In December 2017, my friend Farrah and I left Calgary for warmer temperatures; as I always do in winter (present year excluded). We left in the middle of a snow storm, so it really couldn’t have been better timing. We were heading to Antigua, Guatemala, for the start of a two and a half week trip with G Adventures, over Christmas and New Years. A similar trip (but in reverse order) can be found here. We flew with Air Mexico, making a stop in Mexico City, before landing in Guatemala City, and taking transportation to Antigua (about an hour away). As with most arranged tours I do, we arrived in Antigua two days before the official start of our tour. I like to do this to get more time in the arrival cities, as sometimes the group will leave the day after the tour begins.
We arrived in Antigua in the afternoon and were dropped off at our hostel, Casa Gitana Hostel & Traveler’s Home. It was tucked behind an old brick wall with a beautiful courtyard. We shared a room with two twin beds, and a private bathroom. It was an amazing, central location and definitely budget friendly, as it cost us about $45CAD each for two nights. We decided to explore the City for the first afternoon, before having dinner that evening. Antigua is a city surrounded by three volcanoes; with one of them being active. It’s a pretty cool thing to look up and see volcanoes everywhere you look! In Guatemala, they use the Guatemalan Quetzal for currency, but you could use USD in some places as well. It will cost you about 15 cents (CAD) for one Guatemalan Quetzal.
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Pupusas, Guatemalan stew, sweets and chiles rellenos with rice and salad.
The next day, we went on a food tour, through Taste Antigua, which I would definitely recommend. I love doing food tours wherever I go, because you always find hidden gems that only locals know about. My favourite thing from the tour was probably the chile relleno (pronounced ra-yay-no), which means, stuffed chile peppers. They can be stuffed with anything (I think) but the main ingredients are beef, rice and vegetables. We also has pupusas, a traditional Guatemalan stew and sweets! The tour was $30USD, and that paid for your food, an English speaking guide and the tour. When we walked around town, our guide told us information about Antigua as well. After the food tour, we explored the town some more and for dinner, we went to a restaurant above the city, where we ended up seeing the active volcano smoking and a small amount of lava coming out!
The next day, we had a tour of the smaller, surrounding villages, including a church/convent, weaving operation and macadamia nut farm. The weaving operation was really interesting to see, and they dressed us in traditional Mayan clothing and told us that each village has different outfits, colours and patterns that the clothes are made from. Once we were finished with the tour, we visited Casa Santo Domingo, which had amazingly beautiful grounds. Next up, we visited the Chocolate Museum, where they gave us some history of the cocao bean and chocolate and then we set off to make our own truffles, from scratch! After this, it was finally time to meet our G Adventures group. There’s always an arrival meeting at the hotel where you meet your guide and the rest of the travelers in your group. We had a big dinner with them, some drinks and then prepared to start the tour the next day.
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Truffle making workshop -
Casa Santo Domingo -
Traditional Mayan clothing
We had a walking tour in the morning with our guide, B, who is originally from Mexico. After this, Farrah and I decided to hike up high above the city for another wonderful view of the city during the day. It was hot as hell, but we made it to the top, and the views were definitely worth it! Our first inclusion of the trip was a salsa lesson, and thankfully, I don’t have any photos or videos of that, as I’m sure it was quite terrible to watch. I always say that non-Latin people (specifically, white people) have cement hips, so watching a Latino dancing, and then trying it yourself, never looks the same!
Interesting fact: we saw this statue on a tour, and were informed that the elite Spanish didn’t like that Spanish women we’re giving their babies to Mayan women to breastfeed so they made this fountain to remind them to feed their own babies. The more you know!
