There have been a couple of places that have really surpassed my expectations, and Lake Atitlan is one of them. We arrived to the port hot, tired and frustrated and subsequently got absolutely ripped off on a private boat ride to the town we were staying at; San Marcos. (being sweaty and tired is not conducive to good bartering). There are quite a few towns around the lake and after visiting a few, San Marcos was our favourite. It was by far the most picturesque and had a really cool hippy vibe and little markets stalls with everything you might need. San Pedro is the most touristy and honestly it looked really shit. Each to their own though.

We did, however enjoy a 30 minute boat ride through what I would liken to Guatemala’s version of the Milford Sound. The water was beautiful and was surrounded by huge green volcanoes and amazing mountains. The lake edge was dotted with stunning accommodation that was a mix of perfect small log cabins, sprawling resorts, and private accommodation. It seriously looked like somewhere in Europe, like an undiscovered little paradise.

We got to San Marcos, picked up some last minute supplies and got a tuk tuk to our little cabin we found on Air Bnb. The cabin was owned by a German called Castro who has lived in San Marcos for 13 years. Castro lives in his own house on the same land. It was definitely one of the best accomm deals we had the whole time. The cabin was so beautifully done, in classic German style it had everything we needed and all of the amenities were simple and aesthetically pleasing. We had done a big food shop in Antigua before we left, and spent the next 5 nights looking over the lake and volcanoes, in our own private cabin with a super comfy bed, chilling, drinking maybe too much wine, and cooking food (for the first time in a long time).

We had only booked three nights as we were anticipating going north to Semuc Champey, but that was closed due to government/local disputes so we extended our time there. While in San Marcos we visited San Pedro (average), had a 1.5 hour Swedish massage (epic), got some very cool pillow covers and a wall hanging from the Chichi markets (Central America’s biggest), and jumped off an unexpectedly high platform into the lake (lost my bikini top).

I would highly recommend Lake Atitlan and specifically San Marcos and the cabin we stayed at. It was super affordable, so chill and beautiful. It is really quiet so would be good for a time when you want to escape the tourists and chaos for a bit. The only slight negatives are that it is surrounded by forest so there are a few spiders, and the toilet is a long drop outside, which would be fine if I hadn’t seen the spiders.. We saw a lot of epic accomm all around the lake so there are definitely other good options.

Sadly our photos of the Chichi markets and San Marcos disappeared…

The Acatenango hike involves a 6ish hour uphill hike up Acatenango Volcano where you pitch a tent and watch the neighbouring Fuego Volcano erupt. The next morning you watch the sunrise from the crater edge. We first heard about this hike from the owner of our Airbnb in Playa Maderas, Nicargua. She said it was the hardest thing she’s ever done but so worth it. After looking up countless reviews and talking to people along the way, that sentiment was pretty much universal. Our fitness isn’t the best but the promise of an erupting volcano was too much to pass up. Plus, we decided to hire porters for our bags…

The night before our hike we met with our group. We decided to go with O.X Expeditions as they had fantastic reviews and their price was pretty mid range. You can do this alone but it really isn’t recommended as the weather can turn crazy and you need to be very prepared. Also, they have had instances of people being robbed on the walk. Weird.

Anyway, we met with our group and it turned out there were 18 of us! We were a bit gutted about this as it meant we would prob be moving slower, but oh well. While we were getting briefed, the volcano erupted behind us and got everyone pretty excited.

The next morning we met at the office around 6am, had brekky and were at the start of the walk by 9. (An hour behind schedule). In the end about half the people used porters. The guides use the first 20 minutes as a test and after that a few more people elected for a porter. We ended up splitting into a fast group and a slower group which was great and meant no one was pressured to push themselves too much.

I had read a lot of reviews and all stressed how insanely difficult this hike was. Anyone who knows me knows I often let my pride get in the way of commonsense, but this time I decided I wanted to enjoy the hike and not just struggle, sweat, and swear my way through it. In hindsight it wasn’t that difficult and we probably could have done it with our packs, (Scott did on the way down), but I don’t regret my decision as it made the hike enjoyable from start to finish.

On our way up we met a few people coming down who told us, and I quote ‘It was shit, didn’t see anything’, and ‘You’re going to die.’ Hey, thanks guys. But after 5 hours of uphill going through three terrains; farmland, cloud forest, and pine/alpine forest, we finally made it to Base Camp. Our guides set up our tents and Scott and I paired up with a nice Canadian couple for the night ahead. We had really shitty weather all day and couldn’t see a thing in any direction, despite the fact the views were supposed to be amazing. We spent the next few hours huddling from the rain and freezing cold wind, trying (and failing) to convince ourselves it was about the journey not just the view. Then, around 5pm, when I was in the foetal position in our tent inside two sleeping bags wearing a beanie, gloves and 6 layers of clothes (no exaggeration) I heard people screaming (literally) FUEGO!!

I scrambled out of the tent and there she was. So freaking close it was crazy to think what was just behind those clouds only a few minutes earlier. From that moment it just got clearer and clearer and slowly Guatemala began to show itself. We could see three volcanoes, two of which were spewing lava. The lights of Antigua and Guatemala City sparkled in the distance as the sunset threw an insane pastel palette across the sky. We spent the night around our campfire enjoying a pasta dinner and red wine, watching lava soar into the sky and roll down the side of Fuego. So surreal.

That nights sleep wasn’t great as it was absolutely freezing and the altitude (about 4000m) made everyone restless. The girl in our tent actually got quite bad altitude sickness and vomited a few times which wasn’t great. It didn’t really matter though as we were ‘woken’ by the guides at 3.30am to begin our final ascent to the very top of the crater. It was probably the hardest part of the journey as most of the ground was scree…and it was 3.30am, but when we got to the top – holy moly. The view was insane with Fuego to our right still erupting against the growing sunrise over Guatemala. A truly unforgettable experience. I could have stayed forever if my fingers weren’t completely numb – the windchill up there was apparently below 0.

We ventured back down to a breakfast of banana bread with nutella and coffee around the fire, all of us repeatedly saying how unbelievable the last 24 hours had been. We packed up the tents, did our last nature -wees, and began the descent.

I always find down harder than up (my 28 year-old knees aren’t what they used to be), but it was all over in about 2 hours and we were greeted at our van by a chillybin full of beers which we all cheersed to a once in a lifetime experience.

If you are ever in Antigua, you have to do this. If you aren’t feeling fit, get a porter, it doesn’t matter just get up there. Obviously if you book a while out you can’t guarantee the weather, and like those people who were coming down as we were going up experienced, sometimes it is a complete fail. So if you can leave yourself some options, then do. Spending a night on the side of one volcano while watching another one erupt, with the twinkling lights of Guatemala below you and the occasional thunder-like boom of an eruption is kind of priceless. It is such a unique experience and I highly recommend letting O.X be the ones to take you. They were professional, friendly, and fun. Take lots of warm stuff.

DCIM103GOPRO