I started the morning eating breakfast with the group I met yesterday. The coffee is so good. They make it themselves here. Straight from the backyard to your cup.
Last moments in my cozy cabin. All my stuff still wet days later
I said goodbye to the others and packed my things. It was raining a bit and I waited a tiny bit. I decided to just go in the rain as there is just no end to the rain here. I don’t understand how it’s possible.
I stopped at Cascada Blanca on the way to San Isidro. I was honestly just exhausted, semi-sick, and wanted to grab a coke at the restaurant on the side of the road, but it ended up being an amazing place to walk down, see a gorgeous waterfall, and go for a quick swim.
Yesterday I drove from El Estor to Rio dulce but stayed right near the Castillo de San Felipe de Lara. 180 quetzales($23) to stay at Viñas del lago. Not a bad place. But the location turned out to be pretty meh. You can really only get to the Castillo from there. The place to stay would have been the other side.
All I did was check out the Castillo, eat, rest, and get some much needed sleep.
Today I woke up feeling awful had some fruit for breakfast and booked a place for the night called Boatique Hostel for $20. I had to drive to a restaurant, drop off the motorcycle and wait for the boat to take me out to the place. Man, what a pleasant surprise. Boatique Hostel is absolutely gorgeous. I love the little cabins and the little walkways that go around the swamps.
Boatique Hostel
I met 2 other travelers here that are pretty cool. We talked a lot and ate dinner here together. These weird fly things kept flying into the water made by the condensation on our drinks and dying. And the mosquitos are terrible. Anyways. I’m very pooped and I’m going to sleep.
Rode from Quetzaltenango to San Juan La Laguna. It took about 2 hours and the first half was all easy 2 lane highway in actually pretty good shape. Then I turned off on a small country road. It was an amazing ride but steep. I tried doing some engine braking for the first time on the moto because of how steep it was and I was slightly concerned about the brakes. The views were spectacular. When I had San Pedro volcan in my view I felt overwhelmingly happy as it towered above and stared down on me.
Having been here before I didn’t love lake Atitlan the first time, but I’m happy to see it with a fresh perspective. Last time I was here I was incredibly sick and withered down to the bone and the place I stayed was super disconnected from everything. This time I’m staying at Eco Hotel Mayachik and I love it so far. Beautiful gardens.
After eating I headed down to the port to take a boat somewhere else. My plan was to head to San Marcos as I hadn’t fully explored it my last time here.
Yumz
On the boat over to San Marcos there was a girl with a dog sitting next to me and we started to talk a little. She had been staying there for 7 months already so I asked her for a suggestion of something to do. She recommended walking up to “Eagle Nest” so once we arrived I headed on up there. The way was nice and steep and there was a really cool route to get out there including walking under some thick vines.
Amazing street art
Once I arrived the place was amazing. It was very well put together and very hippy with a huge platform for yoga that has an amazing view. But I immediately started to get the same vibes that I always get from these places that if you don’t look and act hippy you don’t belong. I can’t help but always feel that it is it’s own modern day exclusive religion that scams its own members. Yoga was $20 per person! You know how much that is worth in Guatemala?! It really blows my mind. I tried talking to a couple people there and I just found them to be so cold. I don’t fully know how to describe these strange cults.
Anyways, I was sitting there drinking a chai latte and enjoying the view when I got a message from Gail, an old friend who I knew could possibly be in Guatemala but also totally forgot was there. She had seen on Instagram I was in the area.
She also wildly happened to be in San Marcos as well. I headed down to “Unicorn Unborn” where I ran into her on the walkway.
We walked down to the water and just talked about life and what has happened in the last 4 years since we had seen each other last. She had had some profound experiences and I’m sure I did too. While talking she told me I had already missed the last boat back at 630 because I was told it was at 8. The only other way back would have been a 2 hour walk in the dark along some sketchy roads so I planned to stay at Unicorn Unborn for the night. We went to eat at a comedor, then a taco joint that gave me 6 tacos instead of the ordered 2, but I still got them down.
I had some awful sleep and woke up early at 6am. I went out to the kitchen area where a hippy dude happily told me he made extra broccoli smoothie for me. I had no idea what that meant until I smelled it and realized he literally just blended water and broccoli and put it in a cup. It was the single nastiest sh*t I’ve tasted in my life.
Once he walked away I threw the whole thing in the bushes and headed to the dock to reunite with Donkey on the other side of the lake.
