Travel update #30 – Guatemala & Belize!

Hey hello, nice that you are curious about what I have been up to lately. It is a good time to write an update because I have been traveling for exactly 2 months today, and besides that it is my last full day in Guatemala. So, no excuses not to write anything! In my last update I was on my way to Flores, so let’s start there now 😉

The trip to Flores went smoothly, it took about 16 hours (!) but that was all according to plan. You just have these kinds of travel days, what I’m doing is called ‘travelling’ for a reason, right? And I can actually enjoy it from time to time. I spend most of such a trip with earphones in, listening to music and looking out the window. That is why I chose a bus that went during the day instead of at night. You see all kinds of things passing by, always fun. 16 hours is of course a very long time, but Leonie left 1 day later and ended up in a protest, which honestly meant she had to sit on the bus for almost 30 hours. So 16 hours is not that bad after all. If I remember correctly, there was a protest against mandatory insurance on cars and scooters. Many Guatemalans barely (read: not at all) make ends meet per month and therefore cannot afford to pay for insurance. We don’t have it that bad in the Netherlands, do we? A bit easy of course, but I think you get my point.

Flores, a small island on a lake in the Northeast of Guatemala. I think you can walk around the island in 20 minutes, so small is it. Super colorful and with lots of good eateries. It was funny because there was no electricity on the island for 1 day, this was planned and the people where I was staying had also told me this the night before. I asked in surprise: “not for the whole day?”, and she replied: “yes, it only lasts 1 day”. Difference in perspective haha. In the end I went to Flores to do the 5 day jungle hike to the lost Mayan city El Mirador. In advance it seemed that this hike is not very popular (probably because it takes 5 days…), but in the end we left with a large group into the jungle.

2 days to get there, 1 day to explore and 2 days back, that was the plan. Before going we were warned that the path was muddy and that there would be a lot of mosquitoes, but hey: you shouldn’t make an elephant out of a mosquito 😉 (A Dutch saying that translates in English “you shouldn’t make a mountain out of a molehill” I believe). In the end we were very lucky with the weather, it hadn’t rained and therefore we didn’t suffer from either. Of course it was warm, so you had to drink enough during the day. To put into perspective how much we walked: 168,000 steps in 5 days, with an outlier of 45,000 steps in 1 day! But it was all worth it. The ruins were beautiful and it was really cool to see such an untouched piece of history, the start of the construction of El Mirador started in 600 years before Christ! We watched the sunrise and sunset several times and it was really indescribable. From the ruins you look out over the entire jungle and we could even see Mexico. We also saw all kinds of animals: different types of monkeys (discovered a new species when I looked in the mirror), snakes, spiders and even fresh footprints of a puma (and not from the shoe brand). Our guide was an avid bird watcher and Monica & Vemund, a Norwegian couple who I became friends with, also had this as a big hobby. Because of that we also saw all kinds of birds. I can’t remember the names exactly (sorry Monica & Vemund) but we saw toucans and also cool birds of prey.

After Flores it was time to go to a new country: Belize! And I was looking forward to that after 5-6 weeks in Guatemala: a new culture, different food, different language, I was excited for it! Because although Belize is located next to Guatemala, it is a completely different country. Belize has influences from all over the world, it has been an independent country since 1981 but is still part of the British Commonwealth (just like Australia & New Zealand for example). In addition, the slave past has also produced a population of different population groups that still live in Belize. That mix produces a very Caribbean culture with people who speak English and where you pay with the former British queen on the banknotes.

I started on Caye Caulker, a very popular island in the Caribbean Sea. On the island you transport yourself by foot, by bike or by golf cart (often used by lazy American tourists 😉). The island is so small that if you stand still and look to the right and left, you can see the sea on both sides and that is not a bad view I can tell you. Furthermore, it is a very famous diving and snorkeling destination, Belize has the 2nd largest coral reef in the world. A good reason to explore it! With my hostel I went on a snorkeling tour. It had been a while since I had snorkeled, but I felt like a fish in the water 😉 (yet another Dutch expression). It was very cool, I think one of the most diverse snorkels I have done. We saw sharks, turtles, rays, different types of fish and a lot of coral, really everything!

