The Idiot consulted bones and relics in the former convent of Casa Santo Domingo in Antigua Guatemala to determine the next steps in the training program for his upcoming MedTrek around Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

The crypts, the last remaining nun and an iconic sculpture in the sprawling complex, which is now a five-star hotel, conveyed a clear message: Leave the Convent – Climb a Volcano – Jump in a Lake – Visit Mayan Ruins.

The word from bones in a crypt at Casa Santa Domingo as well as…

….advice from the last remaining nun in the Casa Santo Domingo and… (Photo: Liz Chapin)

…precise directions from a wise mentor sent The Idiot on an exhilarating romp through Guatemala.

The Idiot climbed the active Pacaya volcano (it last erupted in March 2014) with a group that included a Guatemalan guide, a French father and son on a year-long backpacking trip, a photographer from Madrid, an American oil exec and his grandaughter, his partner Liz Chapin and a few others. The steep ascent included a visit to a Lava Shop selling lava art work, a stop to toast marshmallows with heat emitting from the mountain and, of course, varying views of the volcano itself.

A Spanish photographer takes hundred of shots of the Pacaya volcano on the afternoon of March 4, 2015. (Photo: Liz Chapin)

The Idiot prepares to toast marshmallows with heat emanating from the Pacaya volcano. (Photo: Liz Chapin)

The Idiot and Liz Chapin on the climb up the Pacaya volcano.

The Idiot then voyaged to seductive Lake Atitlan (“Atitlan” means ‘at the water’), the deepest lake in Central America formed by a volcanic (there are four volcanos on the lake) eruption 84,074 years ago. He not only met Mayans living around the lake while hiking near his base camp in the hippie-and-yuppie-filled town of San Marcos la Laguna but also, as instructed, jumped in it to explore underwater Mayan ruins.

Sitting on the dock of the lake in San Marcos.

Mayan women leaving a political meeting on a Saturday morning in San Pablo la Laguna.

The Idiot jumps into Lake Atitcan and… (Photo: Liz Chapin)

…swims to the closest underwater Mayan ruins. (Photo: Liz Chapin)

Next stop: The Idiot enjoys sunrise and explores pyramids at the Mayan ruins in Tikal.

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About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."