Lago de Atitlan (Guatemala) - Into the vortex

LAGO DE ATITLAN (GUATEMALA)
18 February - 19 February 2017

Mystically minded gringos talk about Lago de Atitlan as being one of the world's few vortex fields, alongside sites such as the Egyptian pyramids and Machu Picchu. Whilst its mostly the hippies that\ impart that sort of vibe into some corners of this spectacular point on the globe, you just can't go past the view for holding another style of mythical power just for being.

The vortex - within the vortex - Lago de Atitlan - Guatemala

How did they get out of this one?

Hemmed in on all sides by mountains and volcanoes, the statistics of the lake give the headline of 320mts deep, and 18kms by 12kms at its widest points. Picturesque, gorgeous and drawing comparisons to its European cousin, Lake Como, you'd have to say that under equivalent bouts of sunshine Lago de Atitlan might just stand atop the podium.

Lago de Atitlan - Guatemala

Lago de Atitlan - Guatemala

Lago de Atitlan - Guatemala

Inga and I rolled into the backpackers hive of San Pedro, located on the Western edge of the lake. A typical tourist style offering with bars and restaurants of varying quality, the town itself is about par for the course for what you'd expect around here. The lake and the views however are something totally different and well worth more than the day that we spent there. 

Lago de Atitlan - Guatemala

Lago de Atitlan - Guatemala

Lago de Atitlan - Guatemala

Our greatest accomplishment during our stay was doing a kayak out on the lake, which unfortunately coincided with an uninvited amount of grey skies, cold weather and the hint of drizzle.

Blended guacamole on a bed of unnaturally green 'something' - happy quesadilla time - Lago de Atitlan - Guatemala

Lago de Atitlan - Guatemala

It's unfortunate on our part that we didn't give Lago de Atitlan more of an opportunity in terms of hikes, circumnavigation, time on the lake and discovering the towns that hug its shore.

Pretty, appealing, engaging. This is a place where a return needs to happen for us, its just too good a place not to discover fully.

Antigua (Guatemala) - Finding the 'Melbourne of Central America'

ANTIGUA (GUATEMALA)
16 February - 18 February 2017

Guatemala imbued me with a sense of unease and fear. Inoculated with the biases of their ardent neighbours, the answer to the initial question of ‘where we’d be travelling next’, (Guatemala), would often be met with the response, ‘Cuidado, Guatemala es muy peligroso’. Admittedly this related more to the capital Guatemala city than anywhere else in the country, but you know what they say about mud, it sticks.

Arriving in Antigua after the dusk, we were in the ‘witching hours’. It’s the term I associate with arrival at a new destination when all things you believe to be sinister about a place are hidden in a cloak of darkness, just waiting to threaten and harm.

Antigua - Guatemala

Antigua - Guatemala

Antigua - Guatemala

Taco time! Getting close to Mexico, taking in a taco treat - Antigua - Guatemala

So what is Antigua really about?

Cobblestone lined streets, beautifully vibrant and coloured colonial buildings, ancient Spanish baroque style architecture whose unique character and charm has of course prompted this city to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Then, when you get to accepting the beauty of the city itself you discover a nightlife like no other we encountered in Central America. There’s a bar scene here that reminds me of both the quality and style of Melbourne, speakeasies that could be picked up and translated to any other capital in the world. Great restaurants and casual eateries. Here was yet another Central American surprise packet of gravity.

The bars in this town are seriously cool - speakEASAAAY - Antigua - Guatemala

Antigua - Guatemala

Antigua - Guatemala

Antigua - Guatemala

We have you surrounded

If this city were the main protagonist in a hold-up then it would be in trouble. This gorgeous little town is dwarfed by the main players in the landscape, Fuego, one of the most active volcanoes in Central America and constantly billowing smoke from days of internalised frustration can be viewed from a park at Cerro de La Cruz.  Fuego probably occupies a space in every second Instagram photo of this great city, but hey, you play to your strengths.

Antigua - Guatemala

Antigua - Guatemala

Antigua - Guatemala

The lesson learned

Biases, fear and anxiety, they’re constructs of the mind. Fear is what you allow yourself to feel. Inga and I have travelled all over the world and have probably been more fearful and at risk in our home environments than any foreign city we’ve been in. I believe more through good management and understanding we’ve not deliberately placed ourselves in situations where we could become victims. I think as a traveller once you become conscious of this is when you really can immerse yourself in a place and enjoy it.  It’s also the point in time that you discover that more the most part, ‘danger’ is just a relative concept.

Central America - 'Because it's there' tour

Central America
15 January - 12 March 2017

Politically tumultuous, chaotic and unfortunate in terms of geography, Central America has been the unfortunate ‘play thing’ of the USA, predominantly in the late 70’s and early 80’s, when Communist revolutions started to spark through most of those countries.

The USA has feared that any victory by Communist forces in those parts would lead to an isolation of South America, where it had ‘other’ interests. Hence it acted as a major protagonist in the Nicaraguan Revolution, Salvadoran Civil War, Guatemalan Civil War and the ongoing manipulation and coercion in Honduras and Panama.

Again, the spike in my interest for Central America came from the awareness of troubled part of the world in between North America and South America. Of course as an early teen I didn’t really understand the root of the conflicts but one moment that made the greatest visual impression on me was the United States invasion of Panama. During this invasion the defacto Panamanian, military and dictator Manuel Noriega was deposed.

So it was with this knowledge and these images that I put the idea forward to Inga for us to do a tour through Central America.

The attraction to this part of the world, admittedly, was never strong. I’d never had an overwhelming desire to visit these countries and neither had Inga, but, the desire for us to travel far outweighs our desire to see a city, country or area, and so we decided to put together a few months of budget travel. We designed a Central America on a shoestring adventure based upon back backing adventures that neither of us had really had and the fact that we thought that Spanish speaking countries as a whole are pretty cool places.

So I bring to you Central America – ‘Because it’s their tour’.