The next morning we were leaving for San Juan La Laguna, which is a small community on Lake Atitlan. Here, we were going to stay with a family in their home, which was Christmas Eve. We left our big bags at our hotel in Panajachel, where we would be staying the following night, and just brought an overnight bag with us. We traveled to the village by boat, and met our homestay families upon arrival. The family we stayed with had a separate building for us to stay in, with three beds, but still within their home. The home was partially open, the area where the kitchen and bathroom were located was not fully closed. The bathroom was sort of like an outhouse, as it was made from bricks, with a door; but it flushed, if you took a bucket of water and poured it into the toilet. It’s definitely not a set-up that you’re used to, living in Canada; but that’s part of what travel is about; opening yourself up to new experiences and new cultures. Our family was a family of four; a mom, dad and two of the sweetest little girls. The dad was a coffee farmer and spoke a little bit of English, and Farrah and I spoke a little but of Spanish, so were were able to communicate sufficiently.
After we met our family, we got a tour of the village, as well as a textile demonstration from the local women. The women pick, dye, dry and weave the cotton into beautiful garments. They had a store where you could purchase the goods, and I ended up purchasing a shawl/poncho, which I love. It takes them one week to make a scarf, so it’s definitely a long process, and the pieces are one of a kind! After the demonstration, we went to a presentation about medicinal plants, and the different plants they use to assist with various ailments. It was all very interesting, as they rely a lot on the land and nature to help them when they are sick, and not just a bottle of something from the pharmacy. After the demonstrations, we were taken to the store to buy gifts for our families, which is done on every tour (not just at Christmas time). It’s a way to say thank you for staying in their homes; so we bought useful things, like rice, flour and then a few treats for the kids. Farrah and I also brought some Canada-themed gifts from home, which we gave to our family as well. The little girls especially liked the snow globes we brought! Since it was Christmas Eve, there was a mass at the church (Catholic) and our family invited us to go with them. The entire service was in Spanish, so I didn’t follow along that well, but, I’m Catholic, so the service was sort of similar to an English speaking mass. Most Latin countries that I’ve been to have their large Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve, and not Christmas Day (which is what we do in Canada). After mass, we went back to our homestay and had tamales with them, which is one of their Christmas traditions.
The next morning was an optional hike, which had a 4 a.m. wake up call, to watch the sunrise above the lake. I decided to do this, and the views were worth getting up early. It wasn’t the easiest hike (I’m not outdoorsy or very fit) but it was definitely an experience! Once we saw the sunrise, we hiked back down and it was time to leave. This experience definitely wasn’t a traditional travel experience, it was well worth it. It was great to meet our family and learn about their culture and traditions, while sharing Christmas with them. Once we left, we took a boat to a little restaurant on Lake Atitlan, where we spent Christmas Day in the sun, before heading back to our hotel in Panajachel. For those of you that know me, you know I love the sun and tanning. I decided not to wear sunscreen, because we were only going to be there for a few hours. I guess I didn’t believe that the sun was so much stronger near the equator, but wow, I was so wrong. I got the worst sunburn of my life; I think it was almost purple it was so red. Lesson. Learned.
After burning myself to a crisp, we headed back to Panajachel, where we drew names for “Secret Santa” and then looked around the markets to find something for the person we chose. It was nice to do this, because it was Christmas Day so we could still celebrate. We all picked up some food and drinks, and did our gift exchange. Some people ask me if I miss having a “white Christmas”, meaning, having snow on the ground at Christmas. And my answer is 100% no; I will never miss the snow at any time! After Panajachel, we were off to Rio Dulce. We also took a boat to this destination, and our hotel was basically treehouses in the rainforest, with a pool in the middle that everyone could use. It was super cute! Here we had free time, and there were different options to choose from. You could go kayaking, horseback riding or take a boat ride to Livingston, which was another little village, that has a large Afro-Caribbean population. We chose to hang out at the pool for a little, and then do the boat ride to Livingston. Once we arrived, we walked around the market and hung out by the water. It was a beautiful little spot.
