guatemala

After two months back in the States, I was more than ready to get back to Guatemala and finally continue my journey south. I had been dreaming of the biking life for a while. I wanted to go back to the daily adventure with the excitement of not knowing what lays ahead. To push my body and my mind further and further each day.

One of my goals on this trip was finding somewhere to volunteer. I had heard many amazing experiences from friends who had done something similar. I landed a spot at a beautiful hostel on a lake in Guatemala after becoming friends with Joy, a manager at the hostel. I had planned to volunteer for 6 weeks but that turned into nearly 5 months as I loved it here and became a manager.

Volcano Tajumulco is the tallest volcano and point in all of Central America, standing at 4203m (13659ft). Argo and I had been wanting to climb this one for a while and when a new volunteer, Kirk, came along, we decided it was finally had a good crew to do it with.

Since I have been in Santa Cruz working, I spent more time each day admiring the three beautiful volcanoes across from me: Atitlan, Toliman, and San Pedro. I had already climbed one volcano in Guatemala, and I knew I needed to climb these as well. This blog contains two trips: the first is an epic three-day hike to Atitlan and Toliman, and the second is a quick day hike up San Pedro.

It was pretty hard to leave Mexico behind. It was a beautiful country with incredible food and extremely kind people. In Guatemala things would be similar but more extreme. The culture was stronger, the towns were busier, and the hills were much steeper.