Today I hiked up Volcan Pacaya, an active volcano that last erupted in 2000. Several years ago, some tourists were robbed on the trail up to the top and now everyone is escorted by a guide and the heavily armed tourist police. In fact, come to think of it, everything in Guatemala is guarded by men with machine guns or shotguns ... this includes the more obvious like banks but also hardware stores and even McDonalds. I met the guide at the travel agency at 6 in t...

Guatemala is by far my favorite country so far and I can say that if you never travel here in your lifetime, you are missing out on a great experience. After leaving the finca, I took an overnight bus to Guatemala city. A girl I met at the finca told me ¨don´t even think about stepping outside the bus terminal without getting right into a taxi¨. So when I arrived, I went for a walk to see what the fuss was all about and actually found it to be qu...