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Our treehouse -
Main pool in Rio Dulce -
Livingston -
Caribbean Sea in Livingston
The next day, we were off to Flores. We had free time here as well, and that afternoon and evening we decided to go on a booze cruise on the lake. We went to a spot where you could go cliff jumping and swimming. Again, I’m not adventurous, but I’ll rarely turn down a booze cruise! Our group partied the night away on the boat, and had an amazing time. We also went to a little bar/club once we returned, which was also really fun. I’ve got plenty of photos of these adventures, but those are better left on my phone! We only stayed one night in Flores, and then we we headed into Belize, with a stop at the Tikal Mayan Ruins (still in Guatemala). Ancient civilizations have always fascinated me; whether it be the Mayans or the Greeks. I just cannot wrap my head around how they built these amazing structures, that have withstood so long, with none of the advancements we have today. It truly is mind blowing.
After the Ruins, we did a land border crossing into Belize. Bye, Guatemala, thanks for the memories! The crossing itself took some time, and then we had to wait for our transportation. Just as a heads up, nothing moves quickly in Belize; we were warned about this beforehand. I am someone who always like to be on time and hates waiting, so this was tough for me, but hey, I’m on vacation, right?In Belize, they speak English, Spanish and also Belize Kriol. You can definitely get by with just English though! If you’re interested, the currency in Belize is the Belize Dollar (BZD), but they also accept American money (USD) as well, so you don’t necessarily have to exchange. Even if you pay with USD, you can still receive change in BZD. 50 cents (USD) will get you one BZD, and about 65 cents (CAD) will get you one BZD. Our first stop in Belize was San Ignacio, where we were going to stay two nights. The first day, we just wandered around, checking everything out. The next day, we had free time and decided to go to more Mayan ruins, Xunantunich, which is Belize’s most visited site. It was a fairly large area, and we explored everything, and even saw a monkey! After the ruins, we went to the iguana sanctuary. Farrah and I are not fans of animals that aren’t fluffy, but we still decided to go. They gave you some information about iguanas and you could hold them and feed them.
The next day was New Year’s Eve, and we were leaving for Caye (pronounced “key”) Caulker, which is an island off of Belize City. We traveled to Belize City from San Ignacio to take a water taxi to Caye Caulker. We didn’t spend any time in Belize City, it was just a departing point for us. Once we arrived and checked into our hotel (right off the beach, yay!) we were taken to our included activity, Bike with Purpose. Here, children from the island took us around on bikes and showed us different spots, including their school. I hadn’t been on a bike in I don’t know how many years, so it was a bit of a struggle for me. One of the kids waited around for me, so I wasn’t left behind. It might not have been too bad, but the “roads” are packed down sand, and there’s no vehicles, but there’s golf carts you have to watch out for! Bike with Purpose is another way that G Adventures supports the communities where they bring travelers; the kids have something to do, that keeps them busy, earns them money, and provides travelers with a “behind the scenes” look at Caye Caulker. After our tour, we stopped at the Lazy Lizard, which is a restaurant/bar on the split. Here we had some “lizard juice” (I think that’s what it was called) which was a delicious, bright green, slushy drink. We were warned that if we had too many, we wouldn’t make it to see midnight! We ended up partying the night away at a bar close to our hotel, and rang in the new year on an island in the Caribbean Sea! Does it get much better than that?
New Year’s Day was spent snorkeling with our group on a catamaran. This was an add on (for about $70 USD per person) and was such a great experience! We snorkeled at Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Coral Gardens and Shark and Ray Alley. At Shark and Ray Alley the water is extremely shallow and there’s nurse sharks there, which are friendly, as well as sting rays. In between snorkeling stops, we lounged on the boat and lunch was also included. I love exploring new countries, but days like these are needed as well. Just relaxing, eating, drinking and soaking up some sun!
The next day we took the water taxi back to Belize City so we could do a fly over tour of the Blue Hole. We went up in a small plane; there were four of us, plus the pilot. He took us on a small tour over the water, showing us different spots, and then we got to the Blue Hole. The Blue Hole was made famous by Jacques Cousteau. It is over 1,000 feet deep and was formed more than one million years ago! It wasn’t the clearest day, but we were still able to see it. I can’t remember the exact cost, as we didn’t include this item in our original budget. The G Adventures itinerary puts it at $50 – $250 USD, so it wasn’t the cheapest option, but something that was different and a once in a lifetime experience.
