Christmas on the beach with new friends and meeting up with my SISTER to go to Livingston.

December 24, 17:37

We’re on the beach watching the sunset. Like I’ve been doing everyday but this time I’m together with Sam and Julia, cause it’s Christmas eve! Earlier today we had the idea to go fishing with a group from the hostel. But when we showed up at the harbour it turned out we were with too many people to fit on the boat. So Sam and I gave up our spot so the rest could still go and instead we went to the beach and enjoyed fries and a smoothie from the comfort of our hammocks. I mean a pretty good alternative if you ask me.

After the sunset we’ll go back to the hostel and cook a Christmas dinner! Sam and I bought stuff for a salad and dessert and the others brought (and bought cause they had no luck catching) the fish and some tamales. I think we’re gonna be with a total of 12 people so super nice!

December 25, 17:10

I’m having such a good time. I’m listening to my music, I just bought chips and a kinder bueno because I felt like it, and I’m back on the beach ready to see another beautiful sunset. And it’s Christmas! It’s Christmas and I’m on the beach. Like what! I always had this dream of celebrating the holidays in a tropical location with the sand between my toes. And now here I am! I even saw the sunrise on the beach today! I woke up super early and figured might as well go look at something pretty instead of the ceiling. I also uploaded the website with another diary week, I went to my go to coffee shop and one of the cats laid down on my lap, I took an afternoon beach walk, and I read a bit at another coffee shop. In short: I’m having a great Christmas Day! And if you can’t be with your family, you better enjoy the day just how you like it.

December 26, 16:31

I’m on a mission: making photos of people surfing. So I found a good spot on the beach, close to the water and right in front of the surfers. And now here I am waiting for the people to show off their skills. At least I hope.

Also, something that I never really thought about, not every country in the world celebrates Christmas on the same days. So we at home do Christmas Eve, the first day and the second day of Christmas. But here in Guatemala it’s only the first, the 25th. In the States but also Switzerland it’s the 24th and 25th. Apparently there are not many countries that celebrate the 26th. Who knew.

December 27, 14:50

It’s my last day in El Paredón. And after 100+ mosquito bites I am ready to go. I spend a little over two weeks here and really enjoyed it but I also feel like I’m ready to get moving again. I’m all recharged and re-energised and I am really excited cause tomorrow I will see my sister again! I’m so hyped!

December 28, 19:23

6 hours it took me to get from El Paredón to Guatemala City. I was the first one to get picked up with the shuttle bus and the last one to get dropped off, but we’re here! I’m happy I took the time to enjoy a morning walk on the beach before leaving, cause that really puts you in a different mindset and slows you down a bit which is nice. After arriving here I arranged a taxi for tonight to pick up Karo from the airport, a taxi for tomorrow morning to bring us to the bus station and I got us bus tickets to Rio Dulce. If everything goes well we’ll be able to catch the last ferry to Livingston, where we will stay until after New Years! Two full travel days in a row but after doing literally nothing for the past three weeks I think I’ll manage. Plus, the travel day tomorrow is together with ZUSSIE. SO EXCITED!

December 29, 20:51

In bed at our first location: Livingston. And ZUSSIE is here! When she arrived yesterday we couldn’t get the huge smiles of our faces. We did multiple happy dances and kept saying omg you’re or I’m here! We were just so happy! Except for the moment she found a cockroach in her bag at the hostel. Omg. First night also already a huge bug! In her stuff! So as any person would do we freaked out and tossed the bag in the hallway. Luckily we saw the cockroach run away, but we were kind of scared to walk around barefoot afterwards.

Today we spend the whole day in the bus trying to catch up with everything that happened the past 10 months. So much has happened, I think we’ll still think of other stuff to tell even four weeks later. Good thing the bus took almost 3 hours longer than expected. Bad thing was that the public boats from Rio Dulce to Livingston didn’t go anymore. But we found someone who just finished working, had a boat and needed to go back to Livingston anyway. So we were able to join him on the boat! Which was really great cause we didn’t expect to make it here anymore!

December 30, 14:36

It hasn’t stopped raining since we arrived here in Livingston. We were expecting a tropical Caribbean vibe. The sunny kind. Turns out that rain is part of that vibe too. So we’re spending the day playing cards, eating food and arranging stuff to do for the next few days. We found a reggae boat trip, we’re hoping to do tomorrow, and a local cooking workshop at someone’s home, we hope to do on Monday. And after two full travels days it’s also kinda nice to not be doing too much.