Guest Bio
Matt Hartell is the Founder of Old Town Outfitters, an adventure tourism company based in Antigua, Guatemala. Established in 1998, Old Town Outfitters specializes in creating unforgettable cultural excursions, outdoor experiences, and custom adventure tours. With over 25 years of experience, Matt has been a pioneer in Guatemala’s adventure tourism industry, offering activities such as volcano tours, mountain biking, trekking, and more. His passion for exploration and commitment to providing authentic, safe, and exhilarating experiences have positioned Old Town Outfitters as a premier adventure travel company in the region.
Show Summary
In this episode, Matt Hartell shares his journey from North Carolina to Guatemala, discussing the inception of Old Town Outfitters and how his passion for adventure led to the establishment of a leading adventure tourism company. He reflects on the challenges and rewards of guiding treks, mountain biking expeditions, and volcano tours, highlighting the importance of safety, environmental preservation, and cultural appreciation. Matt also delves into the evolving landscape of adventure tourism in Guatemala, the growing interest in off-the-beaten-path experiences, and his vision for the future of Old Town Outfitters. This episode offers insights into what it takes to run a successful adventure travel business and the impact of immersive outdoor experiences on personal growth and cultural understanding.
Key Takeaways
- ✓ Building an Adventure Business – Turning a passion for the outdoors into a successful guiding company.
- ✓ Safety and Leadership – The importance of proper training and preparation in adventure tourism.
- ✓ Sustainability in Travel – Promoting responsible tourism to protect Guatemala’s natural landscapes.
- ✓ Cultural Immersion – How adventure travel fosters deeper connections with local communities.
- ✓ Personal Growth Through Adventure – The transformative power of outdoor experiences.
What You’ll Find on Old Town Outfitters’ Platform
- ✓ Guided Treks – Expert-led hiking experiences through Guatemala’s scenic trails.
- ✓ Mountain Biking Expeditions – Thrilling rides through diverse terrains and landscapes.
- ✓ Volcano Tours – Adventurous climbs and explorations of Guatemala’s iconic volcanoes.
- ✓ Cultural Experiences – Opportunities to engage with local communities and traditions during adventures.
- ✓ Custom Adventure Packages – Tailored itineraries designed to suit various interests and skill levels.
👉 Visit Old Town Outfitters’ Official Website to explore their offerings and learn more about Matt Hartell’s contributions to adventure tourism.
Learn more about Old Town Outfitters and connect with Matt at:
https://adventureguatemala.com/
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Podcast Transcript
This transcript is auto-generated on recording, and has not been edited by a human. It may contain lots of mistakes, crazy words, and stuff that makes no sense. The host and the guest are not responsible for the accuracy of the transcript.
Jason Elkins (00:03.69)
Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of the Big World Made Small Podcast. Today we have Matt Hartell with Old Town Outfitters joining us. Old Town Outfitters is in Guatemala in Antigua. So Matt, the first question I’m going to ask you is it Antigua or Antiga? It’s Antigua. I’ve heard a few different variations. I’ve been there myself. And even though I’ve been there, I’ve heard a few different pronunciations. So thanks for clearing that, clearing that one for us.
So certainly not to be confused with Antigua in the West Indies. I’ve had people end up there. We’re supposed to be coming here. You know, I’ve referred to keep showing up at the wrong hotel because the hotel name is our lodge name is slightly similar, but it is when they end up in a whole different country. That’s that’s pretty cool. Pretty interesting. Probably not so cool at the moment if you’re the one that did it. But anyway, I just want to jump in and.
Cause you’re like, like most core operators, we have a story that’s kind of interesting. Maybe you’ve had people ask you before, you know, how did you get into this? Where are you, where are you from? How did you get into this? And what was that like along the way? So just feel free to jump in and share with them. Yeah, sure. Yeah, originally from North Carolina and I had come down here in the mid nineties as part of my university Christmas break.
