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Guatemala
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  • LifeAsLemonade

Guatemala

Auryn and I predict we'll be in Guatemala for a couple of months! 🥳
Hoping to hike up some volcanoes, see some more Mayan ruins, and maybe go surfing on the Pacific! 😊 Read more
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    LifeAsLemonadeGuatemalaTraveler

    To Monterrico!

    February 20, 2021 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We arrived in Monterrico in late afternoon. It was also just as hot and humid as Iztapa, but we were hoping to be able to relax and enjoy the swimming oriented beaches (opposed to surfing beaches of Iztapa). We were also hoping to be able to have access to better internet. Montericco is quite beautiful and picturesque, however, neither our internet problem, or desire for beach time were fulfilled. The beach has very hot black sand that is nearly impossible to handle during the peak swimming hours of the day. The accommodation prices in Montericco are also much higher than our budget, and most places do not have communal kitchens forcing us to eat out and spend more money. After much deliberation, we decided to go back to Antigua to escape the heat and capitalize off of the cheaper accommodation prices while we tried to decide where to go next. But first, we spent about three days in Monterrico to enjoy the beach!

    On our last night in Montericco we decided to stay at a very… rustic… hotel because it was amoungst the very very few options within our price range (60Q/night/person). The owners and workers of this hotel were wonderful, accommodating, and friendly people. But the hotel itself was definitely an experience to say the least. We stayed in a concrete room that resembled something of a jail cell, shared an incredibly run down comunal bathroom between other guests and restaurant patrons; it was primarily made of concrete with toilets that rarely had toilet paper, and did not flush, the showers were mearly cemente stalls with no shower curtains that contained a pvc pipe sticking through the wall that only spouted out cold water, and most of the lights did not work. Finally, the restaurant portion of the hotel was hosting many drunk locals that were listening to extremely loud music until about 12 am. This was amongst my least luxurious stays in my lifetime, but I wouldn’t change it for anything else because it was such a bizarre and authentic experience. The hostel owners were very generous in finding us a fan for our room and gave us free ice water which tremendously helped us cope with the heat. 🥰 We spent our evening talking, drinking, and I even hula hooped to the loud local music!

    LINK TO MY YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://youtu.be/b_ZbAdo4Smg    Read more

  • LifeAsLemonadeGuatemalaTraveler

    To Iztapa!

    February 18, 2021 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Today we went to Iztapa, which is a very small beach town on the West coast of Guatemala. The day on the chicken buses was eventful as always… This time we were sent in the exact oposite direction towards Isapa (not Iztapa) because of miscommunication due to the rushed nature of chicken bus departures. After discovering this we got off of the bus at the next available stop and went back to Antigua to catch a bus in the right direction towards Iztapa.

    We arrived in Iztapa just as night fell and were welcomed with thick, humid air and empty streets. We walked 5 minutes to our riverside hostel on the edge of town. One-hundred-fifty quetzales got us one night in a private multi-room beach hut. The hut itself was really nice and cozy. The three main issues were the dense, wet heat, the complete lack of internet (essential for work), and the lack of surf (our main reason for coming). We enjoyed one peaceful night here along the river, and then moved on to Montericco the next day.

    LINK TO YOUTUBE VIDEO https://youtu.be/4NSWDqo7KLs    Read more

  • LifeAsLemonadeGuatemalaTraveler

    Antigua

    February 16, 2021 in Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Antigua is a beautiful colonial town that is located about an hour or so away from Guatemala City, or as the locals call it “Guate.” Antigua is known for its beautiful cobble stoned streets, colonial architecture, food, and most of all - the surrounding volcanoes! We stayed in Antigua three separate times. Cumulatively staying here for about 2.5 weeks.

    Although Antigua is a beautiful city, we’d only recommend staying for a few days because it is a bit more expensive than many other places in Guatemala. We ended up staying longer than we’d have hoped because we were having difficulty working out what we should do with all of the covid-19 restrictions. These difficulties will be further explained in the following posts.    Read more

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  • LifeAsLemonadeGuatemalaTraveler
    This one was delicious, but I prefer to cut them into coins and fry them. They cook better that way.

