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Two years ago I assigned myself to Spanish classes, so that I wouldn't forget the language. We were working with a text book, full of stories and facts. One day, I stumbled upon a picture of a beautiful lake surrounded by volcanoes, and found out it was taken in Guatemala. Before that, I have never thought of going there, and didn't even quite know where it was. But that picture mesmerized me and I decided to look up flights- more or less, just for fun. The flights turned out to be very cheap so I spontenaously decided to go there, not knowing what to expect. And Guatemala did offer a lot more than I could think of. As I went there on my own, many people tried to stop me because "it's dangerous as an European woman to travel solo in countries like that". But I'm glad that I didn't listen to them. Right after I landed, I met Magdalena, a girl from Austria with whom I'd spend the next 2 weeks exploring the exotic country. As I didn't inform myself about all the things I could do and see, I eventually ended up at places I most probably haven't imagined myself at. Just on the second day, we went to hike up a volcano for 2 days, saw it erupt at night, and were completely blown away by how nature can be both- really fragile and really beautiful at the same time. But also really destructive. Soon after, we found the lake that had inspired me to go on that trip. And we found so much more, food that is so rich in flavor, people with the biggest smile, markets full of colors, music that instantly made people dance and artistic rituals we didn't understand. Still hypnotized by the great variety and beauty this place had to offer, we hopped onto a bus and got to a little paradise somehwere in the middle of the jungle, called Semuc Champey, which translates (from Q'eqchí) to "where the river hides under the Earth". The drive there was another adventure because many roads simply didn't exist. But it "valió la pena", we were awarded with turquoise natural infinity pools surrounded by all-green and the mysterious sounds of the jungle. Last but least we followed the trace of the ancient Maya all the way to the North and found astonishing pyramids in Tikal. Some of them were still hidden underneath sticks and stones, which added a secretive atmosphere to the place. Guatemala remains a hidden gem and I can't wait to come back one day and explore all its other beautiful places that I couldn't go to last time mostly because time didn't allow me to...