Monica & Vemund were also on Caye Caulker and that was really nice because we were together almost every night, also with Leonie. They had rented their own AirBnB and that was perfect to organize a movie night, or well, multiple movie nights! Take away pizzas, beers in the house and let’s get started. Really nice to have such evenings where it feels like you are just at home. In addition, I was introduced to the Belizean breakfast: fry jacks! I literally ate this every day. A fry jack is a fried roll with a filling of your choice. For example, you can choose from: bacon, egg, chicken, ham, cheese and bean paste. The first day I had one with everything but after that my standard was with egg, chicken and bean paste. It was so much that it was breakfast and lunch in one, and that for only €2.25. I am very happy that the fry jack does not exist in the Netherlands, otherwise I would have to exercise twice as much…

After that I went to Hopkins (coastal town on the mainland) and San Ignacio (city close to the border with Guatemala) and those places were also very nice. Traveling in Belize was mainly with local buses and that was a funny experience, we had to change busses a few times and let’s just say that it is arranged differently than in the Netherlands. I once traveled on a Sunday and it was questionable whether the bus would even show up according to the locals, who by the way could not care less about this. I, on the other hand, was quite happy that the bus turned up in the end. In Hopkins it was very quiet and we chilled by the sea, and we went to a jaguar reserve (not from the car). And in San Ignacio I stayed in a very nice hostel where we did a pub quiz among other things. We did not score very well but our team name ‘the San IQnacio’s’ did earn us a free beer, probably out of pity. You can probably guess who came up with such a silly name.

After 2 weeks in Belize it was time to go back to Guatemala. Semuc Champey & the Acatenango volcano in Antigua were on the agenda. First to Semuc Champey, this is a beautiful natural spot in the interior of Guatemala. You can definitely have a good time here by swimming in the river. Semuc Champey was the last stop where Leonie and I would be in the same place, and that was a shame. The past 2 months we were often in the same place and we could always send each other a message if we felt like having company for dinner or a coffee for example, or of course on one of the many hikes we did together. I found that very pleasant because it is nice to meet new people, but you don’t always have the energy for it. Then it is nice to have someone around who you already know well and with whom it is always fun.

Then back to Antigua, where it all started! It is currently Semana Santa (the holy week before Easter) here and it is celebrated in a big way. I started here 2 months ago and wanted to do the Acatenango volcano. This volcano is super popular because it erupts every 15 minutes. However, it was inactive 2 months ago and I decided to wait until I would go back to Antigua (which I was already planning to do). Smart you would think, but unfortunately it didn’t work out because it is still inactive! Oh well, you can’t always throw a 6, let’s just say (last Dutch expression, I promise). On the way to Semuc Champey I met Anne & Roos, 2 nice girls with whom I immediately clicked. They were also planning to climb the Acatenango and adopted me into their company (thanks for that). Even without the eruptions the hike was more than worth it. It took 6 hours to get up and the view was breathtaking (or was it the lack of oxygen?). And it got more and more beautiful as the sun went down. At one point the sky was filled with stars and we even saw lava coming out of the volcano. And we also saw Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites moving around. I had seen them once before in Australia and that was really cool. You should look up a video of it.

We also stayed there to sleep so we could see the sunrise. Crammed into a hut, we had to share a single mattress between the two of us. I asked my Mexican neighbor if he preferred to be small spoon or big spoon and he preferred small spoon, it was a cozy night. Maybe I should take a pregnancy test soon, or doesn’t it work that way? No, but seriously: it wasn’t the most ideal sleeping conditions. The sunrise made up for everything because that was also beautiful. It’s hard to describe it all, but I hope the pictures speak for themselves. Another really cool experience that I was able to share yet again with nice people 😊

And now back in Antigua! Tomorrow it’s time for a new chapter: El Salvador. It feels a bit like starting over because I don’t know anyone who is in El Salvador, and I only looked up what there is to do today. So I don’t know exactly what to expect and you can know that that also causes anxiety. And on the other hand, it also creates enthusiasm because I don’t know what to expect. 2 sides of a coin that every traveler will recognize. I’m going to focus on the positive side of that coin and will let you know next time how it went. A dab for my buddies, a big kiss to my parents and a hug for the rest of you, until next time!