Guatemala

Two shiny new Ford transporter vans stop along the side of a white cement road and nearly 30 passengers pile out and reformulate into the small groups everyone came with. Dani and I stand off to the side and observe with some shock the other tourists in the group. A group of Brazilians (both female and male) in tank-tops, short-shorts and movie-star sunglasses and several girls in short-ish skirts. Before you start thinking Dani and I to be very prude (standing there in our long pants, closed toe shoes and jackets), we should explain that our tour was taking place in traditional Mayan villages outside of San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. The agency had mentioned that we should wear appropriate clothes out of respect to the villagers – advice apparently very few of us chose to heed.

Lake Atitlán has been described as the most beautiful lake in the world. No matter where you visit, the views are stunning – the sprawling lake, the green mountains and the looming giant of San Pedro Volcano.

The Globetrottergirls love street food, and we spent our time hunting for the best veggie options in Guatemala. Read on for our best-of summary, and omnivores need not worry – we’ve included meat options too.

October 30th marked our 6-month travel anniversary, and the six-month marker seemed the right time to take a look at our expenses so far – including how much we have spent, where the money went, and what our average per day spend has been in each country.

It’s not like I woke up one morning with the burning desire to climb an active volcano, but in a country like Guatemala, with more than 30 volcanoes (many of them active), volcano climbing is the norm.

Semuc Champey is a series of natural ponds 300m (985ft) above the Cahabon river in the region of Verapaz in Guatemala. The natural limestone bridge above the rushing rapids below houses cascading pools connected by several mini-waterfalls.

No matter how well you know a place, there is always so much more to discover. Though Jess lived here for two years, the 10 wonderful weeks we spent in Guatemala in 2010 led to some of our most magnificent discoveries and experiences of our travels so far. Read on for a list of 33 things, in no particular order, we absolutely love about Guatemala.

300 days on the road… almost exactly 10 months of backpacking! Looking back on Day 1 arriving in Las Vegas back in April to where we are now, we still can not believe how much life, experience, adventure – and work! – we have been able to squeeze into these 300 days.

In 300 days of travel, we have had some amazing ups and disappointing downs, and share with you here our top & flop moments, travel mishaps, favorite experiences and travel recommendations.

Visiting one of Guatemala’s colorful cemeteries is a learning experience like no other.