• Greg Clayton
  • Daniel Tarpey
  • Greg Clayton
  • Daniel Tarpey

The Americas

149-päiväinen seikkaillu — Greg & Daniel Lue lisää
  • Antigua - First Impressions

    19. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today we got to see Antigua in all its glory! At 1,545m the city is somewhat cooler with a bit of cloud cover which was nice!

    Our hostel provided us with a free breakfast before we had to sort out a few logistical items for our up Acatenago Volcano tomorrow.

    Our first impression of Antigua is a large, colourful, calm and spacious city, with no buildings (other than churches) more than a story or two high. We think we're going to like it here!
    Lue lisää

  • A Colourful Shop

    19. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Whilst wandering this afternoon we came across a shop that we had missed earlier in the day. It was wall to wall in colourful handmade goods and souvenirs. We spent a while in here wishing we could buy a few bits without having to carry them around for 5 more months!Lue lisää

  • An Evening in Antigua

    19. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    This evening we headed out for dinner. We fancied an Italian before our big hike tomorrow so found an Italian cafe with only 2.5 tables! The food was lovely and we were given complimentary garlic bread and lemon sorbet. Every restaurant in Central America seems to offer something or other complimentary!

    We then had a wander around the main spots at dusk before heading back to the hostel to prepare for a big day tomorrow and our first game of Chinese rummie for a while (Dan only beat me by 9 this time, he better watch out).
    Lue lisää

  • Ascending Acatenago

    20. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Today is the day we ascend Acetenago and Fuego volcanos! The two volcanos neighbour each other in a region of Guatemala filled with ash mountains.

    Our journey began at 7:30am when we were collected at the main square in Antigua. We were dropped at our tour guides offices (house) at 2,200m for breakfast and to prepare our gear. Even this house was the was the highest point both me and Dan have even been on land but this was only just the beginning for today!

    Our tour group was made up of me, Dan and a Mexican guy named Carlos, plus our local Guatemalan guide. Our guide was a 'Liverpool fan'. Even atop a remote volcano Dan still can't escape the Kopites.

    The ascent was tough at the beginning in the morning sun with little cover, but as the day went on the slopes got more generous and the forest and clouds provided some shelter.
    Lue lisää

  • Arriving at Basecamp

    20. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    After almost 5 hours we arrived at basecamp, standing at 3,700m. Our initial view was purely of cloud although to our left we saw occasional glimpses of Volcan Fuego.

    Fuego is an active volcano, with a few hundred eruptions a day of varying size. Volcan Acatenago where we would be staying is dormant but provided a great vantage point!Lue lisää

  • Volcan de Fuego

    20. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    After spending 2 hours at basecamp (mainly spent sleeping, my first nap I can ever remember!), we set off for the neighbouring Volcan de Fuego to watch the sunset and get up close to the eruptions.

    Firstly we had to descend slightly from Acatenago before ascending again up Fuego.

    We made it after about 1.5 hours and were met with lots of wind and passing clouds which offered a variety of views of both Fuego and Acatenago.

    There were multiple eruptions whilst we were up there, some with lava and some without but it was definitely worth the trip! Once the sun had completely disappeared it was freezing so we started to head back towards basecamp.
    Lue lisää

  • Volcanoes by Night

    20. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    We made it back to basecamp just after 9pm where we were treated to some cheese pasta and hot chocolate! After dark, Fuego erupts more frequently and with lava every time! Dan thinks it's something to do with CO2 and vegetation (🤷‍♂️).

    Either way, this was a spectacular way to end the day! Dan summed it up perfectly saying "it's mad isn't it how you can just be brushing your teeth, watching a volcano erupt".
    Lue lisää

  • Acatenago at Sunrise

    21. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    The summit of Volcan de Acatenago sits at 3,960m, double the highest altitude I'd ever been at before this volcano! We'd been worried in advance of the hike about altitude sickness and whether we'd need any medication, but nope we managed fine with no symptoms at all, fuelled by water, Gatorade and a few electrolyte tablets.

    The pictures here speak for themselves!
    Lue lisää

  • Descending Acatenago

    21. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    After descending from Acatenago summit in the sunlight we stopped off at basecamp for breakfast, collect our bags and watch Fuego erupt for the final few times. I've included a picture here showing the ridge on Fuego to which we made it last night.

