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Adventures in Guatemala

After the intensity of my last blog, I decided to post about some of the more “adventurous” times I have had here in Guatemala.

We have had some really cool and interesting experiences during our 2 months.

 —I still can’t believe that it has already been 2 months in Guatemala and our time is about to come to an end—

I’ve gotten to: jump off a 20/30ft cliff (not actually sure how tall it was), explore multiple cities surrounding a lake, hiked and slept on a dormant volcano, and got stranded at a gas station in the middle of nowhere.

 

Adventure 1: Cliff Jumping

This was one of our first big outings/ adventures after being released from quarantine. We went to visit the city of Panajachel. The city sits on a lake that is surrounded by 3 volcanos. Not only was it our first chance to get away but we also had the opportunity to see the majority of the squad while we were there as well.   

We loaded onto a big water taxi that took us across the lake… real slow… seriously we spent over an hour puttering across that lake. We pulled up to this really tall and rickety looking dock, hopped out and stopped at a hut to pay. We walked along the edge of the cliff that wrapped around to the jump point. When we wrapped around the corner we saw a (pretty large) deck that had a gate opening to jump through.

We jumped… a lot. It was crazy, fun, and a total adrenaline rush. I thing I ended up jumping 4 or 5 times

***Oh- friendly word to the wise- don’t jump off a cliff with your sunglasses ON YOUR FACE. ***

After we finished jumping around, we hopped back on the boat for another hour+ boat ride. Only this one was a lot colder. Wet bathing suits, windy boat rides and damp towels are not the best mix.  

Adventure 2: City exploration

On a different weekend we got the opportunity to go back to the lake and take a few days to step away from ministry and enjoy some down time. Instead of doing something crazy a few of us decided that we wanted to experience a different piece of guatemalan culture and explore a little more of Guatemala. So, we hopped on a -much smaller and much faster- water taxi. This time instead of puttering across the lake with a single destination, we were flying across the water in a little boat. So fast that, every time you hit a wave your teeth cracked together and your butt flew off the seat.  It was so shocking, it was funny.

We got to taxi around the edge of the lake and pulled in at multiple docks to let people on and off. We had a specific target in mind to explore San Pedro, but we learned for any future visits that it is worth it to start earlier in the day and get out at the multiple docking points to explore all the little towns and cities along the lake.

When we got to San Pedro, it was so different than what we were expecting. We had now been to panajachel twice and honestly, just expected to see something similar to that.

Sure there were the touristy things and street vendors but, there was a very different feeling in the city. The people were moving a little slower. Vendors weren’t chasing you down in the streets. Everything seemed much more relaxed and laid back.

And we wandered.

Back and forth, up and down the streets… and hills. So many hills.

There was one point we decided to walk down a smaller side street and we ended up wandering around this maze-like network of alleys in between houses. It definitely took us a little time to get ourselves out of that one. But, the unexpected things you can find when you wander can be quite beautiful. 

We finished off the day with a late lunch at a restaurant overlooking the lake. It looked like an Instagram- influencers paradise (I think I have some pictures buried somewhere). Then another teeth-cracking boat ride back to Pana

 

Adventure 3: WE HIKED  A VOLCANO

 I really don’t know what all I can say to hiking the volcano. It was probably one of the more physically challenging things I have ever done. The views were absolutely incredible- there is honestly no way to describe those views. And even the pictures I have don’t do it justice. We hiked straight up for about 8 hours and that was only to our camp for the night.

Yep, we slept on the side of the volcano too.

Don’t worry this one was dormant. But the one directly across from us was not. And it erupted… a lot.

The next morning we were up at 3:30am to hike to the summit to watch the sunrise.

It was both beautiful and miserable at the same time. The wind was so strong you could barely open your eyes because of all the ashes that were blowing around. And it was COLD!!!! We all ended up sitting together huddled like penguins.

And…

Check out my next blog for Adventure #4