I took the boat from San Marcos to San Juan La Laguna to get to Donkey to ride onwards to Antigua. The boatride is supposed to be 10 quetzales but they charge gringos 15. The dude was a total ass too. Things like this always leave a bad taste in my mouth about Guatemala. I feel consistently more scammed here than anywhere else in Central America
I checked out of the hostel and started riding around 930 which was a nice early start. It ended up being one of the hardest days yet. I took the risk of continuing the road around the lake to see some new spots and stop in Antigua on the way back to Guatemala city.
Donkey in Antigua
The road was rough and rocky and super steep. NOT a nice ride. I was certain I was going to drop the bike a few times but somehow never did. As I went on through the day the driving got worse and worse.
When I finally arrived in Antigua I ate lunch at El Comalote and it was delicious. They make everything in house. You can buy big bags of fresh tortilla chips if you so desire. I spent a couple hours daydreaming some of my old memories of traveling by bus in Antigua years ago remembering some of the very good friends I met on that trip.
I don’t even know what this was, but it was delicious
I then continued on the Guatemala city and the road from there was awful as well but for different reasons. 2 lane highways with enormous trucks trying to blow you off the road. They would literally leave me 2 inches of space and blast their horns at me while they did it.
I finally made it into the city absolutely tense. I can feel it so hard in my shoulders and back.
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.
Today was supposed to be a short easy ride from Huehue to Quetzaltenango. Just 2 hours and I would be done. But when I was just 30 minutes out it started to pour and due to the altitude I could feel the cold creep into my torso and I soon lost feeling in my hands and then entire arms. Luckily there was a comedor just on the side of the road that I could stop at.
Due to the plastic being broken on my helmet in Mexico, when it rains I simply cannot see anything. the water splashing my sunglasses makes it impossible to see. And if I take the sunglasses off the water smacks me right in the eyeball. In case you’ve never experienced this, it feels an awful lot like getting hit in the balls but in your eyeball. And in case you don’t have balls, I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s unpleasant.
I warmed up at the comedor with hot coffee and the rain mostly stopped after and hour and I continued the last 30 minutes to a hotel called Kasa Kamelot Las Rosas. It’s not really my thing but it’s pretty comfy and was like $19. The bed is the most comfortable I’ve had in a long while to be honest. After a hearty nap I headed into town to explore a little bit.
Of course I get Mexican tacos my first night in Gua
Quetzaltenango is kinda nice. Same old latino layout of churches and plazas everywhere. And a lot of streetfood all over the place. Plantains and churros and all kinds of tacos. Tomorrow I will head down to Lake Atitlan!