    The descent wasn't too challenging although it kicked up a lot of dust on the gravel paths. We made it back to the tour house at about 10:30am where we could look back to what we had just conquered!
    Lue lisää

  • Recovery Session

    21. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Once back in Antigua, after showering off the dust and checking in to our hostel we decided we deserved to treat ourselves! We therefore headed to the nearby Irish bar for fish and chips!

    We sat on the roof terrace which had amazing views of the surrounding hills and volcanoes.

    At one point Dan went to get his hair cut which left me alone to chat to the Irishman Rory who owns the bar. He'd had quite the adventure to get to Guatemala, being forced to flee Ireland 34 years ago with £100 and ending up marrying a Guatemalan lady, breaking his back in H&M in New York along the way amongst other things.

    After around 4 hours on the terrace we headed downstairs as they had a darts board (but only two working darts). We played a few games of around the world and 501. No comment on who won.

    We then decided to move on from the Irish bar to 'Bullseye Sports Bar'. Despite its English name, the bar was full of locals. Turns out the Guatemalan International team were playing so we joined the locals at the bar to watch. They lost 2-0 to Ecuador in the end.

    The other thing that the bar was full of was Everton memorabilia (two shirts and a scarf)! A disproportionate amount for a bar of its size and even stranger given there was nothing representing Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City or Arsenal. However there were shirts for Sale Sharks, Greenock Morton and Ross County. Unfortunately nobody was able to explain the Everton connection but we knew there must be more to it than meets the eye.

    We then ended up entering the pub quiz. I was absolutely useless other than Justin Bieber songs and old PlayStation games. Dan however was well up to speed on his movies, philosophy, sociology and all the other arts so carried the team significantly. I was still confident we'd done well but no, we came last, although only 6 points off the winners with 35 v 41.

    The early night we'd planned did not come to pass as we got home just after 11 for some well earned rest.
    Lue lisää

  • Chilled Morning

    22. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    This morning we had a lie in to help recover from our big hike. We headed out to a nearby cafe for pastries and then spent a few hours on our hostel roof terrace for some trip planning and reading. We'd return to the same terrace a few hours late for happy hour (£1.50 tequila sunrises!!!).Lue lisää

  • Semana Santa Procession

    22. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    As part of our walking tour our guide mentioned that there was an ongoing procession this afternoon/evening as part of the Easter celebrations. We had spotted many kids and adults dressed in purple outfits throughout the day but hadn't encountered the procession itself.

    As we headed out for dinner we turned right out of our hostel, right again and were almost immediately met with an oncoming flood of hundreds of people dressed up and carrying various floats.
    Lue lisää

  • Final Night in Antigua

    22. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We knew we were booked on the 9am shuttle to leave Antigua tomorrow so tonight we did what any sensible traveller would do and stayed out until all of the bars/clubs curfew at 1am.

    First up we went to an Indian restaurant which served huge portions for very cheap. It was full of backpackers so we knew we'd picked a good spot!

    After this we went to another packed bar, this time lit by candlelight. Our final two stops off the night were at bars/nightclubs filled with locals. We didn't know a single song but it was definitely a cultural experience! We also observed how small Guatemalan men are as we were the tallest people in each place by 6 inches at least!
    Lue lisää

  • Arriving at Lake Atitlan

    23. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    This morning we took the 9am shuttle from Antigua to San Pedro La Laguna on the shores of Lake Atitlan. The shuttle timing coincided perfectly with being able to watch Tranmere's 3-1 defeat at home to Crawley, great entertainment!

    The road down to the lake was extremely windy as we ascended and descended through the hills.

    Once we'd arrived we headed to our hotel. However, it turns out I'd accidentally booked the hotel for 2025 so we then had to find somewhere else to stay, which we did before long!

    After checking in to a hotel with space for us we headed out for a very late lunch at a Japanese 'restaurant' overlooking the lake.
    Lue lisää

  • Estadio Bella Vista

    23. maaliskuuta 2024, Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    One nearby place towards the top if the hill I'd had my eye on was Estadio Bella Vista! We were delighted to find the gates open with a match being played. So we caught the end of the first half of Bella Vista v Boca Juniors (not that one). The standard was terrible and we yearned to come on and make an impact ourselves but either way it was nice to finally see some form of live football!Lue lisää