Guatemala during a pandemic

Guatemala! A new country means a new journey during a pandemic. I want to say that it is not easy now to plan an interesting tour with several countries and many flights and different locations. Difficult multi-hour flights, covid restrictions and endless snowfall. But still, every journey is worth any difficulties of achievement, and the new country captivated me from the first days with incredibly beautiful and unique locations, which I will tell you about in the following posts.

A long layover in Istanbul allowed us to visit this wonderful city again

We flew through Istanbul with a connection at 9 o’clock, then the flight to Mexico was 15.5 hours, after which we were very “hospitably” kept for 3.5 hours in a small room, where any person from the queue is selectively sent, without any system, and you wait there for your fate - they will let you through or deport you back, there is no system for who and why they choose.
After that, we waited another 4 hours for the flight to Guatemala, the flight was about 2 hours and we were there. The entire journey took about 35 hours. Among other things, endless PCR tests, health questionnaires and other red tape with a bunch of printouts and confirmations.
But we made it through and today we had our first acquaintance with the city of Antigua

Climbing the Acatenango volcano. Part 1
This is definitely the most extreme event, but also the most spectacular in Guatemala. I will say right away that this event is not for everyone and not everyone reaches the top. Personally, it wasn’t difficult for me; from the very beginning I was captivated by stunning views and very soon we rose above the clouds.
Climbing this volcano usually takes a whole day. The climb is approximately 1500 meters and the descent is the same. The ascent begins in the morning, and many people wonder why all these difficulties are needed? It is here, from the top of the temporarily dormant Acatenango volcano, that you can see a unique and rare spectacle that today can only be seen in a few places in the world - the eruption of an active volcano with lava flowing down the slopes and a stunningly beautiful sunset above the clouds.
The Fuego volcano is continuously erupting; it is located only 2 km from Acatenango, so the eruption is clearly visible, especially in the dark. After observing this fantastic spectacle, there are then 2 options - to go down in complete darkness, or to spend the night at the top of the mountain in a tent camp.
We chose option 1 and went back down in the dark with flashlights. The descent took about 4 hours and the same 1500 meters that we gained.
In both cases there are pros and cons - such ascent and descent in 1 day is very difficult for most people, but you get a hot shower and a warm bed, and time savings in 1 day. I will tell you about the eruption and sunset in the next post, but here is our path to the top of the volcano

Climbing the Acatenango volcano. Part 2
The culmination of the climb to the volcano is meeting a stunningly beautiful sunset above the clouds and watching the eruption of the active Fuego volcano. The final climb to the top of the volcano takes place steeply up the rocks.💪 We climbed up just before sunset, watched the sunset above the clouds and caught the volcanic eruption at dusk, and then in complete darkness, it looked very impressive.🌋 A spectacle of indescribable beauty, and certainly worth all the difficulties of the climb.
Every healthy person can climb slowly and comfortably, it’s better to go out early, then you can take more breaks and have more time to contemplate the surrounding beauties, as well as stock up on warm clothes for a comfortable stay at the top.🗻
Despite certain difficulties, I definitely recommend that if you are in these parts, you should go to this volcano. I have visited many peaks, but the combination of a stunning sunset above the clouds and the view of the lava flowing down the slope will leave an indelible impression in your memory!

Walk on Lake Atitlan
Lake Atitlan is a huge body of water, up to 20 km long, located in the crater of an extinct volcano, surrounded by mountains and jungle. We stopped in the resort town of Panajachel and went for a walk around the lake, stopping at two local villages. The villages have several beautiful streets, a promenade and chocolate and cotton factories.

Ichimche is the first city of the Mayan civilization on our way. We arrived here in the morning and there was no one else in the complex except us.
As always, the pyramids are amazing, we also saw a shamanic ceremony at the central altar of the complex. A distinctive feature of Guatemala is that, unlike Mexico, a large number of pyramids can be climbed, which is interesting in itself, and also provides excellent viewing platforms.

Guatemala is simply a paradise for bird watchers. There are many national parks here created to preserve rare bird species. One such park is the Quetzal Biosphere Reserve. The quetzal was a sacred bird for the ancient Mayans and is now a symbol of Guatemala. There are 2 circular routes in the reserve, shorter and longer. The road passes through the most beautiful jungle, where everyone walks and looks for quetzals, there are 2 waterfalls
I will say right away that it is very difficult to find a quetzal in the reserve, the forest is dense, and the birds are hiding. We were very lucky, we saw a female quetzal just before the entrance to the park, and in the park itself it is just very nice to take a walk and have a good time.

