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Antigua reminded me of Cuba, in a strange and surprising way. The old architecture, cobble stoned roads and street festivals, gave Antigua a lot of culture. The people were really nice and they have delicious food. Antigua is situated at the bottom of a inactive volcano, which is a stunning view when walking around the town. We did one day go up to this view point to see Antigua from above. Only took 20 minutes so we did it before we ate for dinner.
We stayed in Antigua for longer than anticipated to see what the hype was about this pool party. Basically, a druggy rave in the middle of nowhere in Antigua and the pool didn’t even look like a pool. It was however a square hole in the ground with a bar and DJ inside. So yes, no water, just a empty pool. Which was expensive for what it was. We only spent 2 hours there as we all felt tired and was bored. We just wanted to see what the hype was. We did manage to see the volcano erupt whilst we were waiting to get in.
Before all this, we did a fair bit of pre drinking with the Swiss guys and American girls. The two Swiss guys were so drunk before 6pm as they were drinking all day. They even went for a tactical nap before we went out drinking again. We planned to do this pool party just a day before our dreaded volcano trek on the Monday. Not the best idea but I didn’t want to waste anymore days in Antigua. You only need a few days to appreciate Antigua.
Acetanago Volcano near Antigua was the most challenging thing I have done. I always knew it was going to be extremely difficult to do, but it was much worse than anticipated!
We spent our day after the pool party to plan the volcano trip, with a hangover. Managed it all in time and got a good deal. However, in the morning of the trek, Kyle was awake really early, stuck on the toilet. So that ruled him out doing the trek up the volcano. Lucky for him, it was the best decision not to go. Me and Seb both said throughout the trek how we envy Kyle right now, in a warm comfy hostel.
Packing the bags for the trek was a struggle. I took my big backpack with only a few things inside. However, when we got to the depot to pack our bags with sleeping bags, tent, roll mattress and food. No room left and the bag was so heavy. The food they supplied was not substantial at all. Basically a pot noodle for dinner, 2 already boiled eggs for the morning and 2 sandwiches for lunch. Luckily I took some snacks with me, but still that was not enough.
Luckily I hired a stick to help me walk up the horrendous vertical incline. One guy on our group was adamant he didn’t need a stick. 20 minutes he regretted that decision. He was slipping everywhere and falling over. It only cost 50p to hire, the plonka.
Started the trek on a completely vertical track that was soft soil. Almost like walking on soft sand in the desert, just zaps the energy out of your legs.
The first two instalments of treks which were 20-30 minutes at a time were the toughest. Although, as the day went on, it got easier for me. Yet we was climbing at a staggering rate. So much so, my breathing was becoming difficult. Poor Seb was struggling even more. And the higher we went up, the colder it got. So cold that I needed all my thermals, 4 layers, gloves, hoody and rain coat. And yet, I was still freezing cold. I was completely above the clouds. This was just at base camp where we pitched up our tents. The tent didn’t even zip up, so the tour guide had to stitch us in once we wanted to go sleep. Five of us were to a tent, so I could barely move. On top of all that, it started to heavily rain in the middle of the night and our tent was soaking wet, including my sleeping bag and trainers. Sometimes I wonder why I put myself through this torture.
I did manage to watch, on numerous occasions, the volcano erupt huge red explosions of larva, spewing out the top. At 4am, the tour guides woke us up to do the final trek up to the summit. The summit was amazing, with amazing views, sunrise and the volcano. However the final trek up to the summit, was the hardest thing ever. Have you ever watched the film Everest? A film where a few people died trying to climb Everest. That’s what it was like for me. The wind was ridiculously strong. So cold that I had to keep wiggling my fingers, in case they froze. When I was walking up and looked to the side, there was this sheer drop. Quite scary actually, because the wind was that bad, and if I was blown off the edge, no one would know. It was pitch black too. Only started becoming light when the sun started to rise at 5:30am. When we reached the top, me and Seb held onto each other, and instantly felt the relief and emotion from not having to climb up anymore. Seb said to me when we reached the summit, ‘I feel so emotional, I got tears’! Haha. From that point on, it was traveling down. And the further down we went, the warmer it got.
On the way down was much easier and very fun. It was like running down a huge sand bank. So your legs could give way at any moment, but it was fun. So much relief traveling down.
Then to top it all off, the tour guide charged us all 10 Quitzal each which is £1, as apparently someone had lost one of the poles for the tent. No mate, you have either packed them away, accidentally with another tent. Or this just anther money making scheme. Thankfully, the owner turned up and said he could not charge everyone for the tent when it was one persons mistake, which is right.
Returning home to the hostel, I was super stoked to eat and have a nice hot shower and a nap. I arrive to find out there was no water for 6 hours, great! I went sleep early that night as I had to catch a 4am shuttle to El Salvador, the most dangerous place in the world...apparently!
Boarder crossing was a breeze and a easy ride to our next destination in El Salvador.
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