Thankful to arrive before dark I had booked a night at Three Monkeys Hostel, the reviews spoke of chilled vibes, a good place to meet new people and enjoy the rooftop views. Perfect and just what I was looking for. I said my goodbyes to my travel companions and was back on my own. After some busy days travelling and adventuring I needed some time to just relax and recharge. So I’m sure I’d be extending my stay if the reviews proved true.

Time to get amongst some typical Guatemalan cuisine so I went to a recommended local place called Ricon Tipico which had a vegetarian meal of the day for only 30Q which included a drink.

Antigua is a very popular place to learn Spanish with almost a school on every corner. After walking around this beautiful city I realised I’d prefer somewhere a bit more off the beaten track. A school in Quetzaltenango had come highly recommended from my school in Mexico so I decided to spend a week here in Antigua exploring and enjoying all it has to offer before moving on. Extending my stay at my hostel by 6 nights (a very common occurrence on my travels) I ventured into the big markets, side roads, churches and committed to hiking the popular Acatenango.

Antigua was my first real look and experience of chicken buses in Central America. Vividly painted old American school buses are used to transport people and goods around. Men hang out the door shouting their destination, inside lights flash, music blares, bells chime. It’s quite the experience getting crammed in on one of these buses, figuring out how much to pay and then how to ask to get off. I was really needing to learn some more Spanish.

One of the most recognisable landmarks in Antigua is the beautiful 17th century Arch of Santa Catalina. It perches perfectly over the cobbled streets and is a popular spot to hang out for a photo or purchase something from a local street vendor.

I love nothing more than getting completely lost in a market and Antigua’s Central Market can swallow you up very quickly. It can give you a slice of something a little more authentic once you get past the main stalls, but I still enjoy marvelling at the colourful artisan goods displayed.

Finding my way through the throngs of stalls I found a massive area of second hand clothing, everything possible and I even scored some new jeans that actually have the right length, something I never thought possible in Guatemala where I tower above majority of the people. Fresh, colourful fruit is in abundance and I’d much prefer to buy here and realise quickly I need to perfect my numbers as I hand over double the amount of money required.

Another popular activity in Antigua is to go hiking, and why not sleep overnight on the side of the 3rd highest peak in Central America. I booked my Acatenango hike through Wicho & Charlies which included experienced guides, extra clothing, all food, and a fully setup base camp. I’d heard from people who had done this hike that it gets really cold up there so I took as much clothing as I could fit into my pack. Plus food and 4L of water, it was going to be tough going.

Meeting at the agency the next day for breakfast we were soon off with all our gear for the 1 hour drive to the start of the hike. Literally stepping out of the van I felt the increased elevation with a chilly wind blowing through the group. We were all keen to get started and after introductions we faced the daunting reality of how hard this was going to be.

The track was straight up, and just kept going up and up and up. Different terrains, maize fields, jungle, pine forest and then complete barren open space but always steeply up.

Meeting new people in the group, I tried to have conversations but had to apologise and say lets talk when we are up there as I can hardly breathe right now. We took lots of breaks and were making good progress, the guide kept saying the track flattens out a bit up ahead which would give us some motivation. But otherwise it was one foot in front of the other.

We snaked our way past other base camps hoping that soon the guide would say we had arrived. But the views to get to ours was well worth exerting the last ounces of energy we had.

5 hours of slogging it up the volcano we arrived at our base camp at around 3pm and had the chance to enjoy the warm sunshine and grateful to take a seat in the deck chairs, it’s smiles all round. We would be sleeping at 3700m and summit to almost 4000m in the morning for sunrise.

After passing other camps I was stoked to see the quality of our tents, heavy duty canvas and inside the camp beds up off the floor with sleeping bags and heavy blankets. 7 people were to fit in each tent so lots of body heat to hopefully keep warm.

Within an hour the clouds rolled in, the wind picked up and the views disappeared. It was time to get the warm clothing layers on and the camp fire crackling.

Huddled around the smoky fire we played a few games as our kind guides prepared our pasta dinner. The smoke was pretty bad in the eyes but the wind had really picked up and it was better than being freezing cold. I was looking forward to eating and then getting into bed.

As it started to get dark I realised toileting was going to be a bit of an issue, with no designated area you had to scramble along barely there tracks and loose rocks to find a spot. Not wanting to venture too far away but enough to get some privacy and if you put one foot wrong you could be sliding pants down, down the side of the volcano.

The clouds started to shift again and we enjoyed some star gazing and in the distance we could see the red lava erupting from another volcano called Pacaya. Just before 8:30pm I was truly freezing so decided to get snuggled into the tent. I made one last treacherous bathroom stop (fingers crossed I wouldn’t need to go in the night) and put on any remaining clothes I had. So in total I had on: 2 singlets, a t-shirt, a long sleeve quick dry top, merino jumper, puffer vest, jacket, scarf, beanie, 2 pairs of leggings, 2 pairs of socks. With so many clothes on it was hard to get into my sleeping bag but managed to also roll the blanket around me like a taco so I had a bit more protection on my back. I secured the hood of the sleeping over my head and prayed that sleep would come quickly. It didn’t. I don’t think it came at all. At some point in the night my feet started to cramp, so bad I had to get out of bed and try and walk it off. As I was moving the cramp moved into my calf muscles and into my thighs, it was so painful and I was trying to be quiet in case someone was so lucky to have drifted off to sleep. It finally subsided only to come back 2 more times through the night but not wanting to lose what little heat was in my sleeping I managed to stretch it out.

At around 3:30am tap tap on the outside of the tent ‘Buenos Dias’ – time to get up, we leave in 15 minutes for the top.  Maybe I got an hour sleep if at all I groggily get up and fumble to get my shoes on and out of the tent. It’s no warmer and we are all keen to get moving. In the pitch black we use our headlights to follow single file up the side of the volcano, slipping and sliding and not really sure how close to the edge we are. As we get higher our breathing becomes more difficult but suddenly as we near the top all the struggles from the previous day and the sleepless night fades away as the sun starts to peak above the horizon.

The views are completely breathtaking

At almost 4000m, the sun got higher and higher but it didn’t really help to warm us up. My hands were freezing and it was really difficult to take pictures but managed to get some good ones especially when Fuego gave us a little show, shooting out some ash.

Ready to get back down to camp we started to descend and marvelled at the tracks we walked up in the dark. It was easiest to just run down and let the scoria rocks slide down with you, it was good fun. Back at camp we emptied our shoes of rocks and dust, took off maybe one layer and enjoyed a breakfast of porridge and coffee.

Although the above photo might not convey the excitement from the mornings views and achievement everyone was super stoked with their efforts and just taking a bit of time to reflect. Packing up we got a 5 minute call and were soon on our way back down. It was hard going with many slips and slides as the loose rocks gave way under our tired legs. It was almost easier to lightly run down as this eliminated the jarring in the knees, a technique that would surely have repercussions in the following days. We made it to the bottom at about 10:30am and were soon sitting safely in the van back to Antigua. Tired and sore I dropped the borrowed gear back at the agency and walked back to the hostel hoping I’d be able to check back in early and get a bed straight up. Unfortunately it wasn’t the case but I could take a shower and relax in the hammocks until a bed became available. I didn’t have to wait too long and I was soon lying comfortably in a warm bed thinking back to how cool and challenging that whole experience was. Drifting off into some much needed sleep until about mid afternoon.