Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.”
Robin S. Sharma
One of the most beautiful things about travelling is the fact that every day is different. There are no routines, no set rules and no expectiations. You can do what you want, whenever you like and not have to worry about what anyone thinks.
What to expect
Calgary, Canada
Summer in Calgary?
We’ve had another “first” together this summer: our first flight together! Usually, we are meeting somewhere else or visiting each other in the respective country, but this time I flew over to Canada (and stayed for 1.5 weeks) before we headed to Central America together.
It was my first summer on the west coast of Canada (already spent one month with my Mom and my brother on Canada’s East Coast in summer 2017), so I was quite curious to see if Canada’s west coast actually has a real summer. Last time we still had snow in spring, so I wasn’t convinced.
Waterton Lakes National Park
The highlight was definitely our trip down to Waterton Lakes National Park where Blake treated us to a night in the “Prince of Wales” (as a belated birthday gift).
The Prince of Wales Hotel is a historic hotel located in Waterton, Alberta, Canada. The hotel is situated within Waterton Lakes National Park, overlooking Upper Waterton Lakes. Opened in July 1927, the Rustic-styled building is 37-metre-tall (121 ft), containing seven floors. The building is considered one of Canada’s grand railway hotels […]. The building was named as a National Historic Site of Canada in November 1992.”
wikipedia
It was a really cool experience! Unfortunately, it was windy and rainy so our “massive hikes” turned into small quick walks (back in 2019 we hadn’t discovered our newly found passion for hiking yet). However, to that point we did not quite know that we were about to do a massive hike later on that trip in Guatemala…
Lake Lousie
This time I saw Lake Louise for the first time in summer and the colours as well as the overall scenery were stunning! We did a hike to the famous tea house (that’s not quite true: we made it half way up, found a nice spot that overlooked the lake, drank our beers and walked down again – that’s how much of hikers we are!).
Canadian Football League
What is a trip to Canada to see Blake without watching at least one sports game? Exactly – not existent! So we happened to watch an NFL game live with some friends of Blake’s, which was actually a really cool – but also cold and wet – experience. Unfortunately, it rained lots so I was still not convinced by Canada’s summer. Finally, in summer 2021 I got spoiled by five weeks of summer non-stop. But as of this moment, I was mainly cold!
But let’s move on to some warmer thoughts and fly to Belize!
Belize
We spent around 1.5 weeks in Belize of which we spent the majority on two islands: San Pedro and Caye Calker.
Ambergris Caye
Ambergris Caye is much bigger than Caye Caulker and most of the people of the island live in San Pedro in the south of the island.
On Ambergris Caye we stayed at this amazing place called Lina Point Belize Overwater Resort. As it was a bit out of the main area, we rented a golf cart on the island (which is also the main way to travel here) and drove onto Lina’s jetty. We were greeted with a welcome drink, which is a big deal for backpackers like us. And since the hotel was built on a jetty, we were surrounded by water on every side.
Rent a golf cart
After spending some time at the hotel’s pool (as the only ones), we explored the island with our golf cart and drove for about 7.5 miles to Secret Beach (which was definitely NOT a secret at all!).
Do a catamaran tour
One day we did a catamaran tour in order to snorkel with nurse sharks. Or let’s say, I came there for the nurse sharks, Blake came for the open bar on the boat 😉. It was a fantastic tour with a short stop on Caye Caulker, snorkeling with turtles, manta rays and nurse sharks and a stunning sunset on the catamaran back to San Pedro.
Find the best lobster on the island
Since it is lobster season and we only had one more night left on the island, Blake made it his personal mission to find all the best lobster places (and other recommended food places) on the island. We first went to Palapa Bar and Grill for chicken. This is actually a really cool place as you have live music inside and outside you can enjoy your drink while relaxing in one of the bar’s tubes in the water.
After that we drove to a BBQ place called Robin’s Kitchen on the other side of the island which was known for its authenticity. It was a bit spicy for my liking and overpriced for “only” a guy with a BBQ.
In the end we went to Waruguma to have a lobster burrito. Honestly, I don’t know how Blake did it, but in the end he was happy…and really really full.
Caye Calker
Go slow
We took the motto of the island very seriously: Go slow! This is why we only made it from our place by the beach to some hammocks on another beach and only got up to get some smoothies or lunch. We loved it! Furthermore, we met up with some good friends of ours on the island and went out for dinner together. If you are craving fresh fish, Wish Willy is your place. We went there every single night and the “restaurant” only consists of a few tables outside, a BBQ and a guy in a hammock (who runs the place aka Willy). But every night the place was packed (and so delicious!) and the relaxed guy with the dreadlocks truly lived (or invented?) the island motto.
