We got the boat across the lake to Panajachel and waited for the locals’ bus to Antigua. The bus was quite packed at points with 3 to a seat and often people straddling two seats in the isle. On board we met a young couple on holiday from Germany called Ben & Annabel both of home had spent time in the US so spoke excellent English. We were the only ‘gringos’ on board, we chatted about destinations and shared some chocolate and red wine to pass the time as the bus pumped out Latino hip-hop.

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After a long day travelling, we freshened up then met Ben, Annabel and a couple we met in Lake Aitilan called Paul and Lisa for dinner at a place called Angie Angie. After sharing a few pizzas we went to a bar next door called ILEGAL MEXCAL which had a gothic vibe with candle light, crosses and graffiti.  

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The next morning bags packed for a night camping, we left our hostel and walked through the town to ‘Hostel Tropicana’ for breakfast before leaving in a minibus to hike Volcan Acatenango. we set off with our tour to hike Volcan Acatenango, quite a trek lasting around 6 hours and having to carry 4 litres of water per person plus warm clothes for the summit.

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We began the hike up the volcano at 11:30am, after choosing suitable walking sticks (aka wizard staffs), the first hour was a difficult start as the ground underfoot was loose soil and rubble- this proved a bonus on the way down as we slid most of the way! Our guides were brilliant, we stopped every now and again to catch our breath which was definitely needed. The trail continued high up through the tropical forest into the pines where the air became much thinner and the trail steeper still. The experience was phenomenal though and completely worth the effort.

Our group of ten was a diverse one (three American guys (Inc. two Texans who had not previously met but both worked as high school football coaches,) a Canadian guy, a Norwegian girl, two Polish ladies and a Dutch girl who had an inspirational story. We were probably the oldest there but we weren’t hungover – unlike one of the Texans so we made pretty good time! As we reached the base camp for the night we were climbing above the clouds and the view was stunning. Darkness fell and the red glow of lava and explosions of the twin Volcano Fuego opposite became visible. At 4am we woke to climb to the summit and see the sunrise, an amazing experience.