I recently came back from an amazing adventure travel experience in Guatemala and Honduras with my family.
In two short weeks we visited four distinct regions. Antigua, Lake Attitlan, Copan Ruinas in Honduras, and finally the summit of Volcan Acatenango.
I got reacquainted with a small city I visited 21 years ago, remembering the amazing architecture dating back to the 1500’s. We stayed in boutique hotels and guest houses as comfortable as anything here but with beautiful courtyards filled with plants and flowers we pay big bucks for here.
I met amazing people from all over the world, including so many friendly and supportive Guatemalans and Hondurans. My daughter got to continue her practice in becoming fluent in Spanish and I even took another step forward with my speaking it too.
We hiked… a lot, did yoga overlooking lush gardens and Lake Attitlan, ate in a community meal setting with other travellers, sampled local specialties, visited villages around the lake via water taxi and the largest outdoor market in Central America in Chichicastenango. That was wild, not to mention the “chicken buses” to get back to the lake.
In Honduras we toured the Copan Mayan ruins, saw Scarlet Macaws up close in the wild and then visited Macaw Mountain. A rescue sanctuary for injured birds, those taken for the illegal pet trade, and those returned by people not realizing they live from 60 to 100 years in captivity. They do a wonderful job in caring for and releasing those they can, back into the wild periodically. We saw 3 different colours of Macaws, 3 types of toucans, owls, vultures, parakeets, another other birds.
In Honduras we also did tree canopy zipline… 14 in all, including one upside down! To top off that area we visited a thermal natural hot springs. Once again amazing people and an amazing place… and boy was the jungle hot.
The grand finale though was our last two days. The hike up Volcan Acatenango to over 13,000 feet at basecamp. That, in itself, was quite the adventure. At basecamp we were met with our first views of Volcan Fuego erupting very close by. Into the darkness of the evening it erupted every 20-30 minutes giving us an amazing show, even while lying in bed and looking out the glass side of the cabin.
A 4:00AM final trek up 1200 more feet to the summit gave a breathtaking sunrise and a more of a show from Fuego. One of the hardest things I have ever done… and one of the most rewarding.
It was an absolutely amazing experience that I would recommend to anyone with an adventurous soul.
So what’s my point? Why am I writing this? It’s not just to share about two amazing countries. In reflecting on this I recalled my trip of 21 years ago to Guatemala and Belize and remembered how it almost never happened. Then I realized the same thing almost happened again this time. And the reasons are the same that can limit you too… in future travel opportunities AND in business opportunities too.
Here’s what I learned.
