Welcome to Guatemala!

At 7 AM, we were picked up. Today, we continue our journey to Guatemala. We have a bus ride of 6-8 hours ahead of us. It’s a bit tricky to figure out exactly how long it’ll take, so it’ll be a surprise when we finally arrive. We’ve been in touch with a travel agency in Xela, Guatemala, that organizes trips up to Central America’s highest volcano, Tajumulco, and its highest point. That’s where we’re headed now. It’s going to be an exciting and challenging experience. We’ll be going with 21 other people, so it’s quite a large group. It costs 400 quetzales per person, all-inclusive—warm clothes, shoes, food, tents, sleeping bags, etc. The border crossing from Mexico to Guatemala was quite an adventure. There were 7 of us in our little minibus. Two of us had to pay to leave Mexico. Two others didn’t get a stamp in their passports when leaving Mexico, so they had to pay to enter Guatemala. Luckily, we all made it through both border crossings without any issues. Around 3:30 PM, we finally arrived in Xela, which is a small town without many major attractions. We’re staying at Casa de Argentina (60 quetzales for a double room), where there are plenty of other travelers to get good advice from. In Guatemala, it’s not advisable to go out in the evenings. Being outside a hostel or hotel after 9 PM is generally discouraged. However, it wasn’t too late yet, so we headed down to the town to explore and withdraw some cash. A couple of weeks ago, Guatemala had some serious money problems... or rather, a lack of it. All the banks ran out of cash, so there was a huge money production going on. That’s over now, and the banks have money again. You can only withdraw a maximum of 600 quetzales at a time, but at least you get all brand new bills! :)