went up to the restaurant area. I had a delicious falafel burger and a Gallo beer. Classic. I’m starting to consider what my life would look like if I just set up shop here for a while, haha.

Once lunch was done, we decided to hang out and enjoy the hostel, working on photo edits, writing, and planning the next steps. It’s such a lovely ambiance. 🙂 I got to spend quite a long time in one of my favorite places; a colorful hammock.

Almost forget to mention the best little pup, “Patita,” or “little paw.” She was hit by a car and rescued by the hostel, but her one back leg was pretty banged up and it healed completely in the wrong direction. Yet she doesn’t let her injury stop her, and she hikes to the mirador everyday and plays and runs as if her leg worked the same as before. She was such a little love, I wish I could’ve adopted her, but then again, she lives a pretty fantastic life at Greengos. Cheers to you, Patita!

The next morning we’re up and at ‘em, ready for another day. It’s dark and early and we have another long ass shuttle all the way back to Antigua. It was a smaller van than our last one, and I scored a seat by the window, but it came with the price of the wheel hump, haha. I thought for sure this would be a miserable ride, but it turned out to be the best one yet! I was uncomfortable at times, but we stopped frequently, and each time at a McDonalds, which were exceptionally clean, had toilet paper in the bathroom, and of course, cheap food, lol. What else could a girl want? Haha. I had a breakfast sandwich that was an egg McMuffin, but with refried beans! And I got a side of McGriddle bread, haha. Can’t lie…it was delicious!

We make it back to Antigua in a record breaking 8.5 hours! We still have time to walk around and take in a few last looks of the city before packing our bags and waking up at 4am for our shuttle to Copán. We head back to the airbnb, all aching for a hot shower and to do some laundry. Well, things started off badly when we tried the door code and it didn’t work. Eventually we got in with a second code, and now we see the kitchen floor is caked with dry mud. Huh? Maybe the plumber left behind a mess….when we previously stayed there was a water issue, and it was presumably fixed. Ok, no problem. We check the water, and not only is there not hot water, there is no water at all! Uh-oh. Thats a huge problem…as we need to shower and we specifically picked that airbnb for the laundry. After going back and forth with the owners, we ended up asking for a refund and found a hotel room a block away.

The hotel room was so big and roomy! And it came with some amenities! Score! And it had a rooftop area with a view of my favorite volcanoes! 😀 So we quickly dropped out things, peed, and left straight away to get the most delicious pizza we had the pleasure of trying a couple days before. It’s soooooo goood! After we had our fill, we walked to the central square one last time, saying goodbye to Antigua, and looking for how to spend the last quezatles Dana and Hayden had. They were well spent on several snickers bars. Haha

Back at the hotel, we go up to the roof to watch Fuego from the city. It was surreal, standing on the nearly pitch black roof, staring up at the looming shadows of Fuego and Acatenango. We even spotted the headlamps on the Fuego Ridge, trekking back to base camp! Fuego didn’t seem as active, but we got a few nice red glows…and just as we were ready to go, but still holding out for one last eruption, she gave us what we asked for! A very big and long eruption, and we knew the people at base camp and were shaking with excitement. I bet that one would’ve been a “cabin shaker” for sure! What a fabulous and fitting ending to our time in Guatemala. Until next time!

This morning, I made plans to meet up with my friends Ana and Carlos from WWC (Warren Wilson College). I have met them a few times in Antigua, and it’s always so good to see familiar faces :). I left the airbnb and walked over to where we were meeting for breakfast, and Ana, Carlos, his wife, Irma, and 3 year old son, David, met us. Little David was so cute! It was so awesome to see Ana and Carlos, and we talked a about how crazy it was that its been 10 years since we were at Wilson together. Where does the time go?! It seems like it was just a coupe of years ago. Hehe

Soon it was nearly 11:00 and I had to get going back to the airbnb to pack up for our first shuttle ride….to Lake Atitlan! This would now officially mark the beginning of unknown territory for me! Yippee! The shuttle ride was not was I was expecting, and the road to Panajachel was winding and so were my insides,* giving a new definition to hairpin turns….I was feeling nauseous the entire time. Ugh. I never get carsick or suffer from motion sickness, but this time I succumbed to the worst of it lol. We even had to cross a river at one point. It wasn’t very deep, but we were later told that during a heavy rainy season, it can be impassable. I was hoping to document some of the adventures of this ride and the scenery, but all I could do was close my eyes and hope for it to end soon.

*credit for that line goes to Dana! Hehe, thank you!

