Farrah, the owner/operator Yo Mama’s Casa, told us about a nice nearby beach. Jimena, Alec and I started off around 11 to go and find it, hoping to run into more friends on the way.

After a nice falafel lunch and some unsuccesful friend searching, we started off. Within minutes, we ended up running into almost all of our friends, and they all joined in. It was the hottest day we’ve had in the highlands and everyone was in the mood for swimming.

We walked out of town, heading east. We were told that the walk is around one hour, but we hitched a ride on the back of a pickup. The driver let us off at a small footpath, which led another 10 minutes through the woods until we arrived at an old abandoned coffee plantation. Behind the plantation was another path that led to a great little beach.

By the time we got there, the clouds had rolled in and rain was threatening. Of course we swam anyway. We tossed a frisbee around and played guitar. Basically we did all the fun stuff you do during a beautiful warm day at a sandy beach, except we did it on a cold and rainy day on gravel.

Alec played guitar during our collectivo ride back into town. A few locals joined in during All You Need Is Love. Back in town, we all got some dinner and retired back to the hotel for some more merriment. Many of us were leaving the next day, so the festivities were a bit bittersweet.

The time I’ve had in and around Lake Atitlan and Guatemala in general has been fantastic but it’s time to move on. For now, the plan is to head to Guatemala City and get the ticabus to Managua, Nicaragua (which includes an overnight stop in San Salvador, El Salvador).