    Desayuno Tipico

    February 15, 2021 in Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Desayuno = breakfast,
    Tipico = typical.

    In Spanish the adjective comes after the noun so if we translate this into proper English then we arrive at "typical breakfast."

    Mi mucho gusta desayuno tipico en Guatemala. Típicamente tiene frijoles, huevos, tortillas, y platanos fritos. Algunas veces viene con café (no necesita leche hacer el café sabor mejor porque está muy mejor que Mexicano café).

    Esta desayuno perfecto. Me da energía y se está llenando sin ser pesado. Esta mui barrato y facil hacer. La tortillas de Guatemala esta mas grueso que Mexicano tortillas, pero perferimos esto porque el maies tortillas mantene humedo y mantene por mas tiempo.

    Estoy obsesió con platano frito. Usualmente cocino dos, o tres por dia. Necisitan estar mui negro antes de cocina o no estan madura y no tienen bien sabor. Necesitan solamente estar frito en aciete para aproximadamente diez o quince minutos y entonces estan perfecto. No se necesita azúcar ni salsa, pero algunas veces cocino con canela. Están mucho delicioso.

    Pienso que desayuno tipico desde Guatemala esta mi favorito desayuno y recomendo muy esta. Esta perfecto por vegetarianos.

    ***TRANSLATION***

    I really like typical breakfast in Guatemala. It typically has beans, eggs, tortillas, and fried plantains. Sometimes it comes with coffee (you don't need milk to make the coffee taste better because it is so much better than Mexican coffee).

     This is the perfect breakfast. It gives me energy and is filling without being heavy. It is very cheap and easy to do. Guatemalan tortillas are thicker than Mexican tortillas, but we prefer this because the corn tortillas keep moist and keep longer.

     I am obsessed with fried plantain. I usually cook two, or three a day. They need to be very black before cooking or they are not ripe and do not taste good. They only need to be fried in oil for about ten or fifteen minutes and then they are perfect. No sugar or sauce is needed, but sometimes I cook with cinnamon. They are very delicious.

     I think that typical breakfast from Guatemala is my favorite breakfast and I highly recommend it. It is perfect for vegetarians.    Read more

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  • LifeAsLemonadeGuatemalaTraveler

    Volcán de Acatenango: The Trek Pt 1

    February 11, 2021 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We left Panajachel for Antigua with plans to hike the infamous Volcán de Acatenango to watch smoke and lava explode from its neighbor Volcán de Fuego!

    Auryn, as per usual, found us a great deal on a guided overnight hiking tour that included our gear, food, and transportation costing us Q375 (quetzales), or about $60 Canadian dollars (including a tip for the tour guide).

    We were picked up by a large tour bus from our hostel around 9:00 am and lumbered our way around the tight cobbled streets of Antigua to retrieve our gear before ascending up to the base of the volcano to begin our hike. I generally take anti-nausea medication before embarking on any bus ride, but being that they make me drowsy, and I was about to embark on a nearly 6 hour strenuous hike, I decided to skip this step. Unfortunately this first leg of our journey was very windy, speedy, and bumpy which caused me to become quite ill and resulted in me having to get the bus to pull over for me to throw up. Once we arrived to the trail head I ran out of the bus to throw up again all while the rest of our hiking crew took pictures of the beautiful rural vista. It was quite an interesting start of our journey. 😂

    We started our hike at around 10:30 am. The beginning of the hike was definitely the most difficult; it was composed of very steep hills of loose gravel that tested both our mental and physical endurance. Thankfully the most challenging part of the hike lasted only about 30 minutes and we took a water break next to a farmers field and a small restaurant. During this break I consumed a little too much water than my stomach could handle and I immediately started throwing up... again. 😩 At this point I was afraid that I may stall everyone too much to be able to make it up to the top, but thankfully our tour guide, Louis, gave me a small cup of alka seltzer that helped ease my stomach and stopped the puking for the rest of our journey.

