A travelogue from Karen in Central America - part 1

You know when you are sitting in front of a dying bonfire and the coals are red hot. Well, imagine being as small as a marshmallow and sitting on the edge of the fire pit... that´s what it was like a few hundred meters from the top of the active volcano Placaya, a few hours drive out of Antigua, Guatemala. For those who may not know, I spontaneously booked a trip to Central America for three weeks and arrived on Monday afternoon. I met up with my old friend Nova from Melbourne and we will spend the next adventure-filled three weeks travelling this dangerous, but stunning part of the world.

The steep hike up the 2550 meter high volcano was breathless, but the experience of hiking on the volcanic molten rock was incredible. I admit, I was terrified. We jumped and hopped over soft rocks and rubble, some hollow, some hot and very sharp. We gazed at the hot lava flowing only meters from where we stood, and watched as boulders crashed onto one another. We felt the heat coming from beneath our feet. I was thankful for deciding to bring my hiking boots. There were two guys in our group who did this hike in their flip flops (thongs). Even our guide was stupified by this and shook his head. Despite the minimal safety instructions, all in Spanish, it was exhilarating. The experience was comparable to that of ice climbing on Fox Glacier in New Zealand this past January.

Upon our return to Antigua, we explored this 16th century colonial town, once the capital of Central America before the devastating earthquakes in the 1700s. Then we packed our bags for a windy and scenic shuttle bus ride to Panajachel, where we got on a tiny, rickety and crammed boat across Lago de Atitlan to the village of San Marcos del Laguna. It was a very stormy and wet ride, but we somehow made it safely to this hippy village and checked into a gorgeous villa set in lush gardens. Met some lovely people over a vegetarian dinner and crashed for the night. Early the next morning we did a fabulous two hour yoga class in an outdoor setting followed by a lazy lunch at a beautiful hillside hotel where sat in the sun and planned the rest of the trip. We had a swim in the lake before the daily afternoon rains, had a siesta and dinner before crashing again from jet lag and travel exhaustion.

Today we arose early to catch a shuttle to Chichicastenango (Chichi), famous for being the largest and most colourful market in all of Central America. The ride was scenic and the market was fun, eating local foods, buying knickknacks and fresh mangos and avocados. We returned to Antigua in the late afternoon, explored more this gorgeous town and learned about the unique jade stone from Guatemala. We have met some lovely people so far, everyone generous on sharing their tips on where to go, how to get there and where to stay.

We´ve had warm mornings and rainy afternoons and evenings. Everything is lush and green and beautiful. I am still pinching myself to make sure I am really here. Onwards to Semuc Champney tomorrow - an eight hour bus ride.

Stay tuned for my next installment.

Love Karen

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