And my older brother was studying Spanish here and we traveled around, he had my bike with him. And I flew in and we were in Belize and then I came over to Guatemala and at that point we’re traveling around. And I just really, you know, it’s kind of my first time out of the country. I was, you know, again, in university since still pretty young. Was, you know, really caught by the travel bug at that point and really realized that.
you know, travel around and certainly I don’t know if it was Guatemala specifically, but it was right place, right time. It’s just a super cool place to be at that age and travel around and tried to not go back to school. And my parents were like, no, that’s not happening. It gave me the big finger wag and, and I was, you know, reluctantly and begrudgingly, I think I just as a point made, you know, made sure I was late getting back to school by a week or so, but tried to drag my feet as much as possible and stay.
Jason Elkins (02:21.774)
And then once that was not in the cards and I was back in the US, at that point, my brother and I started to kind of plot and plan on getting back here. And we kind of used a couple of you. Matt, I have to ask, I can’t let this one go by without asking, were your parents right?
Jason Elkins (02:42.87)
Yeah, they were probably right. I mean, I don’t know if they’re listening to this. I said that it’s hard to admit that. It’s a tough one, because like, I feel like I would have made it work. But I probably wouldn’t be in the same spot. I am not I don’t really know what would have happened. It would have been it probably would have gone south quick. You know, I didn’t have you bubble gum in my pocket. I don’t know how I would have made that work.
So I went back, you know, they’re probably were right. And again, more than anything else, it kind of gave me a little bit of time and my brother and I time to kind of formalize the game plan and put, you know, I would loosely call it a business plan. I mean, who knew, who knew what those things were back at that point? But, uh, yeah, we decided that we wanted to come back and we spent the next couple of years scrounging up bicycles and gear and camping gear and, you know, bought a computer that had 10 gigabytes of, you know,
hard drive space you thought was just gonna be world changing. And, you know, and saved up and saved what money we had and bought a car and by mid or I guess the end of 98. So I graduated in May of 98. By November, we were in a car loaded with, you know, all our worldly possessions and belongings driving across the US and through Mexico and made it to Guatemala.
What did your parents think at that point? Were they like, okay, fine, you came back, finished school. So now we’re on board or was it still some resistance? No, there was still resistance because there was a good year and a half of this planning process that was going under the radar to my parents. And I wanna say it was Easter of 98 when we were in, my brother was in DC and we were.
We were in DC and we were sitting there and we’re like, okay, we got to spill the beans because we had already had this planned out. You know, we’d already like, you know, been stockpiling gear like it was happening. Uh, and at that point, you know, over like Easter brunch or something like that, you know, it dropped the bomb and I want to say my, like my dad probably just got up on the table and walked away. My mom burst into tears and, and yeah, that was it. It was like, they knew that our minds were made up and we were going and that was it. And so, um, did you ever, did you ever imagine?
Jason Elkins (04:59.23)
I’m curious if you ever imagined them like before you dropped the bomb. I’m like, Oh, aren’t you aren’t you. Aren’t you happy that you know, the boys. Let that Guatemala thing go and like are interested in something else now and they’re probably like totally relieved that you just thinking you guys have forgotten about it. So yeah, for sure. And I’m sure that like it was the odd like whoops, you probably let something slip here and there. My parents like what was that? But
Yeah, that’s that all happened and we were planning and at that point, my parents, they had been to Guatemala. And really the only part of Guatemala they had been to was Patent up around Tikal and the northern jungles. It looks very different than does Antigua, but I think that, you know, and when we were there in the mid 90s, the country was still in civil war. They signed the peace accords in 96. So we’re there in 95 and part of 96.
much a different country and where we were going to was a very different spot. I mean Antigua is like wonderland. It’s beautiful. It’s Spanish colonial. And I don’t think my parents could grasp that. This is largely kind of pre-internet. I mean, you’re going to pull out the old encyclopedia to figure out like where we’re going. So, you know, we, they were heartbroken. We were doing it. It didn’t matter. You know, we were going and we left and we did it. And then I think that my parents, that was November 98th, my parents came for probably Easter 99.
And when they came and they touched down in Guatemala City and we got to Antigua, all of a sudden my mom was like, hey, this place is so bad. This place is pretty cool. Yeah, and again, Antigua is just a very different part of the country than where they had been. I think they were expecting that we were living on earthen floors and cooking over an open fire in the house. And granted, it probably wasn’t too far from that. We at least had four walls and a roof and we were kind of giving it a go. But Antigua is just this.
magical, beautiful Spanish colonial town that’s phenomenal and cobblestone streets and super picturesque and I don’t think they really saw that coming or didn’t really know. So quickly.