    The hike was stunning! We were initially surrounded by beautiful farmers fields, which transformed into a lush biodiverse tropical jungle, and then mixed into a more alpine-esque forest as we approached the chilly top.

    We were accompanied by two stray dogs who were loyal to us until we went to sleep, at which point they made off with our bag of marshmallows leaving a trail of them heading away from the camp. One of these dogs we named “Stinky,” and the other we named “Marshmallow,” two very self-explanatory names. They were both very friendly and lovely to have around. Marshmallow eventually made his way back to our camp in the morning to join us for breakfast, but he did not follow us back down. We briefly met up with Stinky about halfway down the volcano, but he must have known that we didn’t have anymore food because he also didn’t accompany us on the way down. 😂

    The trek down took us about 2.5 hours opposed to the 5.5 going up, however, Auryn and I both agreed that going down was much more strenuous than going up due to the steep descent. I decided to take my shoes off near the end of our hike because my toes were very sore from being squished into the front of my shoes. Auryn had to walk backwards to try and alleviate some of the pressure on his knees. When we got back to Antigua we immediately ordered a pizza and took a long nap. 😂

    The strain was well worth it for the beautiful views and friends that we made along the way, and I’d do it again in a heart beat... but maybe after I recover first. 😊    Read more

  • LifeAsLemonadeGuatemalaTraveler

    Panajachel!

    February 5, 2021 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We headed back to Panajachel where we hung out for just under one week. We stayed at Pana House hostel which was AMAZING. The people were great, the facilities were clean, well maintained, and updated, and the views were, of course, beautiful as always.

    I spent this week working on my music course (which I have been really enjoying). And our friend, Alvoro, (who we had actually met in San Cristobal, Mexico, and coincidentally bumped into) introduced me to the Wim Hof method which is a deep breathing exercise followed by a cold shower, or ice bath. I have been pushing myself (with reluctance) to have one, preferably two cold showers per day (one waking up and one before bed). As much as the showers are uncomfortable... I have to say that they do make me feel pretty amazing afterwards. My goal is to continue it for 30 days and see how I feel overall! Wish me luck! 😅    Read more

  • LifeAsLemonadeGuatemalaTraveler

    Monarch Caterpillars!

    February 3, 2021 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    One morning I was sitting on the roof having my coffee when a little caterpillar plopped out of a bush on to the ground next to me and started making their way towards some neighbouring foliage. Instantly I thought “Bah! I think that is a monarch!” And sure enough, it was! The hostel owner told me that they feed on latex plants which is why he keeps a bunch on the roof to provide them habitat. Apparently when they decide to leave the latex plant it means that they have eaten enough and are ready to make a chrysalis and start metamorphosing into a butterfly!

    Monarchs are a beautiful and impressive species; they migrate in the millions from Central America to Southern Canada twice per year and are thought to be one of the only insect species to do this! Unfortunately, their numbers are dwindling due to habitat loss and climate change. Being that they are becoming increasingly rare, I decided to spend a lot of time appreciating their presence... which resulted in my neck incurring a mild sunburn. 😂 Definitely worth it I’d say.    Read more

  • LifeAsLemonadeGuatemalaTraveler

    San Pedro

    January 30, 2021 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We stayed in San Pedro for about a week and a half.

    During this time I took five days of Spanish lessons (3 hours per day). The lessons were incredibly helpful in accelerating my learning and I can proudly say that I understand most conversations and can generally get by in my speaking skills! 🥳

    Auryn and I also made friends with Suri, who decided to skip lockdown in Ontario and instead enjoy the beautiful sunny lakeside. On our first night of hanging out we all shared a bottle of rum and looked out onto lake Atitlan. 😊

    San Pedro is so beautiful and peaceful. It's hard to believe that pre-pandemic it was a notorious party town.    Read more

  • LifeAsLemonadeGuatemalaTraveler
    This was a pitstop on the way to San Pedro.

    Boat to San Pedro!