We make it to Pana, and I’m so grateful to get out of the shuttle and onto sturdy land haha. Our little hotel is super cute, and rather secluded away from the city center. We drop our bags and take a trip to the supermarket and buy some groceries. Then we just came back, cooked dinner, and relaxed. Dana and I sat outside with a cup of coffee, writing and journaling about the last couple of days. It was pretty chill, and a surreal experience, to be sitting in the middle of Guatemala, together, knowing we would be traveling together for the next several weeks! 🙂

The next day we woke up around 6, had some breakfast, and headed to the local ferry landing to catch a “lancha” to San Pedro, where we would meet Matt the geologist, who would take us on a hiking tour up “Indian Nose,” and give us a lesson in the area’s geology. What a great tour! Matt had a dog, Spike, who traveled with us, and led the way up through the private properties of corn fields. The whole mountain is owned by various individuals and there is a petty game of charging people for access, and creating pathways through only one property, causing a lot of confusion for anyone trying to figure out how to get up there. We were so grateful to have Matt for that, and he as such an animated guy!

Once at the top of the Indian Nose, he gave us a geology class. He taught us some basics about the earths tectonics, how volcanoes are formed, and how Lake Atitlan was formed. I learned that rather than it being a crater lake, which are only found on the top of volcanoes and filled with rain water, places like Atitlan, Illopango, or even Coatepeque, or Crater Lake in Oregon, are actually calderas. Calderas form when a giant pool of magma is beneath the surface, and it bubbles up and erupts from multiple points, creating instability, and the land sinks to the bottom of the magma chamber, basically sinking in on itself. I loved this tour so much, as I really learned a lot, and it gave me a new appreciation for the vistas around the lake, as I could now identify certain geological features. 

On the way back down, we learned about how all the little towns have a beef against one in particular, San Pablo. They let their grey water run down the hills, into the gutters, and eventually into the lake itself. It was pretty funny listening to Matt talk about these rivals, as it appeared he has taken on the same sentiments as his fellow lake neighbors. 

Matt dropped us off in San Juan, and we walked around and enjoyed some lovely street art, and we popped in for lunch at Almas de Colores, a restaurant that hires people with special needs. They also train special needs people in a variety of jobs, including sewing, crafting artisan goods, and cooking. It was nice to support a local business, especially one that is offering employment and development opportunities to people who may have a tough time otherwise. 

After we had our fill of walking about, we decided we’d check out San Marcos, known to be the hippie town. So, we meander down to the docks, and we can see how windy it has gotten, and observe all the white caps on the lake, and the crashing waves on the shore. This is gonna be a bumpy ride. We can’t quite make up our mind if we want to hop on last minute or not, and we quickly ask the price, and it was more than we thought, so we haggled it down a bit, but was still 5Q more than we wanted. But we were on the boat, and we were going. Well, Hayden didn’t step on the boat, as he wanted the true price. Street Justice Hayden! So off Dana and I go, on a ride I’ll never forget. 

We start going full speed through the waves, and we come crashing down hard, shaking us to the bone. There is a group of 3 women who are just screaming and howling and asking the boat to slow down. The guy sitting behind Dana and I said in Spanish that they can’t slow down or the boat will capsize. Great. Hahah. And so the ride continues, water splashing into the boat, soaking our pants, and Dana got hit by a giant splash in the face lol. We just locked eyes and laughed about our predicament and held on as tight as we could to the seats in front of us. I was enjoying the ride, as much as one could when injury was almost certain, lol. Meanwhile, the other ladies continued screaming and being the perfect example of a bad tourist, demanding the boat slow down without understanding why we had to continue and stressing the other passengers out. In the end, it was all very comical, and I’m glad I could laugh about rather than freak out like the other ladies :).

We make it to the San Marcos docks, and we wait for Hayden to join us. Several boats come and go before we see Hayden, but he made it, and we were reunited and safe and sound. We head up the path, and it’s like hippie overdrive; health food stores, hippie jewelry, a “spiritual cafe,” etc. It took away from the local ambiance, and we discussed how it seemed to go against the hippie culture. Many locals can no longer afford to live there because the hippie folks have moved in for cheaper than they pay back home, but paying exorbitantly more than the local norm, forcing locals to move away. It seems to be the same in Antigua, as Ana was explaining at breakfast, and I’m sure in countless other places in the world. It’s a shame that tourism can have a negative effect on the local areas. 

After just a short time in San Marcos, we grab a chocobanano and head back to Pana. The boat ride was much better, but when we got back, we tried to pay 50Q for 3 of us; after we were told it would be 15Q per person, for a total of 45Q. This guy wanted us each to pay 25Q. We fought him and explained that we were told it was only 15, but he pressed on, even threatening to call the police. We stuck to our guns, and he just waved us off, and Hayden yelled back, “stop trying to rip people off.” Haha, epic. I think it’s moments like this that make tourists weary and try to avoid being ripped off in the first place, even if it’s a question of a couple of dollars. It’s more about the principal than the money. If we were always given the fair/local price, maybe we wouln’t question it as much? After all, nobody likes being ripped off. Lol

We make it back to the airbnb to pack up and get ready for our super long shuttle to Semuc Champey. But, not before Hayden and I went out to see the sunset at the lake. It wasn’t as wonderful as we’d hoped, as the sun was behind the mountains, and it was difficult to get the right angle for a photo because of how the light was filtering into the lake area. But we enjoyed exploring just a bit more and were glad we took the time to see the sunset. The photos never do it justice anyways, hehe.