Jason Elkins (07:10.866)
I’ll say quickly, the dialogue changed at that point. Like, oh, okay, you guys aren’t just down here in the cantinas. You’re actually trying to put an effort, go at this. And so yeah, they were pretty excited at that point.
Well, it’s interesting. You know, we grow up, whether we travel or not, we grow up with ideas and stories about these places. And sometimes, you know, there’s hesitation. I, you know, I’ve been in tourism for quite a while, but years ago I sold all my stuff and bought a one-way ticket to Columbia. And I’d never been, and I, you know, I’m about 50. So I grew up during those times when everything on the news was not good about, you know, lots of Latin America, Guatemala included.
And, you know, my parents were pretty adventurous. My father was very adventurous. He was a hot air balloon pilot and we had traveled all 50 states. And I remember when I told him as a 48 year old man that I’m bought a one way ticket to Columbia, you know, there was some concern. So I get that he actually had copied and pasted the entire state department warning off of the state department website and copied and pasted that into a text and sent it to me three days before I got an appointment.
So, oh, I know. I mean, yeah, right. Right when we were loading the car to come here, you know, so fall of 98 Hurricane Mitch, it just ravished most of Latin America. You know, mainland, polity, Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, and parts of Guatemala were under mud. The pretend was on fire. There had been something that happened with a group traveling from like St. Mary’s College and something that happened. Yeah, they were like it was all this press.
it was in the news for Guatemala and specifically, my parents were looking at us like, what was wrong with you guys? I mean, of all the places you could go right now, it looks like the world is ending down there and you’re packing up everything you got to go, like run towards it. Like, I don’t understand what you guys are doing. And so we definitely battled with that. Wow, I can imagine. So tell me, what was it like?
Jason Elkins (09:22.614)
because really your operation was, I don’t know if it was the first in Antiqua, but probably the first that really took off the way it has. So tell us what that was like actually starting the business and what did you learn along the way? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we were certainly in the first one or two, there was another company that was doing a little bit of stuff when we got here, but they were quickly out of business.
They weren’t really doing much. So we were kind of the first, I mean, it’s, it’s kind of wild to think. I look around now and Antigua has changed quite a bit since 98 to now. And there’s an operator, a hostile, I mean, there’s a North face store in town. I mean, it’s crazy. Yeah. It’s like, there’s an operator doing everything now and we’re still here. And I look at kind of, you know, look back on it and like the contacts we’ve made and the trips we’ve forged and stuff that we had done, you know, way back when, when this country was certainly, you know,
really rural and rustic and rough around the edges and hard to get to. It was, it was, it was a lot of fun. I mean, it was, uh, again, it was, this is largely pre-internet. So, you know, I don’t even think we had a website when we came here. It was all lonely planet driven and you have flying, you know, putting flyers on every phone pole and, you know, wall and the bars and salsa dives and all that sort of thing. And it was, it was slow going. I mean, it was.
very much like May would roll around and the rains would come in and I’d be asleep on the sofa and there’d be nothing you know inside the store because there was just nobody here. And over time you know Guatemala and the face of tourism has changed here and Antigua now is kind of a destination spot in and of itself so you get people just coming to Antigua before it’s
people were coming and they were not going to come to Antigua unless they’d done Mexico and they were going to go to Honduras and Salvador. So we get a lot of destination travel now, which means that tourism is kind of picked up and is an actual real industry here now. And so it’s been fun to kind of be on the front lines of that. And like you say, we were certainly the first ones here that are really taking people out there. I mean, in the early days you could drink beer in the bars.
Jason Elkins (11:35.41)
And dance also and study Spanish. That was about all you could do. And so we were largely kind of like right place, right time with the right amount of stuff. You know, no one was. Taking people on mountain bike rides or taking people on hikes or venturing into the backcountry. Again, it was just a couple of years post civil war. So Guatemalans were not out. It was all international travel at that point, doing anything like that. There was just the wounds of the civil war were too fresh for a lot of folks here. Yeah.