In Guatemala, as in Mexico, there are active and slightly extreme entertainment. We went to Semuk Champey waterfalls🏞
Delivery to the waterfalls takes place in a rumbling stationary truck, a real off-road safari. The waterfalls themselves are vaguely reminiscent of Plitvice Lakes, only on a smaller scale.
In addition to waterfalls, there are many activities offered here:
✅ one of the most interesting is a visit to the Kamba cave - the cave is flooded with water, so you are given candles or you can use your flashlight - somewhere you walk chest-deep in water, somewhere up to your neck, and somewhere you need to swim along the stretched ropes, also here you can climb up and down the rope right in the waterfall, as well as jump from a cliff into the water
✅you can raft on inflatable rings along the river - everything is calm, measured and beautiful here
✅you can jump into the water right from the swing
A great place where you can actively relax and take lots of beautiful photos🌎

The Candelaria cave complex includes several caves, we visited one of them. The descent to the cave goes through the jungle; helmets and flashlights are provided in advance. The caves themselves were not particularly impressive; there was no lighting or paved paths. In my opinion, even in Europe there are a lot of larger and more beautiful caves. There is also tubing in the caves, similar to the river ride at Semuk Champey waterfalls.

Aguateca is the ruins of a Mayan city. This place is a little reminiscent of Cambodia. The way there is not close. First, we sailed for more than an hour on a speedboat and landed in the jungle. The path to the ruins followed a beautiful path in the jungle, just for this road alone it was worth coming here.🌎
The road led to a hill that offered a beautiful view of the canals along which we sailed. Then we started descending through a very narrow and beautiful canyon.🏞 The ruins themselves didn’t strike the imagination, but the place where they are and the road are definitely a highlight!

Tikal is one of the largest sites of the Mayan civilization. If, once in Guatemala, you cannot choose which one to visit, Tikal is the largest, most significant and spectacular.
Tikal National Park is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the city center there are 6 tall pyramids and many smaller temples.
The ruins of Tikal were used in the filming of Star Wars as a rebel base. Indiana Jones and other famous films were also filmed here.
Tikal occupies a huge territory and it takes at least 5-6 hours to explore it

Yaxha was the last Mayan complex that we visited in Guatemala. It is also located in the jungle, but its feature is watching the sunset at the top of the pyramid.
The place really has an amazing view, there are usually crowds of people here, but now it was quite free.🌅 At the top of the pyramid there is an observer who asks to maintain silence for maximum relaxation and tranquility🌄

One of the popular beaches where boat excursions are brought is the white beach of Playa Blanca. The sand here is really white. The beach itself is very reminiscent of the beaches of the Dominican Republic. The entrance fee is purely symbolic and includes 1 drink and all the infrastructure on the beach. This is also a great place for photo shoots.

At the mouth of the Rio Dulce River lies the very picturesque town of Livingston. There's just one hell of a mixture of Guatemalan and Caribbean cultures here. This happened because the local population is the descendants of slaves taken from the African continent. Rastafarians live here, the smell of marijuana is everywhere and the songs of Bob Marley are heard, and Caribbean relaxation is everywhere.
In this city we had a guide from local Rastafarians who took us around the outback and the underbelly of this unusual town.

We started our trip to Guatemala by climbing Volcano Acatenango to see the eruption of an active volcano. On our final day in Guatemala, we went to an active volcano again, this time to Vucan Pacaya, to see a volcanic eruption up close.🌋
If climbing the Acatenango volcano required significant physical effort, then climbing the Pacaya volcano is not at all difficult, just an hour’s walk and you find yourself near the crater of the volcano with lava flowing down the slope. This journey always takes place with a guide, we stood in the distance, arrived before dark, met the sunset and with the onset of darkness the volcano began to erupt noticeably more.
The spectacle is fantastically beautiful! Even in the place where we stood, the ground was boiling under our feet, tourists are offered entertainment such as frying sausages or marshmello on the natural coals of the volcano, but still all attention is focused on the lava flowing down the slope.
We returned back in the dark. By the time we arrived at the bus, lava had already filled the entire slope, including the place where we had stood just about an hour earlier.
Overall, the spectacle is, of course, unforgettable, which you definitely need to see at least once in your life. Climbing Pacaya does not require significant physical effort, and the volcano is located in a fairly accessible place just 50 km from Antigua🗻

We visited the capital of Guatemala - Guatemala City - on the day of our flight to Mexico. It was supposed to take about noon to explore the huge city, but even if it was longer, I definitely recommend a guided tour.
During this time, we traveled with a guide to all areas of the city, which turned out to be very different. In addition to the classic city center, we walked along the tops of unexcavated pyramids right next to KFC and Starbucks, and also found ourselves in a new, completely European area of ​​Guatemala, the appearance of which is completely different from everything we had previously seen here.

Marina Kolyubakina, Odessa