Tikal known as the best Mayan ruins in Central America with temples towering out of the green canopy was slightly overrated. We missed the sunrise and walked around in a big group of people, far too touristy that we hung back letting others go ahead so that we could have our own personal experience.

Headed to Lanquin, about 8 hours away. Booked ourselves into Zephyr Lodge, this amazing hide-away eco-lodge with the best looking views of Lanquin but moved ourselves to El Retiro hostel which is sublimely located by the river as it had a better vibe and atomsphere there. It is the sort of place you could lose yourself for days. Attention to every detail in every respect makes this a backpackers paradise. Again, Dan, this Aussie guy from Melbourne who had been travelling the same route as us from Tulum, Mexico kept on buying the Tequila shots and before we knew it, we were on our 7th Tequila shot and 3rd Mojito. Found star-gazing even more amazing than it actually is, haha! Great night losing yourself in a crowd of happy-go-lucky travellers. Met some great people on our first night.

Woke up feeling worse for wear but pushed ourselves to start our day out to Semuc Champey (google image this). Travelled to our destination, 9km south of Lanquin along a rough, bumpy, slow road on this stand-up mini truck with 13 other travellers. But standing up as we drove pass plush mountains and villagers for an hour made it a memorable experience, especially with the break-down half way up. Beautiful sight of emerald pools and picture-perfect waterfalls. Hiked 1.5km up the top of the mountain, up very steep ladders and rocks for an hour without hardly any water (being hungover didn´t help either). As we arrived with painful legs and shattered, we couldn´t appreciate the majestic, breathtaking view as much as we would have liked to. After we descended back down, desperate to cool down , we rushed to the caves on the other side of the river across the bridge. Started our cave adventure barefooted and in our swimwear with the aid of a candle as pitch black inside. It was amazing inside, walking, swimming, climbing, jumping off waterfalls with an adrenaline rush. Aman wished she took pictures to help her describe the experience better but haven´t got a waterproof camera but it definitely was quite a memory. It was a beautiful sight of people lined up in the water holding candles. Bonded with the group as helped others relight their candle once it got wet. As our candle was melting fast, we had to return but just as well as goosebumps appeared to reflect how cold we got after 2 hours inside. Spent the rest of the afternoon chilling on this steel bridge with the guys jumped off, Fran (an nervous but adorable Oz girl) and I decided to take the plunge too! Adrenalin rush, whooo! Met a great bunch of people here from Oz, Canada, US and Sweden - literally from all over the globe.

Antigua is beautiful, reminds me of Trindad in Cuba with cobbled streets and colonial architecture. We also changed our itinerary to see Lake Atitlan via Panajachel overnight so we managed to spend a day in this cool town called San Pedro with narrow winding alleys full of cute restaurants, massage places and bars Aman thinks, I thought it was a disappointing replication of Poppie Gang II in Kuta, Balli. Lake Atitlan is this gorgeous lake surrounded by 3 volcanoes, well worth visiting if you have time to spare. I had only wished we had visited San Marcos instead, no doubt 'the prettiest of the lakeside villages' from the Lonely Planet. The town has become something of a magnet for hippies with a purpose, who believe the place has a particular spiritual energy, and is an excellent place to learn or practice meditation, holistic therapies, massage, reiki and other spiritually oriented activities. This I would have liked!

Spent our last few days in Guatemala doing the Chichi market and Pacaya Volcano Trek. Chichi market is known as the most colourful native market in Central America, a fascinating but crowded experience. Mayan tribes from all over the region come here to set up their stalls the night before market days, Thursday and Saturdays. In Chichi one can see beautiful brightly-coloured traditional native costumes, from all over Guatemala. Some haggling to be had definitely! I managed to get some great bargains but to my surprise, the items are not as 'cheap as chips' like you would find at the Night Bazaar in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Aman didn't buy much but enthralled herself watching indigenious people sitting on the church steps selling flowers with the priest doing a ritual with smoke everywhere at the front of the church while tourists and locals pass by! She wanted to take a photo of the Mayans up close but they´re dignified people, not "objects of curiosity".

Back in Antigua to stay with Paula and her family. Did the Pacaya Volcano Trek which is Guatemala´s most frequently climbed volcano. An active start to our day with the 6am morning trek for half a day, it was incredibly windy. If we did the evening trek, we´d be able to see flowing lava in the dark. Besides, it rained that night so lucky escape. We were above the clouds. Hike was 2.8km for almost 2 hours upwards despite having an Spanish-speaking guide. Finally reached the top of the volcano where there was sharp volcanic charcol rocks everywhere. Much more difficult descending as could easily trip over the rocks. Felt like it was out of a Superman movie when he fights against enemies on planet Krypton, incredibly 'charcoaly' with us all covered in volcanic ash Our guide roasted marshmallows in this heated cave that we went into, was like a Sauna inside! Others toasted bread with nutella spread - pretty cool!