You know, that brings up, I guess the question is like, how would you describe the difference between the type of person? Because I have a story in my head, you know, I’ve lived in Belize, I’ve been to Guatemala several times, Antigua, but I don’t have the kind of the, you know, you have the ability to kind of look at where it was when you got there and where it is now. So what have you seen in the type of traveler that you’re dealing with? And then how does it go to what it was when you first got started?
Sure. I mean, when we first got here, it was 100% backpackers. Yeah. People overlanders coming through. Again, people would maybe start their, their six month walkabout, but largely people weren’t just coming to Guatemala. They’re coming to Guatemala. They’re doing all Central America. They were kind of, you know, going from here to Nicaragua or maybe Mexico and Guatemala. Uh, you know, folks on a shoestring, but they weren’t as many services getting around was a little harder. It was a little more of an intrepid kind of traveler.
Uh, you know, we weren’t doing very much booked online from folks coming down before again, I mean, again, when we started, there was very little internet or email and it was hard to get down here. So like three, you know, pre-selling adventures was non-existent and it was largely word of mouth travel with backpackers and over time, yeah, I mentioned, I think earlier there’s a North face, you know, there’s we’re selling Patagonia gear and NT went out. Yeah, there’s. Yeah. It’s a.
It’s definitely developed. And so now it’s gone from kind of being one stop on a larger multi-country tour that people were doing kind of in the early, you know, early days, late nineties, so people come in like just to Antigua and nowhere else. They’ll come just to hang out in Antigua and experience the culture and the architecture and the markets and that sort of thing. And maybe hike the volcano and get outside. So Antigua, you know, the tourism here is definitely
Jason Elkins (14:01.25)
changed over time. So it’s gone from hardcore backpacker to now folks flying in on private planes to Guatemala City and driving to Antigua to hang out and adventure or do stuff. And so you’re definitely getting the kind of the gamut of travelers at this point. We think that the travelers in the beginning, obviously what I’m hearing is more spontaneous, probably more flexible, just kind of, I don’t wanna say floating around out there, but just kind of like, hey, cool, let’s go try this. Let’s go try this.
Would you describe them as more adventurous in any certain way, or is that a misconception? I mean, I think that certainly traveling anywhere in this part of the world, or probably largely in many places around the world was a lot more adventurous some years ago when it was harder to get info. It was a little bit more of like just kind of stepping off the plane and, and seeing what was going to happen. I mean, it’s, it’s harder. I mean, now the internet being what it is and
you know, kind of where we are, it’s just, I think the face of tourism has totally changed. I mean, you can get all the Intel you need, you know, to go most anywhere you want to go. Uh, you know, again, I mean, you’re going to go into the back country in Guatemala, do I go into the back country of Nepal? There’s definitely still going to be a level of adventure in there for sure. I mean, you can’t, you know, you can’t find everything out, but just the level of access to info now is way more than it was back then, you know, I’m not to say that people are different and it’s
But I think that it was probably a little rougher or a little rarer around the edges, you know, 25 years ago when I got here than it is now. But that’s not to say that, you know, you missed the boat. I mean, Guatemala is still a phenomenal place to go and I can still take you way out in the back country where you still get that feel. You know, it’s interesting that you mentioned that. As I was listening to you say that, I was thinking, I’m curious, like, if you were to advise somebody and say, look, if you really want to have an adventure, you want to make it more adventurous, maybe don’t plan so much.
You know, maybe don’t read every single website. Don’t, you know, go on all the forums and read every single person’s comments. So for me and my travels, I’ve been traveling full-time for two years now. And honestly, I do very little planning. Probably should do a little bit more than I do. But I actually enjoy the thrill of just lopping on a bus sometimes. And like, I don’t know where I’m gonna go, but I have faith in my ability to figure it out. And so it’s kind of…
Jason Elkins (16:24.306)
I guess what I’m saying is it feels like maybe we have an opportunity now that if people really want to plan and now that certainty and that security of kind of knowing what to expect, they can. But at the same time, somebody can go to the same location and still make it quite adventurous if they just don’t plan and they just show up. Absolutely. I mean, I live in Antigua and every day is an adventure here. And that goes for someone who’s living here. So to come off the plan.