Go scuba diving
On the island I also went scuba diving. Scuba diving in the Belize Barrier Reef (which is also the longest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere) was an amazing experience with great visibility and warm water.
San Ignacio
From Caye Caulker we drove to the main land where we stayed in San Ignacio for three nights. The first night we met up with Blake’s friend’s dad who had moved to Belize many years ago. Together we went to a really nice restaurant called *find name* on a hill from where we could overlook the city.
ATM Caves
The next day we went to the famous ATM caves with our two friends from Caye Caulker.
Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) is one of the most impressive and arte-fact rich Maya ceremonial caves in Belize. It contains rare bloodletting altars used for sacrifices and over 1400 catalogued artefacts, including sacrifical human remains.”
Belize adventure
I usually don’t like tight spaces, but the lady from the tourist office assured me that there won’t be any. And of course, she wasn’t a sales woman, but only had my best interests in mind, right? So I believed her! Shockingly, there were tons of tight spaces that we needed to squeeze through. At one point we had to turn off our head lamps. It was pitch black and totally quiet and the only thing you could hear was me whimpering. At another point in this cave, we had to climb up a ladder to an intact skeleton from a female, called the “Crystal Maiden”. Since my friend was scared of heights, it took her a lot of courage to manage this, but in the end, she made it. So if you are afraid of the dark, tight spaces, heights, of seeing skeletons, of little insects crawling over your feet or of swimming into a cave, this is NOT your activity. Otherwise, you’re happy to come along 😉.
Caracol Mayan Ruins
The next day the four of us rented a van and went on a full day of exploring. We first went to the Caracol Mayan Ruins. They are less touristy than the famous ruins in Tikal, Guatemala, so we were lucky to be almost the only ones there.
Rio On Pools
Then we went to the Rio On Pools, where we relaxed in naturally-formed pools underneath numerous cascading waterfalls in a picturesque location in the Mountain Pine Ridge.
Big Rock Waterfalls
At the end we went to the Big Rock Waterfalls. Overall we loved this road trip with great company and the scenery was just stunning!
The San Ignacio Market
Before crossing the border to Guatemala the next morning, we went to San Ignacio’s local food market. We were in fruit-heaven (at least I was 😉) and bought lots of mangos, coconuts, oranges and other treats for the ride to Guatemala. Unfortunately, we would only realize in Lanquin about four days later, that Blake had forgotten a mango in his backpack. And we only found out because there was this massive line of ants going right to his backpack in our room – the joys of travelling…
Guatemala
Tikal
We crossed the border in a taxi and took a collective (shuttle bus) from there to get to Tikal. Usually people stay in Flores from where they take an early tour bus to get to Tikal but we wanted to be right where the magic was happening. This is why we stayed at the Hotel Jungle Lodge Tikal right in the national park which was a very authentic experience with the sound of monkeys and birds around us.
Tikal is the ruin of an ancient city […] found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. […] in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”
wikipedia
Very early in the next morning we started our guided tour to the Tikal ruins. We climbed up one of the ruins for sunrise where we were greeted by around 30 other tourists, just to see a whole lot of…nothing. Unfortunately, it was very misty and besides a lot of clouds, there was nothing else to see.
We liked Tikal, but we had been spoiled by the empty Caracol Mayan Ruins, so it was a little bit too crowded for our liking.
Flores
For a quick stopover we stayed in Flores for one night, where all we did was eat, drink and walk around. We also met up with two acquaintances of mine from Germany who we surprisingly ran into in Tikal – small world.
Lanquin
Lanquin was awesome! The eight-hour-shuttle bus ride from Flores to Lanquin was already quite adventurous which included crossing rivers and windy roads, but we were rewarded with breath-taking views on the way.
If you are coming to Lanquin to visit the famous Semuc Champey, I’d advise you to stay at Hostal Vista Verde. It has an infinity pool that overlooks the entire valley, a very friendly owner and really tasty food. Be prepared to stay in little huts and make sure you do not carry any fruit around (I’m talking ants if you remember Blake’s mango-fiasco).
I think Blake was actually a bit sad that we didn’t stay at the party hostel Zephyr River Lodge on the hill next to us. Every night we planned to walk over there to soak in the party atmosphere, but somehow we did not make it over there once! Blake blames me, but I swear I was committed to go over there in at least one of the three nights, but “someone” got really into watching “Breaking Bad” on this trip. So it was not entirely my fault. 😉
Semuc Champey
One day we took a 4×4 pickup truck, which is considered a local taxi, to get to Semuc Champey. The ride was quite bumpy, but gorgeous and took about 30 minutes.
