Guatemala completely surprised me. I visited Tikal, home to one of the greatest ancient Mayan civilizations ever discovered, and the energy of that place was indescribable. I was mostly speechless. I also experienced almost zero light pollution in the jungle, and for the first time in my life I truly stargazed. I almost cried because of how unreal the sky looked. After 3 days in the ancient Mayan lands, we flew to Antigua for the most difficult hike of my life. My best friends and I hiked Volcán de Fuego, which rises to about 12,346 ft (3,763 m), and the altitude made it extremely challenging. I will not hide it, during the last hour of the hike I wanted to give up, and if my friend Gianni was not there to encourage me, I probably would have. For the first time in my life, I saw, heard, and felt a volcano erupting and throwing lava into the night. Top 1 experience so far. I would do it again and again and again.