is definitely going to be an adventure. So like you say, yeah, you could definitely decide you’re going to go to Guatemala, pack your bag, get here and let it kind of unfold in front of you and do it that way. And you’d have a phenomenal time. Yeah. I remember traveling in the early or late nineties around here and being in Belize and Honduras and just, there was no info. You’re just kind of like asking people like, Hey, where have you guys been? Where’s a good place to go? What, what if
heard about a waterfall over here, you should go check it out. I mean, you can still kind of get that here, you know, probably anywhere in the world. But yeah, it’d be interesting to take that approach. Like, I’m not going to go into my line. I’m not going to really read them up too much. I know a couple things and then, you know, kind of let it unravel for you. Well, it’s kind of like, you know, you packed up all your stuff you had because your parents were at the foresight to encourage you to take your time and slow down a little bit. But
But ultimately, you got in a car with a bunch of bicycles, and it sounds like a computer, and you move there. That’s super adventurous. And I’m not sure where I’m going with that, but you’re right. I think that people can make things as adventurous as they want to make them. I spent the summer before last with my son. He was, I guess, 15 at the time. We flew into Belize City with no plan of how we were going to get to the next place.
We just flew in, we found a place, we went there, and then it’s like, okay, let’s go to Guatemala. How do we get to Guatemala? You know, you get on the bus, and then we get to where we were going, and we thought, okay, we’ll stay here a few days. Then we went here and there, and we were on buses with chickens and sick kids, and we overloaded with doors hanging open as you’re flying down the road. And it’s like, that’s not the typical tourist experience.
Jason Elkins (18:42.022)
But then there were other people that came there on a more organized tour. They’re up in Florence, they’re doing the T-call and they’ve got their transfers all lined up and that’s great. They’re able to have their experience. We can have our experience in the same place and have two totally different experiences, which is, which I think is really cool that we’re able to do that. Absolutely. Where before people like people that wanted that certainly just didn’t leave the country. You know, that’s right. That’s right. So, um,
So Antigua, you’ve mentioned a couple of times, I think that it’s kind of like it doesn’t, in some regards, doesn’t fit in. I’ve spent enough time in Central America to know it’s like, okay, this is a little different, but it’s got quite a storied history. You already mentioned a couple of things, but what is it you want people to know about Antigua that might be thinking about Guatemala, might be thinking about Latin America, or might just be thinking of a place to pick up and…
I don’t know, moved to, you’ve got a lot of nomads that kind of set up home there. That was, you know, I spent a good month there myself. And so what do you think people should know about Antigua? Well, I mean, I think that Antigua really positions itself pretty well. I mean, you know, we’re 45 kilometers from Guatemala City, which is the main, you know, airport access point to this country, unless you come over land. And it’s a world away. You know, it’s big bustle of a humongous Central American capital city.
And then 45 kilometers away, you’re in a 10 by 10 square grid cobblestone throwback to the 1500s. I mean, it’s a great kind of launching off spot. It’s a, you know, I’m not saying the Guatemala city is not worth seeing, but I think that, you know, getting the antique run and kind of like, okay, it becomes a really great base of operations. There’s tons to explore.
You know, it’s a good place to hang for a couple of days, do some excursions, and then you get out to the volcanoes or you go to Lake Atitlan and start moving a little further west. You know, you can kind of figure out where folks have been, and there’s a lot of stuff you can do kind of from here and kind of go out and come back, and it becomes a good hub for folks. You know, I live in Antigua, but the rest of Guatemala is very different, and the rest of Guatemala is very phenomenal. And…
Jason Elkins (21:00.982)
worth venturing into. I think Antigua is a great place to kind of come to and then get out of and go really experience some of the other parts of the country. Yeah, I think that if you only came to Antigua and you said that I went to Guatemala, I, you know, well, yeah, you saw a part of it, but you know, you didn’t really see it.
