The highest mountain...

Friday 6th November 2015

Here it goes, this is where the fun really starts. We were up at 05:15 getting ready for the ultimate hike. We had breakfast, got our stuff together and then we were on our way. At 06:30 we had a lift to our first chicken bus, it was so uncomfy, but a great experience at the same time. Two chicken buses and a few hours later we made it to the start of the Tajumulco trail. It's a hot day and our backpacks were heavy with sleeping bags, sleeping matts, food, four litres of water, layers, etc. It was going to be tough.
Only twenty minutes in and I could feel the difference in the altitude and started to find it a little difficult to breathe properly. There was no chance I was going to give up though, I pushed myself and kept on going. Paul and our guide offered to carry some of my stuff and they were really supportive all the way. The lighter bag made it just that little bit easier for me. I had to take many short breaks just to catch my breath.
Halfway seemed like a lifetime and I was so happy to stop for lunch.
Almost an hour later we made it to base camp at 4,000m high. WOW. It had taken almost five hours altogether. Camp was set up for us and we settled with a cup of tea and Pasta for dinner. Feeling cold and tired we went to take a nap which actually turned out to be our sleep for the night. It's an extremely early start in the morning but I know it's going to be worth it....

Saturday 7th November 2015

At 04:15 we got up to get ready to climb the last 220m to the top to catch the sunrise. We really had to layer on the layers. Hat, gloves, scarf, the lot. It's cold and it's only going to get colder. It was dark out too so we had to take our torches to see where we were going. The climb itself wasn't too bad, and it only took about 45 minutes with a couple of brief stops to catch my breath. It was so cold at the top, literally freezing. I couldn’t feel my hands, and the high altitude hit me hard. I felt dizzy and light headed and sick....oh no! I felt so many different emotions at the top, I felt rubbish in myself but so happy I made it. I am so glad I pushed myself all the way, the views and the sunrise were unreal. We even saw a nearby Volcano eruption, that was pretty epic.
We stayed at the top for about an hour taking photos and a rest before heading back down. I struggled quite a bit with the lack of air and feeling sick, I even got a bit angry with myself.

We made it back down to base camp where I started to feel more human again and managed some breakfast.
We left base camp at 08:15 to start the hike back down, which compared to going up it was flippin' easy. It only took just over an hour. We enjoyed all of the views and got completely snap happy taking photos.
Then it was time for the two chicken buses and the lift back to Xeila.
We can officially say we have climbed the highest mountain in Central America! BOOM! A tough challenge but what an achievement.
We had just half an hour in Xeila before our taxi to our next destination, Mikaso Hotel in San Pedro La Laguna. We will be spending a couple of nights by Lake Atitlan. The taxi was a good few hours drive but it was certainly a funny one. The driver kept stalling and failing to start the car, Paul had to get out and push a couple of times. We finally made it but whether he made it back to Xeila is another story. Bless him.
It was a great hotel for the price, an absolute bargain and they could speak great English which was a bonus. The hotel was situated right on the lake, the views were lovely. We got settled in and straight away booked a hiking tour for the next morning, another early one up the Indian Nose Mountain to catch the sunrise. Happy Hikers.
There was a thunder and lightening storm over us this evening while we enjoyed a nice dinner in our restaurant.
We then went back to our room and soon called it a night. It's a 03:30 alarm. WOW.