Huehuetenango - A Weekend Like No Other

After spending my first two weeks learning Spanish in Antigua, strolling through the beautiful town and trying to understand its soul, it was time to see another part of Guatemala, namely Huehuetenango.

Valentina, who I met in Guatemala 1.5 years ago, her brother Carlos, her cousin Jose, his girlfriend, another friend of Valentina's and I packed our things on a Friday evening and drove to Huehuetenango, a city in Guatemala's mountainous north and home to Valentina's family. On the way to Guatemala City, where I would meet all of them to then drive to Huehue, I decided to extend my stay in Antigua for another 11 days. I was having such a great time here learning Spanish and exploring the town that I was not ready to leave, yet.

Anyway, back to Huehue. After a loooong 8h drive to Huehue, we arrived at 3am in the morning, but after a good night's sleep our spirits were high and we were all looking forward to the next two days. We started the day by Valentina's aunt and grandma giving me and Valentina's friend a tour through the property and the four of us (Valentina, her brother, her friend and I) went to check out a cute river site afterwards.

In the evening, the weekend really started. The main reason why they wanted to take me to Huehue was the local fun fair and since they also had some Rodeo on, we planned to check that out, too. I was excited. My first Rodeo. Brilliant. Firstly, though, we went to see some additional friends that were having a BBQ and we just sat there, talked in half Spanish, half English, ate some delicious food, laughed a lot and took a few photos with cowboy hats and what not.

For the Rodeo, we took a big cooler box filled with endless cans of beers, drove 10-15 minutes and when arriving, we took the entire cooler box into the little pop-up Rodeo stadium. It was my first Rodeo and watching that in Guatemala, surrounded by friends and locals was just a perfect way to experience a truly local tradition/sport.

Afterwards, we walked over to the local fun fair, where I expected to ride some of the attractions, but instead, we went to a tent that played music, drank, danced and simply had an amazing time altogether. I think at some point, we were a solid of 20-30 people and yeah, I was the only 'Gringo'. And yep, we were all quite drunk at the end, but hell was that evening a fun one.

The next day, waking up with a slight hangover, we had a quick breakfast at the family's house before the original four of us went to check out a stunning viewpoint up high in the mountains. The view was gorgeous, helped by an abandoned house that served as a perfect backdrop for photos. I thought this was our last stop, before heading back to Antigua, as it was still 4h to drive back. But no, people here prioritise time together over heading back in daylight.

So, we drove to a cute local restaurant, where we reunited with the friends from the BBQ the day before. And of course, they had a big cooler box filled with all sorts of beer and spirits. I couldn't help but laugh and the best cure for a hangover is to continue to have a few drinks.

With two big cars and two motorcycles, we drove c.1h to check out a nearby lagoon. On the way, the music and our singalong were blasting loud out of the two cars as we were driving through the quiet countryside. I really felt people here are not merely living life, but celebrating it - esp when they are with friends and family. It’s what draws me to Latin America time and time again.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the best when we arrived at the lagoon and we could not see the picture perfect vistas. That didn't stop us from having a great time, as the guys brought a portable speaker with them, one of the girls' backpack functioned as a portable bar and we were at some point more interested in a half-sunken excavator than the lagoon.

With a heart full of memories, lots of laughter and new friends, we drove back to the house for some dinner that Valentina's aunt and grandma had prepared. And funnily enough, all the other guys joined in, which meant we had one last big dinner altogether. It was a perfect end to what was a weekend that I would never forget.

What started with talking to someone 1.5 years ago on a beach in Guatemala, turned into one of the most memorable weekends of my life. I would've never thought that one day, I would attend a Rodeo show in Guatemala with old and newly-found friends, sitting on the back of a pickup truck driving through rural Guatemala singing to Raeggaton and finishing it all off with a dinner of local specialities. I thought to myself, this is why I travel and why I love it so much. To experience times like these. To celebrate live.

And yeah, we did manage to get home that Sunday, although we only left Huehuetenango only at 9.30pm and arrived back at 2am.Read more