It would be like saying I went to the US and was in like Charleston, South Carolina and wow, this place is phenomenal. It’s just a little bit different. No, I get it completely. We had also went over to Lake Atitlan and spent some time in some of the villages around Lake Atitlan, which granted have a lot of tourists as well, but it was my point mentioning that is it was quite a bit different than Antigua. It’s a totally different feel. And then obviously as you move up into…
the eastern parts of the country, it’s a totally different feel. We spent some time in a very, very small town. I don’t even think of the name of it, but I think it’s great when you can really see a place like Antigua, but then maybe go pick some random place, stay for a couple nights where you’re not likely to see a bunch of tourists.
about folks that don’t speak Spanish and are worried about that. What kind of advice or suggestions would you have for somebody that wants to travel around but really doesn’t have grasp of the Spanish language at all? I mean, yeah, it’s probably no different than people who want to go to Southeast Asia or go. Yeah, I think you just got to go for it. I mean, I don’t think you could let not having a grasp in the language be something that’s going to hold you back. I mean, you find a way to communicate.
When I first got here, I had very little Spanish. And when I certainly, when I came in the university days, I had zero Spanish, a lot of pointing and gesturing. And you learn a couple of key words, and certainly in and around Antigua, and anywhere you go where there’s a developed tourism industry, there’s gonna be a lot of English spoken. So I think you could feel really good about getting in and largely being here and communicating and being able to set up shuttles and get yourself to hotels and be yourself around. But even beyond that, venturing further afield, I mean,
Jason Elkins (23:14.174)
I feel like we wouldn’t go anywhere if we were always worried of, you know, not being able to speak the language. I mean, how could you ever aspire to go to the Middle East or go, I mean, go to Europe or go elsewhere if you’re always worried about not being able to communicate? I mean, that’s part of the beauty of it. You got to dig deep and kind of figure out ways to make it work. And yeah, I think that’s a, I wouldn’t let it hold you back. I’d say you get down here. There’s enough guys like me who live here who are facilitating tourism.
The locals themselves also speak a lot of English and could certainly help you outside. Yeah, I’d say get it going. Buy your ticket and come on. And we’ve got Google, we’ve got Google Translate, all those things we didn’t have, when you first went to Guatemala, when I first started traveling, it’s, I almost forget sometimes, it’s like, oh, I do have my phone in my pocket, but I’m still struggling, because I’m trying to work on my Spanish. Or if I’m in Asia, I really wanna be able to communicate without the phone, but it’s…
pretty cool that you’ve always got that backup in your pocket as well. So sure. Longer the days of carrying around that little dictionary. Remember that like, Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I, I was in a relationship with, with somebody that did not speak English as a primary language, um, when I was younger and every conversation had the little dictionary and for every two or three sentences, there was, you know, four or five minutes of page flipping and, and now you can
you know, do it on the phone. So, so that’s pretty cool. And I think people that are adventurous by nature are can get past that language part. But I also know I’ve spoken with an awful lot of people that like, only want to go to Ireland or Scotland or the UK, or places where they just feel like they’re going to be able to communicate and for sure. And that’s not always a guarantee either because I’ve been to those.
It’s not necessarily that much easier. But, yeah, and I, and I get it. You want to kind of deep dive a little more when you speak the language. And I certainly understand that. Yeah. That’s where maybe hiring a guide, if you’re really worried about going into some of the areas you really want to get in, you know, break in with the locals. And it’s like, you know, being able to communicate and like really extract, you know, kind of an experience, you know, is, is certainly very important and rewarding.
Jason Elkins (25:34.814)
You know, guides can help a lot of times with that. Just hiring an art person, you can help kind of facilitate. Well, and yeah, because the guide himself, they have a story, right? So if you go visit Guatemala and your guide is Guatemalan, you can learn a lot about the culture and all that stuff from having that conversation, where if you’re just relying on, you know, trying to get along with your phone, might not necessarily be the best route. Maybe a mix, that’s kind of what I’ve done. I…
I came directly to Latin America a couple of years ago when I started my journey and knew no Spanish at all. And it was great for me because I quickly realized that if I want to have those connections and those deeper conversations, it’s up to me to learn. You know, I’ve spent a lot of time in Columbia where most people don’t speak English here. And that’s actually, I love it. And the more I can have a conversation with somebody, I’m like, oh wow, we actually communicated. They understood me, I understood them.
