Our last stop in Guatemala was an island called Flores; made famous for two reasons; the location is the main tourist stop off for the amazing Mayan ruins at Tikal and also because (now connected by a bridge to the mainland) Flores is a quaint colonial type town nestled within a huge stretch of water. Our journey from Semuc was very interesting to say the least! We opted for a slightly cheaper bus than the one ran by the hostel and unluckily we paid for that che...

After the excitement of seeing a live volcanic eruption at Fuego we headed into the jungle and to Semuc Champey. There was a draw for a couple of reasons, we'd had a lot of recommendations to visit a hostel there and also to see the actual natural pools themselves. The hostel we stayed in was Zephyr River Lodge, just outside of the Semuc National Park. It had a lot going for it, amazing views over the valleys, an infinity pool and a real good social side. The re...

We left Lake Atitlan with Matt, a trained geologist from the UK who was living and working in Guatemala, more specially around the volcanoes of Antigua and the famous Volcan Fuego, which has been erupting since written Spanish records began. Matt had worked in the government observation station during this placement when completing his Masters programme, which was based at the bottom flank of Fuego. Since moving back to Guatemala permanently, the connections he ...

After our (late) night out in Antigua, the journey to Atitlan wasn't particularly pleasant and we'd also opted for a cheaper local bus option. However we made it without major issues and surprisingly without breaking down, which a lot of the private shuttles had even done! Lake Atitlan was a huge lake inside a series of old volcanoes and mountains. The actual crater lake was created by a historic mega volcanic explosion that left a huge crater in the earth, aro...

Our first stop in Guatemala was the city of Antigua. It's described by most as a beautiful colonial city and at various times has been a part of the changing capitals within the country. As we'd been to many colonial cities over our time in Latin America we just planned a brief stop before heading to lake Atitlan. The city was indeed one of the most beautiful we'd seen throughout the trip in Latin America. Quite small and navigable by foot, I went on a run aroun...