After 26 hours of being rerouted, and then flown all over the United States due to a mechanical failure in the plane, we finally made it to Guatemala at 1PM the day after we were due to arrive. We were picked up at the airport directly by our guide, Hugo, who was holding a sign with our last name on it, waiting patiently in the crowd at the airport.
Right away we hopped into the Kia minibus and drove off on the 3 hour ride to Lake Atitlan. Since we had not eaten a decent meal all day, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for a quick bite and some coffee, and then set off again. Hugo explained to us all the way different things we were seeing, such as many painted rocks and trees bearing political party logos -- everywhere! It was fascinating to me that they have enough paint for it all! The winding road took us up through mountains and past farms and villages. We quickly adjusted to the style of driving -- with only 2 lanes, passing slower vehicles along the way occurs almost every 10 minutes.
Soon we fell asleep since we had not slept for nearly 30 hours (I cannot sleep on planes to save my life) and awoke upon arrival to Panajachel - the "hippy" city as Hugo calls it. He told us the history and development of the population of hippies from the US in the 70s and how it affected the growth of the lakeside town. Here we saw the first colorful textile markets, with elderly Maya women holding out colorful embroidered blankets and shirts.
We drove to the boat launch and boarded a covered water taxi that took us the 25 minutes across the lake to the dock of Posada de Santiago, our home for the next 2 nights. The views of the lake and volcano were cloudy, but beautiful nonetheless. As we walked up the hillside to the reception area, we saw the pool and Jacuzzi along the hillside looking out over fishermen on the lake and women washing their cloths along the shoreline. What a spectacular view! We checked in and made our way to a quaint stone cottage. It was very charming and cozy, with a fireplace ready to be lit (although we never used it)! After dinner in the hotel restaurant, we settled in and slept a good night's rest.
The info on the website was laid out very well. I did some comparisons with other tours and found Adventure Life met a lot of what I wanted in an Antarctica trip at the cheapest price. Requested a quote on Claudia contacted me right away. She answered a lot of questions the I had via email even though she offered to discuss via phone call. I’m more of an email person so appreciated how she accommodated that and answered all my questions. And when I was ready to book, she quickly got the ball rolling with getting our spots reserved on the trip my friend and I wanted. Thanks again, Claudia!
Hazel Araza
10 hours ago
(1) great information on the website and throughout all the "materials." (2) Jane Packer is great: knowledgeable, responsive, takes a personal interest and tone, seems to care about the customer as a person not a sale.
Larry Bethune
18 hours ago
great people doing a wonderful job to make our voyages happen.
trudy
1 day ago
For our first trip to Costa Rica, Adventure Life designed a tour that meets the interests, ecological and adventure, of our party; but also takes into account our physical limitations sine we are all septuagenarian. We are looking forward to the trip.
John Zent
2 days ago
Adventure Life is my favorite travel company due to their genuine care for their customers. They make every effort to ensure a wonderful travel experience for you. Their personal touch really gives the customer a lot of confidence with their travel plans and the trip leaders are always outstanding. They are truly consistent and accountable with the great service they provide. I can't thank Adventure Life enough for the incredible trips I have enjoyed thanks to them and their attention to detail.