    January 22, 2021 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Upon recommendation from our friends (who left for Guatemala from San Cristobal a few weeks ago), we decided to head to San Pedro across Lake Atitlan. The boat ride was only slightly less crazy than the chicken buses. We were howling with laughter as the pilot went full speed into waves forcing us all to continually brace ourselves! 😅

    The lake is gorgeous! It is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes! 🌋 San Pedro is also beautiful. The streets are riddled with hidden alleyways, hills, and Tuk Tuks (three wheeled motorcycle taxis).

    We found a private room with an ensuite bathroom on the lake front for Q 120 (quetzales). It feels so relaxing to be near water again. The locals come down to the lake everyday to bathe and wash their laundry on ridged stone slabs. We often see children and entire families making an event out of this by having a picnic and playing in the water for a while. It's pretty awesome. 😊

    We haven't had much experience in Guatemala yet, but so far the people seem incredibly laid back, friendly, and they're always laughing and joking around.    Read more

  • LifeAsLemonadeGuatemalaTraveler
    You are looking at a bunch of volcanoes!

    Chicken Buses!

    January 21, 2021 in Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    After Auryn and I crossed the border we walked up to the bus 'station' (more like a vague dusty parking lot), and we caught our first chicken bus! Chicken buses are old American school buses that are converted into badass looking public buses. Apparently they can become so full of locals who are transporting various cargo that you can often find yourself sitting next to a chicken! 🐔

    Throughout the day we took a total of FIVE chicken buses to get to Panajachel, Guatemala. These rides are absolutely wild. The drivers are completely reckless; passing people in the on-coming lane around blind winding corners, screaming around corners forcing everyone to hold onto the bars in front of them, and that's just the first bit of it. The driver has an assistant that honks the horn, takes the money from passengers and loads and unloads cargo from the top of the bus. So as the bus is racing around corners (on the side of mountains btw) the assistant hops out of the moving bus onto a ladder, finds the cargo for the passenger getting off at the next stop, chucks the cargo down to the passenger when the bus stops, and then remains on the roof while the bus starts going again where he then walks on the roof to the back of the bus, climbs down another ladder, and then opens the back door and gets back into the bus! It's wild!!! 😮😮😮

    At one of our bus transfers we get off of the one chicken bus and our next buses assistant came to meet us. He then grabbed this older lady's cargo and started sprinting down the road! We also started sprinting down the road (with all of our bags) following the bus assistant and the older lady. We all stop along the road and the bus assistant then starts helping guide this full sized school bus to turn around in the middle of a traffic jam on the other side of the road. I guess they decided to turn around and take passengers going the other way rather than sit in traffic. Anyways, the bus eventually gets turned around, but is blocking traffic so the older lady (who is obviously used to this craziness) runs to the back of the bus and starts trying to climb up the ladder to get into the back door. She is having significant trouble so Auryn helps push her into the bus. He then hops in and I start to get pushed to the back of the line by a bunch of aggressive guys. Auryn, hanging outside the back door, yells for me to push past everyone and I realize I am being too Canadian so I push past all of the guys and scale up the ladder (again with all of my bags). I was afraid that the bus was going to start moving with me on the ladder, but I needed to get on otherwise I'd be separated from Auryn with no way of contacting him and no money. 😅😅😅 Thankfully I'm able to push into the crowded bus AND even somehow manage to grab a seat!

    After that we took another three chicken buses. We thought we missed our stop on one (but didn't). And then we thought we were on the wrong one so we got off only for them to tell us that it was the right one so we had to get back on and a couple older indigenous ladies started laughing with us. 😂

    Finally! We get to Panajachel and find a really good hotel room for a great price. As soon as we got into our room we both realized how dead tired we were. We decided to pop out and go for a little walk (about 9 pm) to see the town and because we needed to find an ATM to pay for our room. The town is adorable! Lots of interesting shops and friendly people. After a short walk we decided to head back where I scarfed down some food, had a shower, and passed out while watching some Brooklyn Nine-Nine. 😂    Read more

    Trip start
    January 21, 2021
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