I visited two gyms in my month in Guatemala. The first was in Xela, the second biggest city in Guatemala and the second was in Antigua. Xela There are a few options for gyms in Xela. I usually try running outdoors if I can but sometimes it’s not always safe or the streets aren’t runner friendly. I didn’t find Xela runner friendly although there is a running track at the complejo deportivo. It has a standard size track, soccer pitch, baseball field, tennis courts, basketball courts, swimming pool, and climbing wall. The track, fields, and courts are free to use, but the pool and climbing wall have monthly fees. Complejo is open 6am to 6pm during the week. On Saturdays they open 6am until 12pm and are closed Sundays. They have reduced hours Saturday, 6am to 12pm, and are closed Sunday. There are always people put running and there is security on the gate so it’s very safe. Gyms Gimnasio Shaddi– this was the first gym I checked out as it was the cheapest and near my house. On further inspection I decided that would not be where I would choose…
I’m aware there are certainly more gyms than one gym in Belize but that’s all I managed to check out. Oasis Fitness Gym and Cafe in Hopkins is the one and only gym I visited. It is a small gym and has a good cafe serving sandwiches, salads, juices and protein shakes. Upstairs the gym had cardio equipment and downstairs was a small weights room but had a squat rack, a bench press, kettlebells, dumbbells and a few other weighted machines. I was the only person there that morning so I had no issue with the small weights area. It was $24 BZ/ $12 US for a day pass. Its opening hours are 06.00-19.00 everyday apart from Sundays when they close at 13.00. I tried to find a gym in Caye Caulker and I was told there is none. There is one located on the bigger island of San Pedro. Whilst in San Ignacio I saw a gym but didn’t have time to go. Needless to say on the smaller cayes there is no gym. Make your own with the beach and the sea…
I like to keep fit, it’s mainly so I can eat all the amazing food but also I like how it makes me feel. I give up all hope of maintaining and shread of abdominal definition the minute I get on a plane and tuck into bags of the free peanuts on board. I know people might think its crazy to go to the gym on holidays but I’m not exactly on a two week holiday where I can resume my normal exercise schedule when I get home. I love hiking and keeping active when I’m away and rack up over 15,000 steps on an average day when I’m travelling. Most days its closer to 20,000 but for those days it’s not, I like to find a gym and try out some usually archaic equipment and watch some hilarious aerobics classes from the squat rack, providing there is one. I’ve written a little review of the gyms I’ve tried along my travels. If there is a gym I usually will seek it out and give it a go even once…
Antigua is a foodies dream. It’s a hub for backpackers and tourists so it caters for all and has all types of cuisine. Here are a list of some of the restaurants I tried and that I would recommend. Amanecer juice bar– I was so happy to see iced or hot matcha lattes on the menu. Lovely small juice bar doing coffees, teas, protein smoothies, juices, acai bowls and wraps right opposite Bigfoot Hostel. Good for a healthy snack, drink, breakfast or lunch. Tienda La Canche – this came recommended by a friend and by the lonely planet. To be honest I was very underwhelmed. It was a table at the back someone’s house and was insanely cheap but the food wasn’t great. They had one option on the menu, a chicken stew but by the time it was my turn to order there was none left so I beans and rice with tortillas. Standard Guatemalan dinner! Good for a budget backpacker and hopefully you’ll be in luck with their speciality. Cafe Boheme-this is a really cute cafe that is run by a French lady. It caters for vegans and…
Antigua is a small colonial city surrounded by volcanoes about an hour drive from Guatemala City. Antigua is a picture perfect city with its cobbled streets, colourful buildings and historical churches all with the back drop of a volcano to make it an insta worthy city. It is my favourite place in Guatemala and maybe it shouldn’t be due to the high volume of tourists and that is very westernised but I loved it. Each building is a cookie cutter colonial building painted in vibrant colours. Simply put, the first word the springs to mind when you visit Antigua is cute. It has a vibrant bar scene, good restaurants and great artesian markets. It is relatively cheap but more expensive compared to San Pedro or Xela. Anituga has good bus connections to other parts of the country and internationally to El Salvador, Mexico, Hondouras and Nicaragua. Antigua is heaving with backpackers and has so many great options to sleep, eat and party. Ten things to do in Antigua: Visit the Arco de Santa Catalina. The backdrop to this famous arch is a volcano which can be seen on a clear day. Best time to go is early in…
