Gallivanting across Guatemala

We had three more stops to round out our time in Guatemala, and they were, for the most part, all about relaxing in beautiful spots. The first of which was Rio Dulce, right up in the northeast and another long and bumpy minivan ride away from Semuc Champey. It's a beautiful place though, with the river winding around through some spectacular scenery - lush green foliage and local wildlife, and an amazing gorge with walls almost 100m high on either side. We chose to stay at a little hostel called The Roundhouse which was about a 30min boat ride along the river and is run by an English/Dutch couple. It was a cool little hostel and, as the name suggests, is a round wooden building with a few private rooms and a dorm at the top under the circular sloping roof. Being on a river there was no pressure to do anything but relax in the hammocks and read and eat delicious home-made food including family style dinners with the owners and whoever else was staying there. Unfortunately the pool was empty when we were there, but that would have been the cherry on top. After 3 days of chilling out we got taken up the river to Livingston where we hopped on a bus to Antigua.

Antigua is one of the most popular destinations in Guatemala for it's architecture and very European feel (it's also a UNESCO World Heritage site). It is quite an attractive city, especially since the surrounding view is dominated by three volcanoes on the horizon. Many people rave about and love this place, but we didn't share this view. We thought Antigua had a pretty dodgy feel to it to be honest, but perhaps this was because we knew/met people who had been robbed at knife/machete/gun point. Also because a couple of times when we were out walking at varying times of the day/night, locals told us we shouldn't be there as it wasn't safe. But, touch wood, nothing bad happened to us personally and we spent a few days there catching up with a couple of Aussie girls we'd met at the hostel in Semuc Champey and wandering around. The only real touristy thing we did was to walk up to the Cerro de la Cruz, a big cross on top of a hill with pretty good views over the city and the volcano to the south. But soon we were ready to leave and spend our final days in Guatemala in the tranquil lakeside setting of Lake Atitlán.

Looking out over Antigua from the Cerro de la Cruz

Thankfully this time it was just a short ride from Antigua to Panajachel, which is the main transport hub to get to the various small towns dotted all around the lake. We decided to head across to San Pedo La Laguna, a laidback little town popular with backpackers. We found a hotel with great views out over the lake for only 50 quetzals (AU$7) a night - perfect. The aim of the game here was to basically do nothing for a week but enjoy the peace and beauty of our surroundings, and that is exactly what we did. You'll probably be shocked to hear that we didn't even drink for the entire time. Honestly. We'd initially thought that we'd hike up Volcano San Pedro, but after reading up about it we found out that at that time of year it was usually covered in low cloud at the top, obscuring the amazing view (which is generally the point). Also, you have to pay for a guide to take you up 'for your own personal safety', as it's a hot spot for robberies. So in the end we decided against it. After a week of total relaxation we were then ready to cross the border into Honduras.