Back to my favorite places in El Paredón and Antigua, and roasting marshmallows on a volcano.

Januari 17, 09:28

We’re back at one of my favourite coffeeshops in El Paredón: Zoah Cafè! The place with the three cats, and the restaurant on the first floor, so you can feel some of the wind. Although there is only one cat right now. But you know, better one cat than none. Before we came here, we went to the beach for an early morning swim, and after breakfast, I think we’re gonna enjoy the doing of nothing that is best enjoyed at the beach.

January 18, 10:55

OMG, Mike got a kitten. A 9-week-old kitten! He’s all black and super fluffy. And we named him Keizer Kuzco! It’s the movie ‘The Emperors new groove’, but in Dutch. We watched it when we were in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, and afterward continued to call every Llama we saw: Kuzco. SO CUTE.

What’s also cute is that Karo and I just finished making our own bracelets. We could choose our own colors and our own design, and then a woman from El Paredón taught us how to do it. Super easy too, and we now have our personal little souvenir!

January 19, 18:31

Let’s play some cards. Again. It’s all we have been doing the past days or weeks, really. And I love it. We even tried to come up with a new game. It’s a bit messy and chaotic but that’s honestly how we like to play card games. The game is called ‘Zussen’, we have yet to think of the right English translation. Maybe ‘Sisters?’

I’ll try to explain: you play with two decks. They get shuffled and you deal the cards amongst every player until the two shuffled decks are gone. Then you both take 7 cards from your own deck, and the game starts once you look at the cards. The goal is to get rid of your cards first. You do so by making sets of cards. The sets belong to everyone, and you’re allowed to add a card or even remove a card from a set to make a new one, as long as the remaining is a set of at least three cards. You keep taking cards from your deck to make the sets or add to a set until you have no cards left in your deck and your hands. The person who gets rid of their cards first wins. TADA.

January 20, 17:18

We’re on the mooooove. After spending three full days and half a day at the beach doing barely anything, it’s time to go to our last destination: Antigua. The past days we’ve swam in the ocean with crazy currents, chilled in a hammock, played cards, went kayaking/ supping, and watched the sunset. I really love El Paredón, and being close to the ocean just really calms me down. I feel more at peace, I feel like life is easier, I am more excited about the future and I am completely living in the moment. I’m just my best me when I’m close to the ocean, so I’m really excited that in not even a week I will be living only 30 minutes away from the beach. So happy!

January 21, 14:11

We’re at a restaurant in Antigua, our last destination. It’s so crazy that we’re almost at the end. In the first half of traveling together, it seemed like we had all the time in the world. And suddenly it feels like weeks passed by while we were busy enjoying our lives. I guess it's always like this. And like every beginning, there is always an end.

January 22, 15:24

Yesterday evening we had a cute little movie night on the rooftop. We bought a baguette, different cheeses, chocolate, chips and a bottle of wine. Karo secured us a spot and gathered a ton of pillows and blankets. When de sun went down and the sky turned black, I got my laptop ready for a cozy movie night under the stars.

Today we made a gift for our parents. We wanted to gift them a weekend away, a surprise destination, but we couldn’t decide what or where it should be. So we came up with a few questions that would help us decide. Questions like type of holiday, basic or luxurious accommodation, culinary or adventurous, north-east-south-west destination - things like this. We think it came out super cute, so I’m excited for what they are gonna choose so we can arrange everything!

January 23, 19:19

We’re on the bus back to Antigua. We just did a super nice hike on the Pacaya Volcano. Until three years ago it was still active. Pretty crazy to think that if you did the hike then, you could see the lava flowing. Now you can’t, BUT we were literally walking on the hardened lava, which was really cool too. In one area, there was still steam coming up from the heat under the ground. So the guide brought marshmallows so we could roast them above these little geysers. Super cute. And honestly, this was the main reason we chose to do this hike. After the marshmallows, we rushed to watch the sunset. We just missed it because of the many clouds, but it was still pretty. The rest of the hike was in the dark if it wasn’t for our headlights.

January 24, 17:37

We’re on the way back to the hostel to get our stuff and wait for our private car to take us to Guatemala City. This last day we spent just how I like spending my days. We went back to my favorite coffee shops, reviewed the past 4 weeks, and played a whole lot of card games. Especially our game ‘zussen’ of course, and since it’s so chaotic, playing it really feels like a natural caffeine shot. We just get fucking HYPED.

And about our review, we nearly agreed on everything, but this was my rating for places in Guatemala:

Semuc Champey
Tikal/ Flores region
Rio Dulce/ Livingston area
El Paredón
Lake Atitlan
Antigua

Funny actually cause I really like Antigua. Goes to show you that I really, really love the rest of Guatemala.

bridge of antigua with volcano, guatemala — *Bridge of Antigua with volcano in background, Guatemala*

January 25, 07:47

This is the weirdest safety video on a plane I have ever seen. Why is the use of a seatbelt explained in a golf cart, the emergency exits outside in the snow with the northern lights, and the oxygen masks at a party with live music? WHY? Is it because it’s an American airline, and the inhabitants won’t pay attention to safety instructions unless it’s a cinematic video? Who knows, but if this is what awaits me in this new country, it’s gonna be hell of a culture shock.

I am excited tho, and for the first time kinda nervous. After almost a year of full-time traveling in mostly South America, I am gonna live in one place again. In an apartment, in a new country, where I still have to figure everything out. But I’ll be with Mike, so I know it’s gonna be alright! A new chapter awaits. Only a 5-hour flight away. Let’s go!