In Antigua I stayed in OX Hostel - Outdoor Excursions. They kindly allow cycle tourists a free nights stay to help smooth our path. Antigua is a beautiful little town with well preserved colonial architecture, great views of volcanoes and very good coffee. All very attractive to me but, hot in the heels of the Volcán Taculmulco trek, my priority here was to arrange an ascent of Volcán Acatenango. The volcano in the background here is Volcán de Agua.
I was able to arrange a trek through OX hostel and joined a group for a two day excursion to Acatenango. 
Acatenango is the sister volcano to Fuego, the volcano I had seen erupting distantly on my first trek. This time we were able to enjoy the eruptions at close hand. The roar of each eruption created a very powerful sensation, the sound of the Earth's internal mechanics releasing pressure and material from the crater. By day, if you looked closely, you could see volcanic bombs being ejected with Fuego's every belch. 
By night the show was just stunning. The eruption of lava glowed bright, a spectacular firework show of burning rocks showering through the sky then rolling down the volcano sides. Every eruption elicited a cheer from our group; an exhilarating experience for all of us, geography teachers or not.
The scene at sunset, Volcan de Agua to the left, Fuego to the right.
The best 10 quetzales we could have spent. For about £1 each this guy collected and sold us some firewood. 
Temperatures plummeted after sunset and we huddled around the fire sharing travel stories and playing games. As a cycle tourist it was nice to be able to describe a different kind of adventure to the backpacking norm. 
I hadn't expected much sleep so was glad to have drifted off a little and not feel cold. Sharing a tent and body heat helps here, the frequent roars from Fuego and, at one point, earth tremors were less conducive to sleep! 4am soon came around and we began the ascent to the top of Acatenango, 3976 metres. The loose volcanic material, altitude and precipitous slopes made for a challenging climb. No doubts that this was a harder trek than the higher Taculmulco ascent. 
The summit was a bleak moonscape with biting winds and a wind chill factor surely below freezing. I struggled to take pictures so cold was it to remove my gloves. This is a view towards Lago Atitlan with the moon illuminating the night sky. 
Sunrise over Volcán de Agua. About one minute after sunrise the group was pleading to our guide to make the descent back to base camp and warmer temperatures. I fully supported the decision to return, the cold was unbearable! 
Our camp dog, Henry, who helped hoover up our leftover breakfast. 
The group. Comprised of Brits, Italians, Aussies, Kiwis, Irish and an American. A wonderful group, if any of you are reading this, I really enjoyed your company! Connecting with the backpacker network from time to time provides a valuable opportunity for me to speak English and take a breather from Spanish. I enjoy speaking Spanish and it's pretty routine for me now but more complex ideas/emotions are hard to express so using my native language is a treat.
By the way, the two Kiwis got engaged during the trek - the magical romance of the mountains!
Descent was easier than the ascent and we were down in about three hours. For all the cycling I'm doing I don't take these treks for granted and as I write this from the hostel in Antigua my legs are sore and aching; the luxury of time allows me another rest day.
Speaking with my young friend Dylan Lawrence this morning he asked me why have I been in Guatemala so long? He's right, I have been here a while but it's such a rewarding country to visit and I will spend one more week here down on the coast volunteering. In the ebb and flow of a long trip Guatemala will be a section of downtime which I hope to follow with a real push on through the rest of Central America. I will be making a beeline to Panama before moving on to Colombia, my entry point into South America. The adventure continues!
(recent soundtrack has been Prince, Whyte Horses, Debussy and Love)
So the New Year period was spent in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala´s second largest city. Despite its size the city has a laidback atmosphere and I enjoyed walking through the colourful markets in the run up to the New Year.
It is said that of all the countries conquered by the Spanirds, Guatemala and Bolivia are the two that have most held on to their traditional indigenous culture and customs. This is evident in the clothing with many women of all ages wearing colourful garments in traditional styles.
In Quetzaltenango I stayed with Francisco (on the left). He has plans to begin a cycle tour in June this year. On New Years Eve we cooked a feast of monroasted pork and potatoes washed down with beer. His two housemates joined in with the festivities.
Francisco has a reall spirit of adventure and on New Years Day, like an excitable puppy, he proposed going on a mini roaad trip on his motorbike. Guatemala´s answer to the Motorcycle Diaries. 
First stop, la playa. We rode 120km to a beach just south of the border with Mexico. A dip in the ocean was quite a relief after riding pillion for so long. My hands ached from holding on, knees sore from flexing like an extra set of suspension, as we passed the ropey roads of Guatemala
First sunset of the year, dropping into the Pacific Ocean. We rode on to a friend´s house in the foothills of the mountains to eat tamales and crash for the night. 
Day two saw a visit to waterfalls and hot springs just south of Volcan Taculmulco, Central America´s highest peak at 13,845 ft or 4220 m. 
The things you find at the bottom of a waterfall...
Riding back to Quetzaltenango we were mking good progress until the rear tyre punctured. Fortunately we didn´t lose too much time as the nearest garage was less than a mile up the road. And this delay allowed us to enjoy...
...the second sunset of the year. However it also forced us to ride the rest of the way home in the dark. With high passes, unpredictable traffic, holes and random sleeping policeman in the road I have to say I didn´t feel too safe on the back of the bike. When we had to rise up to 3000m for the highest passes the clouds closed in. Mist and slippery roads created a palpable sense of danger, all I could do was cling on for dear life. We suffered a second puncture short of Quetzaltenango and Francisco called a friend to pick us up this time. I was incredibly relieved to be off the motorbike!
Back home at 9pm then I had to rise at 4am to join a trek to climb Volcan Taculmulco. Quetzaltrekkers is a wonderful non-profit organisation that runs a school for kids in the poorest part of town. The ex-pat guides work as volunteers.
We were blessed with incredible weather and took a nice steady pace up the mountain tracks.
Third sunset of the year enjoyed from a peak just below the top of the volcano.
A spectacular sunset was accompanied with a distant but exhilirating view of Volcan Fuego erupting. For all the time I spend in the outdoors rarely have I experienced the raw power of Mother Nature like this.
The next morning we rose again at 4am and climbed 200m with our sleeping bags to watch the sunrise from the peak of Taculmulco. Again, spectacular views with a couple of shooting stars preceding the sun´s arrival.
And again, Fuego was erupting in the distance. Awesome experience.
Trekking back down in the sunshine with an incredible sense of well-being. Not to belittle the trek or the altitudes but this was a lot easier than some of the tough recent days in the saddle! Nevertheless, today, the day after the trek I am taking a rest day before riding on to Lake Atitlan tomorrow. A fantastic start to the New Year, I´ve set quite a standard for the rest of 2017!
