Guatemalamania

I always feel empty inside when returning from an intense experience. I was sad to leave Guatemala.

Yes, we left the country for a week. Anton went to Argentina to meet up with his girlfriend, I went to Guatemala. I knew absolutely nothing about Guatemala. And I had never really traveled on my own before. But I would not be lonely. In Antigua, I stayed with Cynthia, a Guatemalan restaurant manager chick, who at the same time hosted German coffee expert Thomas, British DJ Adam, and American teacher Ben. The five of us became what Guatemalans for a long time will remember as The Gang. Antigua is a cute little town full of life. The Gang was invited to have a barbecue at Priscilla’s porch, so we went to the market to buy what we needed: prawns, chicken, avocados, peppers, pineapples, bananas, mangoes, garlic and lemons. All obviously locally produced, and ours for a couple of bucks. Also, to Priscilla’s surprise, we bought a live rooster, who she now keeps as her pet.

There are active volcanoes in Guatemala, and I and Adam decided we’d go climb one. It was actually really cool. At the top, all forces of nature tried to tell us: guys, you’re not supposed to be here. There was fog and thunder and lightning (that once even struck the very mountain top we were on), and of course there was the lava. And then the rain started pouring and I was soaked within minutes. And then Adam slipped on the magma gravel and cut his hand pretty deep. There we stood, trying to tie a piece of cloth around his hand, while nature roared. The only good thing was that as long as we were close to the lava, we were warm. But of course, as we started to climb down, it got really, really cold.

The two-day trip that I, Adam and Thomas made to lake Atitlan, was far more comfortable. On arrival, we had lunch at restaurant Buddha in San Pedro, which might be the most relaxed place on earth. Big sofas on the second floor, overlooking the mountain lake and its surrounding green and lush volcanoes. After lunch, we just chilled and had a couple of beers, until it was time for dinner. We ended up staying until they closed, all the time comfortably horizontal.

On a trip around the lake, Thomas taught us all thee is to know about coffee, which grows abundantly in the region. Back in Antigua, it was time to say good-bye to all these fantastic people and wonderful places. The car was waiting for me at the Dallas international airport, and I must admit that it felt as if I had not seen that car for months.