A Solo Travellers Mind

Our first day in Guatemala was a chilled one. We checked in and then headed out for a bit of exploration. We headed around the town, scoping out some shops, and of course went to megapaca to try and secure some more clothing bargains. We managed to nab a skims dress (a nice body con dress) for £25 which was brand new and retailed at £80 so I’ll take that! I also got myself a VERY cute waist coat from a boutique store, this was a little expensive however I’d been attempting to get a waist coat for months so the fact this one fit perfectly, I had to buy! Our hostel includes breakfast and dinner, which is an absolute steal, so we had family dinner before packing our bags, I’d decided carrying all my belongings was simply too much to handle now, so I would pay this hostel to store my large bag, while I travelled the country, and then would revisit Antigua to complete all the touristic stuff and get my bags! It was genius, in my opinion!
The next day, we headed on our shuttle to El paradon, we’d assessed the prices and decided the extra 5 pounds was definitely worth not having to take numerous public buses to reach the coast! The shuttle was pretty hassle free, and soon we arrived and checked in to maybe the most luxurious hostel I’d ever stayed it! It had a plunge pool, a roof top, free banana bread, a 25-meter outdoor pool, and an outdoor gym area, as well as being on the ocean… crazy… (it should come as no shock that this was also one of our most expensive hostels, lol. We headed for a dip before I went to scope out the gym. In the evening, we had dinner and then headed to bed, i was due to have a job interview, but this just never happened… the company just never called… wonderful, isn’t it :)))
My second day at the coast began in the gym, I was definitely keen to get the most out of having some weights while I was here! Then, after a very tasty breaky, it was a day of chilling by the pool, tanning with some tan oil I’d been carrying for the last 6 months and relaxing. There is, of course, only so much chilling one can do, so by mid afternoon, I headed for a nap before my second gym session of the day commenced.
The third day at the coast began once again with the gym before a relaxing day, this time on the rooftop. The pool, although lovely, was very busy, so the roof allowed for tannage without having someone trying to steal ur deck chair 24/7, lol. There was also the indoor plunge pool to use to help cool us down! The day was super chilled before we headed out for a very early dinner of tacos!
Our final morning in the coast meant me saying goodbye to the gym and us saying goodbye to maybe the nicest hostel we’d stayed in! We then jumped on our shuttle for the 5 hour journey to Lake atitlan. For the first few days we were staying in San Pedro, in a hostel that had been recommended to us. On arrival, we questioned why this had so many recommendations because it was SOO loud! The bar opposite was crazy, and we had arrived on a Saturday…

There was no partying for us on saturday night because we were up at 3:30am. on Sunday to go hike the Indian nose. This was a short and relatively easy hike up to a veiw point over the lake for sunrise. And i won’t lie, it was spectacular! The weather was absolutely perfect and we had such good views. Well worth the early start. The rest of the day was a little bit of a right off for me, i went back to bed on return to San Pedro and when I woke I felt very sluggish, I partly blame my period for this! So it was a super chilled day exploring the shops of san pedro and eating some nice asado street food before an early night!

The second day at the lake was an exploration of San Marcos. This was another cute village on the opposite side of the lake with a little national park. We explored the town, I got myself another ring (slowly building the collection of stolen jewlery!), and then we headed into the national park. We hiked up to the veiw points before heading to chill by the cliff jumping. I jumped off the lower platform. However, did not attempt the 12 meters. For me, 6 was enough, and the potential of injuring myself pre volcano hike was not worth it, lol. It was a very chilled morning before we grabbed some lunch at a local cafe before heading back to the hostel so I could prepare for my job interview! I’d been applying for lots of jobs in Australia recently in order to try and secure sponsorship. This was the first of 2 I’d got so far. The location of the job wasnt perfect but it was a pretty good job opportunity so if I do secure the place it wouldn’t be a bad thing AND I wouldn’t have to worry about trying to navigate the world of visas myself! So we shall seee…

Our 3rd day at the lake began with a little hike to the neighbouring town known as San Juan. We went to check out the very pretty roads and colourful houses, before I went to a veiw point over looking the lake. The veiw point also had a cool, painted decking. It was very nice! In the evening I had another job interview, the work never stops!

Our fourth day, we headed over to another part of the lake, known as Santa Cruz. We went to explore the town, which included a HIKE up a big hill. Luckily, this wasn’t something we’d need to do often. We had some lunch as a local ladies restaurant, which, unfortunately for me, didn’t end well, and I spent the rest of the day in bed with belly cramps… It’s a curse!

