Adventures in Guatemala: A Much Needed Reset

I’m back from a much needed (and deserved I might add!) vacation in Guatemala with my best friends and my boyfriend. It was the reset I needed and now I’m slowly getting back into the groove of things. For the past 5 years, one of my goals has been to travel to one new place each year. I’ve lived in Dallas all my life and after a 3 month stint in Beijing for a study abroad program, I caught the wanderlust bug and have continued to keep that promise to myself ever since.

In Antigua watching the volcano Fuego spew clouds of ashes. I love this photo of us.

Guatemala is such a gorgeous country and the timing was perfect. My friend’s incredibly hospitable family made the trip an amazing one. We visited Guatemala City, Lake Atitlan, Antigua, and the San Jose black sand beach while we were there. Ugh… I miss it. We flew in on Saturday and spent our first two days in a small city called Panjachel next to Lake Atitlan. It’s breathtaking. The lake is surrounded by 3 volcanoes and we took every opportunity to enjoy it. Kayaking, cliff jumping, boat tours to the different cities around the lake and more. Check out the short video I put together of that weekend (sans the ziplining. Coming soon!). I loved how active we were on this trip. You chould say, we all definitely got in our steps.

So many great memories. We cliff jumped from 35 feet and it was exhilarating and also scary as hell. I did it twice.  We also hiked up the Atitlan reservation, saw monkeys, and zip lined 8+ times back down the mountain.

Not to mention, how amazing the food was. From home cooking to street vendors, everything was fresh and and delicious. The foodie in me was crying on the inside with joy to be able to try a different cuisine. And the coffee… oh don’t get me started. If there was ever a coffee snob in me before, there sure is one now.

We also traveled a short distance to Antigua, one of the oldest cities in Guatemala known for its preserved Spanish/colonial architecture.

Famous arch with a gorgeous backdrop of a volcano.

“Central park”

The main cathedral.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting the Finca Filadefia coffee plantation that has been around since 1870. The day was absolutely beautiful and we took a short tour on mules around the plantation. I learned that it is family run and currently the fourth generation is overseeing production. I assure you, I left with almost 10 bags of coffee. Should last me till the next trip right? For the tour, my mule’s name is Chato. He definitely liked stopping to munch on coffee beans.

My mule’s name was Chato. He was definitely a feisty one…

We decided to end the trip by spending our last days in a beach house near the San Jose beach. I’ve never been to a black sand beach and this was such a treat. The water was blue and warm. Couldn’t get enough.

Our beach house’ backyard. Feeling tropical.

I think what I enjoyed most about this trip was being unplugged most of the time. As a blogger, I find that I love and hate how plugged in I am at times and it was nice being able to enjoy moments. I loved the simplicity of that feeling. It felt good to have things put into perspective. I have a tendency to put a lot of pressure on myself to make things happen at work, with the blog, with my life. I need more moments where I can just sit back and not even think about the next thing on my to-do list. This was the perfect trip for my sanity and I’m so glad I was able to spend it with people I love. It was such a blast!

Coming back home, I’m refreshed and humbled by my experiences in Guatemala. I feel incredibly grateful for what I have and can’t gush enough about how amazing Guatemala is to visit. I’ve sated my wanderlust for now, but I’m already planning my next destination.