On Monday my supervisor notified me that we would have Good Friday off from work and the 1st thing that thought of was “I can go on a small trip”.

I instantly started planning my trip to Guatemala.

Luckily I had photos stored in my phone of all of the beautiful places in Guatemala that I had saved throughout the years just in case I ever decided to go lol.

It took me only 3 days to plan this trip and figure out the geography which was pretty confusing. All I knew was that the lake I wanted to get to was 7hrs away smh. Thursday came I packed my shit and took a quick 2 hour flight and landed in Guatemala City at 10pm — just that quick.

Arrival

When booking my Airbnb, I paid extra for airport pick up. But here’s the sketchy part. Two men who picked me up only spoke Spanish AND my phones international plan I had just purchased from AT&T was not working. So I had NO way to contact anyone and two strange men were taking me to GOD knows where in the middle of the night. The only thing I could do was think of what I could use in my backpack as a weapon just in case some sketchy shit popped off lol.

Anywho, the two guys happened to be very helpful and extremely respectful. As I settled into my Airbnb, which had super fast wifi, I called AT&T and got my phone service settledthen let my momma and friends know I made it safely. I was still a little on edge so I literally slept with the lights on lol.

1st Day in Guatemala

The next morning I woke up prepared for my 1st day on the town. I caught an uber to Santa Catalina where there was complete chaos. I had forgotten that it was a holy weekend so the locals were in procession and in the middle of the street creating offerings of beautiful flower art.

There were shops and vendors selling items in the streets, photographers, and tourists everywhere. I learned that the locals typically work 7days a week with no breaks so this was a weekend locals got to explore their own town.

After taking some embarrassing pictures of myself with my tripod set up in the middle of the road and nervously blushing every time I got a sketchy compliment, I decided to pack up and take a tuktuk to my next location.

Hill of the Cross

For those of you who don’t know, a tuk tuk is like a motorcycle with a seat in the back but without any stability lol. I bounced and rocked and almost flew out of the backseat as we road to the top of the mountain. The ride was so bumpy I’m sure my organs were out of place lol.

I was now at the Hill of the Cross which overlooked a huge cross with a scenic volcano in the background. Again, I was the weird girl with a huge tripod set up taking pics of herself and people just stood around and watched lol. This time I said freak this, I’m gonna take my damn pictures no matter how much they stare. I was uncomfortable but the bottom line is when you’re solo you can either ask someone to take your pic and pray its a good one or you can do it yourself, get good shots, and just deal with the looks.

When I was done exploring the cross, I realized I didnt have a way down the mountain — my tuktuk had left. I randomly saw a shuttle bus with a lady driving, I knocked on her door and with google translate asked if she could take me down the mountain.

I was now headed to my final destination but I had NO IDEA how the hell I was getting there. All I knew was that I was 7hrs away. But Google translate was my savior. It helped this new stranger and I have a real conversation. I told her where I was going and she told me she would do whatever it took to help me get there. We spent an hour walking around looking for a shuttle to take me to the lake so I didn’t have to take a 7hr chicken bus, which by the way are the school buses we use in the USA but in Guatemala they get to actually bring chickens and other pets on the bus, and they are packed 6 people to a seat — HELLLLLLL NAHHHHH. lol

We finally found a shuttle, she told them in Spanish where I was going and even waited to make sure I got on my bus safely. I was so grateful that I tried to pay her and this beautiful wouldn’t event take the money. I was blown away by her generosity because she did not have to take an hour out of her day to help me and then as I thought about it every person I had come in contact thus far was beyond graceful and nice. Right before I got on the bus we took and photo then I was off to lake Atitlan.

Lake Atitlan

A 2.5 hour drive later, I was on a boat soon pulling up to the dock of La Fortuna Atitlan. It was so beautiful it was unreal — volcanos surround the lake, mountains and lush green plants all surrounded by blue lake water. I was met at the dock by the property manager and then showed my home for the night. The view and private pool was breathtaking. I was also met with a huge bowl of fresh cherries, water, peanuts and fresh aloe vera mint juice.

Later while walking the grounds, I met a few of the other families that were staying on the other properties so we all decided to have dinner together which was so nice. We had great conversation and had the best fish I had ever tasted. I had to leave the dinner a bit early because I had another sketchy 3am wake up call with a tour guide to go on a sunrise hike.

Sunrise Hike

3:30am came and the boat was waiting for me on the dock, then I met my tour guide Aldo who spoke great English. Because all I brought was my carry on back pack I didn’t have any cold weather clothing. My 1st 10 minutes meeting Aldo he literally gave me the hoodie off of his back so I would be comfortable.

We took a boat across the pitch black lake that was lit up only by the full moon. Then we started out hiking up to the Indian nose which was only 30 minutes but the altitude was over 2thousand feet above sea level. I gasped for air until my lungs got sore and I stopped every 3 steps because my insides were hurting so bad! All I could hear as I was gasping for breath was Aldo yelling “VAMOS CANDY VAMOS!” The funny things is each time he pushed me I listened.

We made it to the top and I took amazing pictures but more so, I got to get know more about Guatemala and it’s history. I learned about he volcano eruption the year prior that killed thousands of locals. I also learned about how their Mayan religion was degraded and they were forced to become catholic and how 24 mayan languages are still commonly spoken in Guatemala.

Aldo, my tour guide, was by far one of the greatest people that I’ve ever met. The money he got from my tour, he gave back to his community. I watched him employ his people so they could have money. He took the smaller portion because he said giving back to his people was his passion. I later found out that Aldo is an accountant, photographer, guitarist and a tour guide lol. I was so grateful to have met him.

MY (TRUSTED)TOUR GUIDE WHILE IN GUATEMALA

ALDO CHAVA

INSTAGRAM @ALDO_CHAVA

PHONE #502-574-31193

EMAIL: ALEXDOMINGO73@HOTMAIL.COM

Volcanic View at AirBNB

I returned back to my suite and began to pack for my next destination which was an airbnb with a volcano view. I took a boat and from the dock got a tuktuk to my airbnb. Once I arrived, I saw a hill full of got damn stairs. The struggle to climb the stairs was so real but at this point I stopped blaming the altitude and just admitted I was horribly out of shape lol. Half way up the fuckin mountain a man came from out of nowhere — sketch level on a hunnid okayyyy lol. He spoke zero English but I knew he was guiding me to my home for the night. I arrived and could not believe my view. Literally at my feet was a volcano it was so beautiful.

Spiritual Yoga Retreat

As I settled in, I heard loud music playing and instantly remembered a yoga retreat I had saved a year ago that has a dance ceremony every once in a while. I went to their website and low and behold the ceremony was going on at that moment! I quickly threw on some clothes and ran down those steps like I was headed to a club. I took a tutu to the ceremony and had the time of my life. I allowed myself to be free, I got facepaint, drank pure cocoa and danced without any shame or judgment. I allowed myself to enter my own world of freedom, consciousness, and astral travel.

Eventually I had to snap back to reality, that night I packed my things for another 4am wake up to head to the airport. I randomly ran into friends from la Fortuna at the airport who happened to be on the same flight to Houston with me. This trip was full of alignment. I was divinely taken care of and I encourage anyone to visit the wonderful country Guatemala.