Luckily, the next morning, I had sorted recovered, so I headed out on my sunrise hike to Santa Cruz Hill. The hike was pretty easy, and the veiws were even more stunning. I was the only person in sight for a while too, and it was so peaceful! Before heading down, i walked the path around to another view of the lake, where I found a local guy making music videos. He played my favourite song as i looked out over the view, a weird but nice encounter. The afternoon was spent at another hostel, where I read my book, swam in the lake, and taught myself to dive of the dock! In the eve we went for burgers for dinner before an early night for me, having been up since 4:20am…

Our final last day at the lake began with me in the yoga studio, a place where I had some lovely work outside during my time, and somewhere I’d miss! Me and Carley then headed on a hike to San Marcos, the town we’d visited a few days ago, but this time we hiked across over the hills from our new hostel! Along the way, we found a kitten and spent a good half an hour deliberating what to do. However, there’s no shelters here, and we, of course, could not take it, so we have faith that mum will return (hopefully!). The hike was very nice, and we had some unreal scenery along the way. In San Marcos, we did a spot of shopping before catching the boat back to our hostel, for an unexpected movie afternoon before dinner!

The next day was a travel day, heading from the lake back to Antigua. This involved a boat and a shuttle. We’d stopped using public transport simply because we could no longer be arsed! The journey was very pain-free, and we were soon back in Antigua, in our hostel, that supplied us with breaky and dinner, meaning no more cooking! That evening we went to explore and look for some art for carley. I also purchased my one cig of the day from a 10 year old child in a mini market who came to the counter on a scooter. You can imagine what this was like, lol.

The next day was my birthday! This started with a wee roof top work out, while watching the volcano I was going to hike in a few days explode, so cool! We then did a wee walking tour before heading for our spa day! A full body massage, a facial, and then a Mani and Pedi! The absolute life… I’ll be visiting again before I leave antigua, that’s for sure! It was a lovely chilled day to celebrate 26 years on this earth before heading back for dinner. Most people would then head to a bar, but for me, i value sleep, and I’m saving my bar energy for when I’m reunited with my wee australian lover 👀.

The next day was a chilled one, we headed to the second-hand clothing store store with some hostel friends where I managed to get the last thing on my shopping list , some cool denim shorts. And also got some new trainers for a whooping £14! We then headed on walk to the local veiw point of the town before a chilled eve packing ready for the hike.

The next day was an early start, with me and Daniel heading out on the Acetenango hike day and the last big hike of my trip! Whether conditions in the morning were not looking good, and I honestly didn’t think we’d have any veiw at the top, which for some moments we actually didn’t… The hike was easy ish to base camp. There were definitely challenging parts, but some people had said it was the hardest thing they’d ever done, which I disagree with. It was cloudy until just before dinner, then clear sky’s and amazing views came in. The volcano was unbelievably active all night, seeing an unreal amount of lava activity. It was so cool, and honestly, one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. After some time, we tried to get some sleep. However, a wee stray dog had other ideas when she crawled into my bed and kept me up all night. I didn’t kick her out because I just decided it wasn’t that bothersome. At 3am, we woke up to watch more volcano activity before heading on a sunrise hike. There was no real sunrise because of the clouds, but still very cool veiws, and then we got to run down the volcano back to base camp, which was very, very fun!
When we got back to camp, my doggo friend had given birth to a puppy! She’d taken shelter under my bed, and it was super cute but sad at the same time. However, I’m glad I could give her a warm bed for the night before the pup arrived! Post breaky, we said bye to the puppy and headed back down the volcano, me and Daniel opted on a run down as this was much easier and way funner! On return to Antigua, I had a much needed nap and chill before dinner and packing my bags up ready for a very long few travel days ahead.

It was a super chilled last day in Guatemala. I was meant to get a tattoo, but the shop was closed when I arrived for my appointment, which gave me bad vibes, so even when it opened, i didn’t go. I headed for a haircut, having 4 inches cut off, reading for my return to the UK! And then it was a chilled afternoon watching fuego erupt from the roof top (the volcano I climbed was now closed to the public due to a continuous eruption and an alert out for a big eruption to occur, actually craziness), and a few games of cards. A quick dinner at the hostel before my shuttle to Guatamala City, ready for my flight in the morning. The shuttle arrived early, which meant it was a quick goodbye to Carley, my wee travel companion for the past 6 months, although we’ll be seeing each other in approx 3 weeks, lol.

My dinner unfortunately didn’t settle very well, and I had to ask the driver to stop the bus, because I was going to shit my pants… Ending my trip in a very typical emma way!