A few days later I was looking out of a bus window, completely in awe about this huge, modern and bright capital laying before me between all the surrounding mountains. Guatemala City is the biggest city in Central America and gave me a bit of a home-feeling just because some parts are really westernised. Wouldn’t skip it though since there are quite a few things to visit. It got pretty tiring for me to get stared at in all the small villages and towns we visited before, I felt literally exhausted being the foreigner or the white chic -maybe that’s why.

Antigua on the other hand, is a whole new level. My friend was talking about this place the entire trip and I couldn’t wait to see it. It´s like another world. Every hostel there, every hotel or restaurant and even the stores and shops are so fancy and fashionable that you think you’re in a different country. The houses are colourful and go back to the colonial times. Since I couldn’t go on the famous Acatenango Volcano Hike (everyone is telling me it is the best part of their entire trip so I definitely missed out on something right there) cause I twisted my knee, I went to Playa El Paredon on my own.

But guuuuys, this playa is bombastic! I loved everything about my stay there. The alone-time was badly needed. Travelling with someone for over a month who you´re getting to know while being on the road together is sometimes exhausting and therefore we both appreciated the time apart. El Paredon is a remote town at the pacific ocean with amazing waves to surf and a really clean, long and empty beach to chill at. I stayed at the Cocori Lodge which I enjoyed a lot since I had a beautiful dorm to sleep in, yoga classes in the afternoon and good conversations at sunset.

I connected deeply with myself again by just walking on the playa, writing in my journal and running into mother ocean. Decide consciously sometimes to connect with yourself again, it makes everything in your life way more aligned! Exercises on a physical level can help you to get rid of blockades on a mental level. Thats at least something I realised at this point of my journey. The funny thing is that 50 meters next to where I stayed, there´s this party hostel where everyone is just going wild. So I´m sure other people would tell you a whole different story about this beach than I did. 

Lake Atitlán

After meeting up with my friend in Antigua again, we took one of those colourful chicken buses to go to THE lake. Lake Atitlán is a place in Central America as well that everyone you meet is in love with. The stories about it sounded so magical and promising. And yeah, it is magical and promising indeed. Still, you come with expectations to a place and of course they never gonna live up to the fantasy stories in your head. What you can be sure of is that the energy there is extremely healing. My only explanation for that is once again the location and the influences of all natural forces. Lake Atitlán is a crater lake between three volcanos and high up in the mountains. Around the lake you can find hundreds of big, beautiful houses which definitely don’t belong to the locals, just saying.

There are loads of towns, many of them have a `san´ in their name which shows that the christians back than must have found it there healing as well. San Marcos and San Pedro are the towns worth visiting. The famous (fake-) hippie town San Marcos had exactly the vibes I was looking for. Vegan restaurants, health stores and all kinds of healing centres make it to an alternative place in the whole of Central America. We got to the last Sun Dance Festival in the season which was just awesome you guys! Psytrans music with an amazing view over the lake, a cacao ceremony and my first Tarot reading (happens in Eagels Nest, go check it out).

If I´m honest, I was really looking hard for an opportunity to get some clarity and healing. Despite all my prayers, the universe didn’t give me a single glimpse of an opportunity. The reason why, I was going to discover later on. Anyways, something pushed me to move forward. I left my friend, with whom I travelled with over a month, at the lake after a week of relaxing there. No kambo, no sound healing therapy, no body cleanse.

Bus Rides in Guate

A really frustrated and sad version of myself started to travel alone again in big, big Guatemala. Next destination: Semuc Champey. Jeeees, the journey to this place far away in the highlands of Guate was something else. But I´m glad I went there. Cause its another paradise. I actually thought about the expression `paradise-hopping´ for a while. Pretty neat, this thought. So anyways, Semuc Champey is this natural pool thingy where a river decides to go underground for a while and water pools got built on top of it; the water is crystal-clear and deeply turquoise. The landscapes on the way there were MIND BLOWING. Picturesque hills, green jungle and small valleys with a river and a few houses. Heaven. After being in this area for a while I made my way up to Tikal.

The first time I saw Maya ruins. I must say its extremely interesting and fascinating! But just the beginning of a whole mayan world which I´ll save for a next travel where I just discover the mayan empire. Thats one thing I really like about Guate, that the ancient culture is still super present in day to day life, with the traditional cloth they wear and all the different dialect they speak, just to name a few impressions. Tikal has loads of mayan temples and a whole city structure deep in the jungle. The tour through the area was informative and funny but still – you can´t understand a culture and their spiritual believes by just looking at ruins. And the mayas had so much knowledge guys. They were so connected with the divine, with nature and the universe. I wonder how it´d be to meditate on one of those temples? I never tried.

With one of those touristic shuttles, which are so not for real backpackers cause you got from one hostel delivered to another and don´t have the whole travel experience in between (lets just leave it like that I could write worse stuff here), I drove through Belize to my final destination.