Guatemala and Nicaragua Adventure
I recently returned from a trip to Guatemala and Nicaragua—two countries I had never visited before, marking numbers 84 and 85 on my total count. I’ve wanted to visit Guatemala for years to see the volcanoes and the history of Antigua. As for Nicaragua, I wanted to go for one reason only: to sit on a board and go down a volcano. I saw it on Instagram a few years ago and knew I had to do it one day. After finding some great airfares, it was finally time to go.
Guatemala—land of the volcanoes. I took a nonstop flight from Orlando to Guatemala City on Spirit, which was pleasant. It’s always nice traveling nonstop. I was going to spend four nights in the city of Antigua. I took a shuttle from Guatemala City to Antigua, which took an hour and a half. The traffic around the airport and city is pretty bad; the driver said sometimes it can take up to three hours.
The city of Antigua dates back to the 1500s. Its brick streets and colonial architecture are renowned. In 1979, UNESCO declared the city a Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The main square is tranquil, with many shops around and people going about their everyday lives. On one side of the main square is the San José Cathedral Antigua, dating back to the 1600s, which was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1773 and partially rebuilt. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go inside. On the other side of the square is the Museo Nacional de Arte de Guatemala, showcasing Guatemalan art and history. It also has some very nice European art.
I was very lucky to have nice weather all the days I was there. Walking around the city of Antigua is very enjoyable and easy to do. Some other notable places I saw were the San Francisco el Grande Church from the 1700s. The day I was roaming around, there was a wedding going on. I went up to the second story in the back of the church and watched part of an Indian wedding for a little bit. I also spent some time around the Arco de Santa Catalina, Antigua’s most iconic landmark dating back to the 17th century. Back in the day, it connected a convent and a school. At nighttime, the arch lights up and you can get some amazing photos of it.
The food in Antigua was amazing. They have a dish called Pepián, which is a thick stew with meat and vegetables, sometimes with fish. La Casa de las Sopas was a really good restaurant for Pepián.
The first day trip I did was to see the Pacaya Volcano. There is another one that a lot of people do, but it’s an overnight trip—that’s Acatenango, where you can see great eruptions. I’ll have to do it next time. The drive to get to the base of Pacaya took about an hour and 20 minutes. They said it was about a 45-minute to one-hour hike, or we could take a horse up. I decided to take the horse up and then walk down. I hadn’t ridden a horse in many years, and by the time we got to where we were going, my legs were killing me. We reached a big opening, and in front of us was Pacaya Volcano. To the right in the distance were three volcanoes, one being Fuego, which we could see erupting—it looked like smoke since it was far away. We walked to an area that looked like a vent in the ground. The tour guide handed us marshmallows, and we put them inside to cook, which was pretty cool. As we were heading down, we stopped to see the sunset over the volcanoes. This was easily one of the best sunsets I’ve seen around the world. Altogether, it was a very enjoyable day trip.
The second day trip I did was exploring Lake Atitlán. We drove nearly three hours to Panajachel, where we caught our first glimpse of the lake. Lake Atitlán is a stunning volcanic lake surrounded by volcanoes and colorful villages along the shore. We got in a boat to visit two villages: Santiago Atitlán and San Pedro La Laguna. Taking the boat around the lake was amazing—it was a perfect day with the sun beaming off the water. Our first stop was San Pedro La Laguna. We visited a chocolate shop and walked around admiring the street art. With shops selling everything from art to souvenir knickknacks, it was an enjoyable place to wander. The second stop was Santiago Atitlán, where we went up to a viewpoint overlooking the lake and surrounding volcanoes. I visited the Catedral Metropolitana de Santiago de Guatemala and Saint James the Apostle Church, dating back to the 1500s. After some wandering, it was time to head back to Antigua. This was a beautiful day trip and a great way to see Lake Atitlán if you only have one day.
The following day, it was time to head back to Guatemala City and fly home. Again, it took about an hour and a half to get to the airport. The traffic in the city center heading to the airport is no joke. Guatemala exceeded my expectations—a place I would love to return to someday, especially to visit the Mayan ruins in the north. I’m glad I got the chance to visit this country. Nicaragua came onto my radar about three years ago when I saw people on Instagram going down a volcano on a board—volcano boarding. After seeing that, I knew I had to do it someday. I had heard parts of Nicaragua can be dangerous, but the capital and León, where you do the volcano boarding, aren’t too bad.
I flew from Fort Lauderdale to Managua, the capital, on Spirit Airlines, which took around two and a half hours. I stayed at a Hyatt about fifteen minutes south of the city center. The first day, I didn’t do much exploring—just walked to a mall area and had dinner.
The next day, I took a tour to see Granada and Masaya Volcano. Granada is about an hour from Managua and sits next to Lake Cocibolca, also known as Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America. I took a boat tour around the lake and saw some monkeys in the trees, which was pretty cool. The city center of Granada looked very similar to Antigua Guatemala. After about half an hour of exploring, we headed to the volcano. Masaya Volcano is a 635-meter-high volcano that has been in an eruptive state since 2015. When I got there, I only saw small gas emissions. My driver told me the volcano usually shows lava at night, and I was there around 3 p.m., so I missed it. I was a bit bummed, but there’s always next time.
The next day, I took a shuttle from Managua to León, which took around two hours. Before leaving, I visited the city center. To get around Managua, it’s either taxis or InDrive, which is like Uber but cash only. In the city center, there’s the Santiago of Managua Cathedral, built in 1938, which was heavily damaged in the 1972 earthquake and is no longer open to the public. A newer cathedral was built in the early 1990s. The bus to León took a little longer than expected, which is pretty normal in Central America—things aren’t always on time, and traffic can be unpredictable. In León, I stayed at Bigfoot Hostel and got my own room. I had heard it was a party hostel, so I was curious to see what it was like. The walls were covered with large passport stamps, which looked pretty cool.
In the center of the city is the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the largest cathedral in Central America, dating back to the 18th century. Another must-see is the Ortiz-Gurdián Foundation Art Center, housed in two buildings with both local and international (including European) art. I was surprised by what they had in the museum.
Finally, the day arrived to go volcano boarding. I have done a lot of Adventure sports and different things. I am always looking for new and exciting things to do. There were about forty of us, and we all got on a school bus—but this was no ordinary school bus. There were two poles inside, and I quickly realized it would be a party bus to and from the volcano. The volcano is called Cerro Negro. I looked at the board I’d be riding down—it didn’t look like much. I paid $5 for one of the guides to carry it up. It took a little over an hour to hike up to the starting point. One by one, people started going down. I was the last to go. At first, it wasn’t too bad, but near the end there was a section where there was no slowing down. In my mind, I was just hoping I wouldn’t fall off and go tumbling—that would have hurt a lot. In the end, I made it down without falling. I loved every second of it.
We watched the sunset, then headed to dinner, which was included. That’s when the music came on and the drinks started flowing. After getting back to the hostel, I couldn’t wait to take a shower—I had black dust everywhere. Sitting there with a beer, listening to people do karaoke, I was reminded why I travel. It’s for moments like this. How often do you get to say, “Oh, by the way, I went volcano boarding today”?
The next day, I flew home. Overall, Nicaragua was good, but I’m not sure I’d go back. Maybe—but I’m not as eager to return as I am with Guatemala. Nicaragua was country number 85… let’s see where the wind takes me next.