Semuc Champey is a natural monument […]. It consists of a natural 300 m limestone bridge, under which passes the Cahabón River.”
wikipedia
When we got to Semuc Champey, we first hiked up the jungle for about 45 minutes to reach the famous viewpoint “El Mirador”. It was very hot and exhausting to get there, but the view was totally worth it.
Next, we cooled off in one of the many pools of Semuc Champey.
Semuc Champey as well as Lanquin are both really out of the way, but Semuc Champey is considered as one of the top attractions in Guatemala and we’d highly recommend you to include it on your Guatemala bucket list.
Antigua
Antigua was definitely my favourite city in Guatemala. Picture a charming old Spanish colonial city surrounded by huge volcanoes. There are many things you can do in and around this city. This is why we ended up staying here for five nights.
Things to do in and around Antigua
- do a free walking tour
- hike up to the viewpoint Cerro de la Cruz to overlook Antigua with the volcanoes in the background
- do a day trip to Volcano Pacaya and roast marshmallows over the hot lava
- sleep on Volcano Acatenengo and see the active Volcano Fuego erupt from there
Volcano Acatenengo
This was probably the highlight of our entire time in Central America! We got to sleep on a volcano! To be honest, I was a little bit worried of the six-hour-hike up the volcano as we heard many “horror stories” about it. But funnily, in the end I was the one pushing some of the other girls who were crying half way up as they couldn’t breathe properly anymore. Who would have thought? (Definitely not me 😉)
The hike with about 25 other backpackers was amazing! Surprisingly, we had met many of them on different parts on our journey around Central America, whether it was in a hostel in San Ignacio or on the shuttle bus to Lanquin. The small backpacker world 😊.
For the trip itself we had to pack four litres of water (for drinking and for cooking food at the top). Moreover, we had to carry a winter jacket, a tuque, a scarf and gloves. This felt really weird as we started the hike in 30 degrees at the bottom of the volcano. We were also given a free breakfast in the hostel where we rented the winter gear as well as a lunch burrito that we ate half way up to the top of the volcano.
Once we made it to the top, the view was breath-taking! On the one side we could watch the sun setting over Antigua while we could watch (and hear) Volcano Fuego erupting every 20 minutes on the other side. It was truly incredible!
I forgot to mention that Blake and I had booked the “couple deal” for this trip, which meant more dessert, a bottle of wine and a tent only for us. But when they asked at the top of the volcano who had purchased the “couple package”, I was too embarrassed to raise my hand, so Blake was the only one who put up his hand. One for the team 😉.
Maybe I did regret sharing a whole bottle of wine with Blake when the alarm went off at 3 a.m. in order for us to hike up the last 150m to the peak for sunrise. Accidently, I took out the bottle of water for brushing my teeth. So while we were climbing up the volcano in the dark and craving some water to cure our hangovers, we had to find out that Blake had been carrying an empty bag. Woops. This time, unfortunately, I cannot blame anyone else other than myself (even though I tried hard to find a reason why this could have been Blake’s fault 😉).
Unluckily, there was only a little bit of sunrise to see but as soon as the clouds cleared up (when the sun had already come up), the view over the valley and Volcano Fuego was incredible.
After a delicious breakfast (porridge, banana bread and hot chocolate) by the fire at our base camp, we hiked downhill for about three hours. Unfortunately, Blake’s knee that he had injured in a hockey accident many years ago, hurt badly, so the hike downhill was rather painful for him.
Honestly, if you come to Guatemala and you don’t have much time, this should be the one thing, you should put on your bucket list! (And maybe visiting Lanquin/ Semuc Champey and the town Anitgua itself.)
Lake Atitlan
The last six days at Lake Atitlan felt like a holiday. We found a really cute accommodation Wachalal Lake Lodge in San Pedro by the lake.
Things to do at Lake Atitlan
- explore the town San Pedro
- take a taxi boat to the other towns on the lake: San Marcos, San Juan or Panajachel
- watch sunrise from Indian Nose
Guatemala City
In the end we spent one night in Guatemala City to catch our flights to Canada and Germany from there. If we had to do it all over again, we’d probably take a shuttle from Lake Atitlan to the airport in Guatemala City which a lot of other backpackers did (also possible from Antigua).
Guatemala or Belize?
Belize is great if you are into island vibes on the Caribbean Sea (I definitely am!). However, it is quite expensive.
Guatemala, on the other hand, is very affordable and has a variety to offer, such as lakes, volcanoes, jungles, Mayan ruins and much more.
So I guess the question is not which country you would want to choose but rather how much time do you have for both? 😉
Only six weeks later, in autumn 2019, we were lucky enough to go back to our “happy place” together.
[…] time we really snorkeled together was probably in Belize in summer 2019, where we saw lots of rays and nurse sharks. But I remember Blake liked the open bar of the […]