Day 64 - Return to Guatemala

22nd March, 2009

Following our quick peak into El Salvador, amidst the national elections, we safely crossed the border back into Guatemala. We made it all the way to a town called Antigua, nestled between 3 volcanoes this stunning little town isn't as touristy as we'd feared, and has a bounty of gastronomic delights to indulge in - a rare experience on this trip.

Picturesque scene in Antigua.

We checked into a decent hotel in a busy part of the old town. Following breakfast we had discovered that someone had broken into Herbie during the night, right outside our hotel on a well-lit street! Some bastard had smashed the small side window, wound down the main window to gain access, and pillaged our vehicle. They stole Lukas' swimsuit, towel, coat and two beers from the back, and from the glove box; my gloves, and the facia to our stereo that we kept there. They must have been in a rush or disturbed as they attempted to remove the head-unit too, but the single screw holding it in place was obviously too much and they gave up.

We were absolutely gutted and felt violated. After breakfast we ventured back through town to a car garage we passed the day before where we spotted another beetle in the yard (rare to find!). They wouldn't butcher the car we spotted (think they were restoring it for a friend) but they managed to find possibly the only spare Beetle side-window in the city, possibly the country. We couldn't believe our luck and got the window repaired instantly!

While it was being repaired we wondered around a nearby market where we encountered a hifi stand selling car audio equipment. We purchased a replacement stereo - a $20 tape deck!

Our fancy new stereo.

It's the most hilarious stereo I've ever seen; it is made from silver-effect plastic and even has 5 genuinely fake/non-functioning buttons to help it look cooler. But it's cheap, works, and has a line-input so we can now play my iPod through it; a luxury we only dreamed of until now. After collecting the car I wired it up straight away, and we were back on track, as if the break-in never happened. Perhaps even better off?

Wiring up the stereo using nothing more than a pen-knife and some gaffa tape.

The afternoon we had booked ourselves onto a Volcano tour, scaling the tallest and most active one in the region; Volcan Pacaya (2552m / 8373 ft). The hike up took about 1.5 hours, with some stunning views along the way.

Stunning views from atop the volcano.

As we approached the summit, the distant smoke emanating from the come became smell-able and the movement of this active volcano visible. We were promised lava, and boy did they deliver! We were actually standing on Lava! The outer-layers had solidified, but just inches below you could see and feel the molten rock glow and move freely. Holes and cracks allowed you to see inside to the red-hot glowing lava, as we took each step carefully over the brittle glass-like folds of previous spills that coasted this landscape.

Roasting a mash-mellow over lava!

The heat coming from the lava was incredible, so much so we roasted mash-mellows on sticks from a small distance. The smell of peoples shoes slowly melting under the heat was everywhere, and walking over it felt like wearing heated slippers. We must have stayed there for at least an hour in sheer awe of this amazing natural phenomenon, I even got to poke molten lava with a stick (more viscous than anticipated!), and pick pieces up that recently fell from a cascading line and cooled in the air with incredible speed.

Poking lava with a stick. Brilliant!

The experience was amazing - something I´m glad we did, as I doubt any other country with the slightest health & safety concerns would not allow such proximity. No one was directly injured by the environment, however, sadly, and disturbingly, one poor 29 year old American chap keeled over and died from a heart attack right behind us on the walk there! Seemingly healthy and not having any difficulty with the hike, he appeared to just slip and roll down a hill. But when a doctor in our group rushed over to check his status, she confirmed him dead. We couldn't believe it.

We hiked back down the volcano in the dark (which was amusing), and got our lift back to town in the tour group minibus. The ride was the scarcest bit! Guatemalan drivers are completely mental, and only having witnessed their behaviour from the outside before, we were now incredibly glad we had a car, despite the mornings unfortunate incident.

That night we parked Herbie in a secure car park! What an incredible and bizarre day of highs and lows!

The following morning we left for a lake further west in the country, named Lago Atitlan. Updated visual journey map (to come soon). Once here we explored two small villages that lay around it's shore, exploring back streets and seeing how the people there lived. In the evening we ventured back to a town called San Lucas where we ate our last Guatemalan meal listening to Spanish Abba, as the following morning we would be leaving the country and heading for Mexico.

A friendly local girl, 16, who we met in town.

We arose early to ensure we'd make the huge distance. Once at the border, our 8th and final border crossing with Herbie, things went incredibly smoothly, and after a total of 9 hours driving we arrived back in San Cristobel de la Casas, in Chiapas, a town we visited with Petr over 6 weks ago! Updated visual journey map (to come soon).

We're back here to fix our love bug up a little, make her look good enough to want to buy and try and get as much of our money back as possible. She's taken us 7,500 km (4660 miles) around central America and stayed in one piece. We wish we didn't have to sell the old girl, but unfortunately have little choice. Lets hope this final task all goes smoothly.

More pictures from Lukas.