It’s very rewarding and I feel like a lot closer to the community. So anyway, so there’s a couple of things specifically that you guys do a lot of there in Antigua. And when I was there, everybody was talking about Octatunango. Did I say it right?
Jason Elkins (26:56.386)
Akatenango. Yeah, okay. You can see me not quite right. But that was super, super exciting. I was there with my teenage son. I think last time you and I spoke, you said you kind of got to want it. And he usually wants things for about five or 10 minutes. And then he’s like, okay, I don’t want it anymore. So tell us about this really special, special trip that you guys offer. Yeah, it’s just, you know, it’s a really beautiful.
Big so Antigua sits in a valley run ring by three big volcanoes, Agua, Acatenango and Fuego. Um, Acatenango and Fuego kind of share a saddle between the two and Fuego is active and spectacularly active. You know, I think you can see lava from, you know, from the streets of Antigua, from your patio, from your backyard, from the name ring volcano that’s right beside it.
So it’s a really cool experience. It’s a big, you know, Acasinago is one of the most third largest volcano right at about 13,000 feet. And you get up on top and it is, it’s a big slog to get there, but it’s a beautiful forest. And you go through very different climactic areas, you know, agriculture, cloud forest, pine forest, and grass, grassland. And then you’re up kind of in the Alpine. And it’s super pretty. And then you get up and you’re at this campsite.
right at Fuego Volcano. And it’s, as you’re sitting there having a hot chocolate at sundown and you get a beautiful sunset, Fuego’s blowing up and it’s crazy and there’s lava and it’s a pretty magical place. And it’s just a really beautiful mountain. The views are phenomenal. You can look well into Salvador. You look all the way out across the Western chain and the Ring of Fire, which is kind of looking back towards the Mexican border. You can look out across.
another 15 or so volcanoes kind of dotted the hillsides. It’s just a really magical place.
Jason Elkins (28:55.358)
We, Jackson and I, when we got into around Flores, we ran into some people at a guest house and they were showing me some pictures of Fuego. And honestly, I was like, no, what kind of camera did you have? They’re like, no, I took it with my phone. I’m like, no, I just did not believe them. I thought these people are selling, I don’t know what this is all about, or you must’ve been like so incredibly lucky to be up there when it was happening. And then as we continued our journey, I ran into more and more people then.
ended up in Antigua and people would say, oh yeah, we just got back and they’d show me the pictures and it’s really, really cool. And I’ve traveled a lot and I didn’t know anything about it. Maybe that’s because I don’t plan ahead very well. It’s super cool. So that’s definitely, when I return, that’s something I’m definitely going to do. I’ll be with somebody or I’ll do it myself, but I’ll be with somebody that maybe enjoys it a little bit more than my son would have because that would have been a…
frustrating day on the mountain 10 minutes in when he’s like, okay, I’m going back down. So anyway, and, um, and obviously you do a lot of bicycle stuff as well. That’s not a bicycle trip, but what are the, you know, a couple other things that you’re really excited about that people might not be aware of that they can do there in Antigua that you can help them with. Yeah. Mountain biking is what ultimately originally brought us to my brother and I to Guatemala.
I’ve always been a cyclist, I’ve always enjoyed riding mountain bikes. It’s always been something that we’ve kind of always done. Uh, and that was, you know, it’s where our passion, well, it’s where we kind of started before we cut our teeth and go out and bond. So we do a lot of mountain biking, a lot of mountain bike tours. You know, we’ve man, I’ve hiked my bike out of every ravine in this country. It seems, you know, networked a series of trails and, you know, back in the late nineties, it was just me out there by myself. Maybe I had a couple of tourists in tow.
