Guatemala was nice. I spent 2 weeks in Panajachel, a small town on Lake Atitlan, and 4 nights at a hostel in El Paredon. It wasn’t a ton of time, and I still have yet to explore Antigua and Guatemala City, but I’ll do that on my way back..
The lake was absolutely stunning and definitely worth the view. It would have been nice to have hiked some of the famous volcanoes surrounding the lake, but I was mostly in town laying low and saving my money. I managed to find a cheap little hotel that was super dog friendly and less than $10/night (I definitely got a special rate 🙏🏻). That price included a private parking area, free breakfast, free drinking water, and daily housekeeping. It was the perfect spot to hang, and I basically just spent my time practicing Spanish, walking the town, and doing yoga on the roof each day.
Pana was much colder than I anticipated, and I even had to buy a few new clothes while I was there in order to keep warm. I enjoyed the view, but I missed living on the beach and soaking up the sun each day. I felt like if I wasn’t waking the little town (looking at the same souvenirs each day and/or eating something), there wasn’t a spot for me to just.. “be.” IDK. I spent a lot of time in my hotel and my tan was almost gone, so that’s when I decided to make my way to the coast.
El Paredon was where I landed. It’s on the Pacific coast and such a tiny, tiny town. I didn’t really care what was around though… as long as I could feel the sun on my face.
The waves were rough. I dabbled in some surfing, but I was honestly a little scared of how strong the current was.. for the most part, I hung by the pool. The sand was soooo hot that you couldn’t possibly walk, let alone sit, on the beach during the day. That was reserved for sunsets and sunrises.
I caught a glimpse of a local rockin’ a shirt from TX and it was advertising a half marathon that i had run in Philly. I was like “omg.. did you run this marathon in TX??!” And he was like 🤨🤔🥴 He had no idea what I was talking about.
I later saw someone wearing a shirt that said “WILDWOOD, NJ” and again, I was like, “omg! I’m from NJ!” and he was like 🤔🤔🥴 Same thing. No clue what I was talking about..
Interesting. These guys had these shirts from the states and had no idea what they even said or why they had them. They just had them.. and it kind of made me feel great to know that they were going somewhere and being put to good use. These are the shirts that we collect hundreds of from every event that we attend and then later end up donating to Good Will or something. I loved seeing them in Guatemala. I even more so loved the fact that I had a mild connection to both shirts.
Anyway, that’s about that for Guatemala. Up next… El Salvador!
Adventures of Alison 