That night was our last night in Belize, so we decided to celebrate by playing drinking games. We realized that we should probably go for dinner, we we went to a place close to our hotel (to be honest, everything is close, it’s a tiny island). I decided it would be funny to yell “gringo” at all of the white people walking by. Also, I’m white, so I don’t know why I thought it was funny, but the waiters at the restaurant did as well. We also decided to go to the souvenir store to buy “Better Belize It” shirts. Oh, the decisions you make when you’re drinking. Anyways, the next day we were leaving Belize for another land border crossing, this time into Mexico. I haven’t mentioned transportation yet, but in Belize and sometimes in Guatemala, it was public buses, which were basically old school buses, with the luggage piled into the back. Some transportation was private vehicles as well, it really just depended on the area. We all partied a bit too hard for our last night in Belize, so we begged our guide to let us pay for taxis to the Mexican border because we didn’t want to deal with public transportation. Luckily, she agreed, so we all piled into taxis from Belize City. Possibly the best decision we made the entire time! Budget wise, Belize is definitely more expensive than Guatemala was, but it was still reasonable.
After we had our passports stamped, we were off to Mahahual, which was a tiny little village that basically exists for cruise ships. Here, we just had free time for a day and a half, so we spent it on the beach. Our guide told us to make sure to ask for menus in pesos (MXN), because they have separate menus for cruise ship passengers (in USD). It took some convincing, but we ended up with the menu in pesos. You were also able to rent beach chairs, but we told him we would spend on food and drinks, so we got our chairs for free. The restaurant/bar we were at all day took a photo of our group, and they ended up putting it on a shot glass, which of course I bought. For people that know me, they know I have a collection of over 250 shot glasses from around the world. Personalized ones like this are even better! After we left Mahahual, we stopped for lunch at Lago Bacalar (Lake of the Seven Colours), obviously named for the seven different colours of blue in the lake.
The final stop on our tour was Playa del Carmen, where we once again had free time. There were optional activities, like vising Tulum, but I had already been there once when vacationing in the Riviera Maya previously. We also decided to stay one more night after the tour finished, so we could get another beach/relaxing day. We just booked an additional night at the hotel from the tour, so we didn’t need to check out or anything. Our hotel was probably a 10 or so minute walk from the beach, so it was in a pretty good location. On our last night as a group, we had the option to go to Coco Bongo, but most of us chose to go to a club downtown and get bottle service. I would definitely recommend bottle service in Mexico if you want to try it, as it’s super affordable. I’ve been to places like Vegas, where it’s thousands of dollars, and it’s much cheaper in Mexico (obviously). There were a bunch of us, and we each got different bottles, but I think for three of us to share a bottle of Grey Goose with bottle service, it was maybe $40 USD each. You get great service (your drink is never empty) and I even got led through the crowd after leaving our table to go to the washroom. The place was absolutely packed, and one of the waiters noticed me having some issues getting through the crowd, so he just grabbed my hand and escorted me through the crowd. I felt super boujee at this point.
As usual with G Adventures and most vacations I take, this trip was super fun and we made a lot of great memories. All in, I would say I spent around $1,700 CAD for spending money, including food, booze, activities, tips, extra hotel nights, etc. The flight we booked was just over $700, but I used my credit cards points to pay for most of it. The G Adventures trip was just over $1,700, which included transportation, hotels, our guide and some activities. Overall, you’re probably looking at spending around $4,000. I would definitely recommend this trip if you’re looking to visit a few different countries in Central America (especially if you’re nervous to go on your own) and I’m always satisfied with G Adventures trips. The trip I linked at the beginning is slightly different than what we did, but it’s close enough that you’ll still experience most or all of we did, and a few different things too!
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