GUATEMALA: RECIPE OF AN OFF THE BEATEN TRACK GATEWAY

GUATEMALA'S RECIPE

Preparation time:

15 days on spot, or 795 kms travelled

Cooking time:

25 hours 30 minutes spent in 22 different transports

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken bus

• 2 lanchas

• 1 minibus

• 2 pickups

• 5 cars

• 1 uber

• 3 tuk-tuks

Seasonings:

• 1 exploded food budget

• 1 night in a Hobbit house

• 8 chicken bus trips involving:

  • being squeezed like lemons because 4 persons are seating on a bench made for 2

  • unknown children on our laps

  • many turns worthy of Europapark's Silverstar

  • music to explode our ear-drums

• 2 expired surprise Kinder as Easter chocolates

• 1 Easter procession mixing catholic celebrations and Mayan beliefs

• 1 huge cockroach crushed in between two doors

• 2 days of a volcano ascension including:

  • 1 camping spot in front of an erupting volcano

  • 1 agitated night in a tent because of many explosions

  • 1H30 of grumbling and protests during the last climb

  • 20 frozen fingers

  • 1 summit and sunrise at 3976m

• 5 days of volunteering in an environmental NGO including:

  • 1000 seeds (at least) gathered in a forest and thoroughly aligned

  • 3 daily hours of plants cleaning

• 1 humanitarian mission in precarious conditions with:

  • 1 sketchy toilet at the back of the garden

  • 1 bucket shower at the neighbour's place

  • 1 improvised haircut

  • Too many spiders

  • 2 very cute kiddos

  • 1 big dose exchange and love that went beyond our expectations

Method (overview):

• HUEHUETENANGO

Making a short stop for the night to cut the road from the Mexican border to Antigua

• ANTIGUA

Discovering the colourful city dominated by 3 volcanoes

Gaining height at the Cerro del Cruz

• HOBBITENANGO

Spending a day and a night in an eco-village inspired by the Hobbit

• ACATENANGO

Trekking the Acatenango to camp facing the active volcano El Fuego

• LAC ATITLÁN

Staying in San Pedro La Laguna and visiting other villages on the lake's shores to have different perspectives

• QUETZALTENANGO

Realizing a volunteering mission in a NGO aiming at reforesting and sharing the daily life of an indigenous family (the full story available HERE)

The bill (for 2): 803€

Positive feedback:

• The very present Mayan culture and beliefs

• The powerful nature and the possibility to experience it

• A destination off the beaten track

Negative feedback:

• The cost of living (more expensive than we would think, whether for tourists or locals)

• The long and difficult local transportation conditions

To go further and read the recipe's full details, click HERE !