El Paredón is a spot in Southern Guatemala that doesn’t feel like Guatemala at all. It had an almost island vibe to it and there were a lot of businesses that were American/European owned – it felt like the touristy bit of Guatemala which is so different from what I had experienced 3 years ago. By this point in the trip, I had finally gotten okay with doing nothing and not feeling guilty about it. El Paredón was the perfect place to just chill the fuck out on the black sand beach.

I truly have absolutely nothing to say about El Paredón, because I did absolutely nothing whilst I was there. I spent a full week just obsessively reading, buying overpriced iced beverages, gorging on sweet treats and learning to surf! I met a really lovely Australian who I got to hang out with for a bit whilst I was there and we essentially obsessively read together, bought overpriced iced beverages, gorged ourselves on sweet treats, watched each other learn to surf and had the best time. We were both big book girlies so on the occasions we would meet to read, we ended up yapping about books – we had coincidentally both recently finished ‘I Who Have Never Known Men’ and had a lot to discuss. I met her after not being able to extend my stay in one of the hostels, and ended up in a hostel I wasn’t hugely keen on. It was just another classic lesson of redirection and just cemented so much of what I feel like this trip had been trying to teach me.

I honestly loved surfing and would love to do a proper intensive week of surf camp or something in the future. I did my lessons at Green Belly Surf Lodge. I paid 150Q, (~£15), per hour in a class of max. 2 people. I’d also heard good things about Torre Fuerte Surf which is 160Q, (~£16), for a 1hr private lesson but there are so many surf schools in El Paredón, their offerings are much the same, you can’t really go wrong.

It will never cease to amaze me that humans saw waterfalls, mountains, natural pools, mangrove forests, volcanic black sand beaches, figured out how to ride the waves of the great oceans and said… let’s invent the 9-5?????

Anyways, eventually I headed to Guatemala City, spent the night and flew to Cancun the following day. In hindsight, I probably should have spent a couple of nights in Guatemala City to see and fully experience it in the light.

My time in Isla Holbox was much the same as El Paredón, except my luck in the dodgy tummy department had run out. Other than the stunning beaches, the main attraction of Holbox is the whale shark swimming experience. I was running out of funds and my belly the whole time was causing me stress and strife so I figured it was best to avoid. I went to Holbox to kill time if I’m honest I wouldn’t go back. It feels very American and touristy, (which it is), and unless you’re there for the whale shark swimming experience, then there’s not a huge amount going on which could be fun in a group but less so when solo. I could have saved myself some time, money and hassle had I planned myself a bit better, but, hey ho. After a week in Holbox, getting immersed in romantasy novels and drinking taro root drinks at Olita de Mar on the beach, it was time for the beginning of the end of my trip. Starting in Ciudad de Mexico…