There are two ways to get from Xela to Lake Atitlan, by taking a shuttle for about an hour and a half or the best way in my opinion, hiking the 46km through the countryside surrounded by volcanos. Of course I opted for the 2 night 3 day multi day trek. I had heard great things about this physically challenging hike and it turned out to be the highlight of my month in Guatemala. The cost of the trek is 750 Q and 100 Q for the bag drop. This includes everything from breakfast the first morning to lunch on the third day, except a beer or ice cream on the second day. I did the trek with Quetzaltrekkers, the only non-profit, all volunteer-run trekking and outdoors association in Guatemala. 100% of the profits goes to support a school and provide housing for children who would otherwise be working and living on the streets in Xela. The trek runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays only so plan your time in Xela accordingly. The night before the hike we met at the Quetzaltrekkers office at 6pm for a pre departure meeting. In the group we were 22 participants and 4…
Acatenanago is the second highest peak to Tajumulco (4220 m) in all of Central America standing at 3976 m. When in Guatemala there are so many volcanos to hike you could just spend two to three weeks hiking volcano after volcano. Acatenango is THE volcano to hike when visiting Antigua due to the base being only a 30 minute drive from the city. The hike is a two day one night hike where you set off in the morning from Antigua, arrive to base camp which is typically 1-2 hours from the summit, spend the night the camping at base camp and then hike up to the summit early for sunrise before descending. I had been recommended by several travellers I met along the way to book through Soy tours. They are definitely one of the cheaper tours and one of the better from what I heard from other people’s experiences. The tour including the entrance fee for the volcano was 350 Q (€37) which included all food, accommodation for the night, transport to and from your hostel in Antigua, guides and cold weather equipment/clothes. I had been warned it is extremely cold at the summit…
I had been warned that travelling through central and South America for seven months was going to be challenging without Spanish and I would get so much more from my experience if I spoke Spanish. Booking flights to go on is trip with a month before departure didn’t leave me much time to start learning a new language. I studied french in school, what a stupid idea! Unless you want to live in France or Quebec, it’s not exactly a language you can travel with. I downloaded FluentU and started on my quest to learn conservational Spanish. I didn’t get too far with it, landing in Mexico I was able to say ‘mi nombre es Sari’ and ‘yo soy una mujer’ (I am a women. Which I hope was pretty obvious). After two weeks in Guatemala I realised my duo Spanglish would need some extra assistance and that people really don’t speak any English. I read about Xela, Guatemala’s second largest city behind Guatemala city, also known as Quetzaltenango. It’s known for its cheap Spanish classes and home stay and also its surrounding volcanos…
Guatemala stole my heart from the first town we visited. It is such a diverse country, home to rain forests, volcanoes, beaches, colonial cities and Mayan ruins. Despite being flagged as a bit of a risky country safety wise for travelers I’ve always felt safe in Guatemala during my month stint in this multi faceted country. Route: Getting there: We caught a collectivo from the Guatemalan border after coming in from Belize. Collectivos are little mini vans that cost next to nothing and the main aim seems to be to see how many people can be fitted into a 16 seater mini bus. Last count was 31. Top tip- sit on a single seat if you can, less chances of more people trying to pile onto your seat, although there’s a high chance you may be thrown a child to hold on your lap for the journey. The collectivo from the border to Flores cost 30Q (€3) and was about two and a half hours. After that we hopped into a Tuk Tuk for ten minutes to bring us to our hostel in Flores. Flores Flores is a quaint and picturesque colonial town located on a…
I would consider myself to be well travelled and savy on what one would need for any type of trip, be it a winter in the Alps, a weekend in Ibiza or a treking holiday but I really struggled when it came to packing for what could be a year in all times of climates, occassions and activities…