Antigua,  Guatemala

first 24 hours in earth lodge (guatemala)

jojo:
what do i like?
-the peacefulness and relaxed vibe.  it’s so quiet here, the only sounds you can hear throughout the nights
-fuego has been very active since we’ve been here and spewed lava at least six times last night.
-a two hour hike through the lush hills surrounding our lodge got us up to a few viewpoints and through many farming fields

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rolling hills as far as the eye can see
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we’ve seen so many unique flowers down here
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a look down at the valleys

what do i dislike?
-spiders.  holy. freaking. spiders.

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One landed on jojo’s head. Haha was too busy documenting this momentous occasion to help get the spider off.

what do i like/dislike about the new accomodations?
-we’re staying in a treehouse.  a TREEHOUSE!  a two-level treehouse!
-staying at la isla verde prepared us a little for the rusticness of eco lodge.  our bathroom is outside of our cabin but is private.  it’s like glamping but… well yeah, it’s glamping.  and we’re not afraid to admit it.
-the views.  we have a clear shot of volcanos fuego and acetenango from our pillows and from the breakfast table, can also see volcano agua and antigua.

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this is what $35/night gets you in guatemala
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avocados growing outside of our cabin

biggest adjustments from the previous stop?
-milder weather with quite a few winds at night time since we’re at a higher elevation than antigua.  probably the most similar climate to vancouver than anywhere we’ve been so far even though we’re only 30 minute from antigua.  i’m digging this weather more than the sticky, humid environment of the peten district (flores & tikal)
-out of the four groups of people staying here, one couple lives a block from where we used to live in vancouver, one pair of sisters is from other areas of bc and another group of friends are whistler locals.  one of the volunteers is also from bellingham, washington.  the pacific northwest is representing hard up here!

what was our first meal?
-a fatass 50/50 (1/2 beef, 1/2 pork) burger with a fried egg on top.  after spending 10 1/2 hours on an overnight bus from flores, this sucker tasted so good even though it was more meat than i’ve eaten in a week.  the eco lodge serves up a vegetarian dinner so both of us thought it’d be a good idea to load up on bloody protein.

overall impressions?
-love it here.  earth lodge is less than a 30 minute shuttle ride from antigua but is a completely different experience.  it’s quiet but a different kind of quiet from lake atitlan.  i woke up to the sound of avocados being harvested from in front of our cabin.  our first dinner was possibly the first 100% vegetarian meal i’ve ever had.  from the quiche to the beer bread, it was so delicious, i forgot i was eating plant matter.  there’s not a whole lot else going on here and that’s just perfect.  if i haven’t said it before, guatemala is beautiful and it’s no wonder that every travelblog i’ve read has fallen in love with the country.

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rufus! one of the three resident doges here and he loves to hike!
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volcano fuego and acentango during dusk. if you squint hard enough, you can see a little bit of lava spouting out of fuego

haha:
what do i like?

It’s nice to be in one spot where all the days’ activities can be done from one spot without having to hop on a shuttle. Since we’ve arrived, we hiked and I’ve done yoga in the morning. We eat all our meals here so there’s not a lot of brain power involved other than deciding what we want for breakfast. Dinners here are set menu, vegetarian and family style. The wifi cuts out by 7pm and people talk to each other.

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Dining room and bar area, family style dinners.
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Lots of chairs and hammocks to relax in.

what do i dislike?

All the beans and veggies I’m consuming has made me suuuuuper gassy. Good thing that jojo and I have been traveling in close quarters for so long that we no longer care much about the frequent tooting.

what do i like/dislike about the new accomodations?

We are sleeping in a treehouse, pretty awesome!

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Staying in the deluxe tree cabin. Yes, that’s a tree sticking out of the roof.
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View from the shower.
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Great nook area to read in or watch Fuego erupt at night.
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Double bed downstairs.
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Double bed upstairs. Adult glamping.
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Lots of light with the huge windows.

biggest adjustments from the previous stop?

It gets pretty cold at night. Having an outdoor bathroom is great but definitely deters any urge to stay in the shower too long.

what was our first meal?

Grilled cheese sandwich with avocado and pesto. Tasty!

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I’m getting my fill of fresh avocados every day.

overall impressions?

I’m glad we decided to stay at Earth Lodge. The staff here are great, food is super fresh and tasty and I’m able to do yoga every day. It’s pretty amazing to watch Fuego erupt at night. It’s definitely the highlight of our stay here.

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Our little hiking group.
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Ian our hike leader with Charlie and Rufus as we hike through corn fields.
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Coconut popsicle as an after hike reward.

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