Uh, and now I, you know, I was on a ride this morning before, you know, just out for fun. And I bumped into two locals. And so like the mountain bike scene has grown. It’s phenomenal. There’s a multi-day stage race. Now there’s a huge, just kind of mountain bike racing scene and culture here. There’s bike parks and it’s really, I mean, I would have never expected that. Yeah. Back in the late nineties to now. And, you know, largely a lot of that came on us bringing tourists here. We were bringing, we were working with, uh,
Jason Elkins (31:20.094)
European wholesalers in 2000 bringing groups of riders here, which was unheard of, you know, and bring them and you’re going all the way around the country. So we do anything from half day rides in Antigua to multi-day rides around the country, vehicle supported where we’re either, you know, hotel by hotel, point A to point B, or you’re camping kind of depending on how far a field you want to go. We’ve also started running some bike packing trips, which if you’re not familiar with that, it is kind of where think of
backpacking, but you’re doing it on a bike. So we have bikes that have bags and everything on it. And it’s kind of, you know, long away from the days of just like on pavement, you know, these bikes are in the bags are able to carry loads, you know, through the trails and in the mountains. And so really able to access really far away places where, you know, great riding, but you can never stay or can’t get a vehicle into now you just carry everything with you. And so we’ve been doing a lot of that. And I’ve been somewhere else here, which has been a lot of fun.
That’s, uh, that is very cool. And, um, what else should we know? Cause I don’t know a whole lot about mountain biking know a bit about Guatemala. What else should, should we know what else, uh, what else needs to be touched on while we’re having this conversation? I mean, I think that if you’re trying, if, if folks are talking, I mean, Guatemala is a, is kind of the total package. You know, it’s got a little bit of everything and we’ve got a pretty cool surf beach, not too far away. That’s kind of a newer on the scene kind of destination.
And the riding here is great. And the volcanoes and there’s multi-day trekking. We do some three and five day treks across the Guatemalan highlands, where we’re taking low glamping setups with us all the way. The culture, we hadn’t even really talked about the culture, but you talk about like Guatemala, what sets it apart. And I think that’s one of the things that makes adventuring here so unique is that the Guatemalan culture, once you get into the back country, the sea.
Yeah, the living, the Maya out there, it’s super vibrant and very colorful and super cool. And in some places, just such a throwback to times that are so forgotten. Yeah, and you go into some of these regions that are still have no power, no roads. Or, you know, it’s just phenomenal. And you put all that together and all of a sudden you walk away with this experience. It’s like, I had no idea that was in my backyard. I mean, Guatemala is really so close to the US. We’re just…
Jason Elkins (33:44.342)
one country, largely one country removed from, you know, from the southern kind of southwestern U.S. I mean, it’s so close, but yet literally feels like, you know, it can’t be on the other side of the world. No, yeah, I get it. And it’s so close. I was in Arizona a few weeks ago. I’m back in Columbia and all, but I was in Arizona a few weeks ago looking at flights from Phoenix to
I mean, it was like $70, right? You know, I mean, and it’s, and people are like, oh, it seems so far away, whatever. No, you just, you just get to go there. It’s pretty, pretty cool. Whether you stay in Guatemala or you continue your travels or whatever, it’s one of my favorite places on earth. So I appreciate the opportunity we’ve had to discuss. And like you said, the cultural part, I mean, it’s like every town has its own like feel, its own mind.
elements, languages, dialects, all this stuff. The food, I really enjoy the food. And it’s a pretty cool place. I know that you’ve mentioned you’ve got North Face and Antigua, I recall you also have Taco Bell, which seemed really weird to me. Yeah, that’s been, in the past four or five years, you know, there’s a Starbucks, we just got that. It’s like, you know.
I loved it back in the days when there was nothing, you know, there was no McDonald’s, there was none of that stuff. And they’ve all slowly popped it all in, you know, and it’s like the way the world is the globalization of things. It’s, you know, it’s changing. It was interesting. I did notice that when we walked by there one evening after it was fairly late, and so maybe some people had been out partying or drinking or whatever. And, you know,
a lot of places in the States, Taco Bell is where you go after you’ve been doing that type of thing. And there were a lot of people in there, but they were all locals, which I thought was interesting. And I didn’t see any tourists in there. And that kind of made me feel good because I’m like, I don’t want to go to Antigua and eat at Taco Bell. There’s so many good other good options. So anyway, so Matt, I’m going to have your website link here in the show notes. So anybody that’s listening to this that wants to learn more about Guatemala,
Jason Elkins (36:06.823)
You know, you, your program, those, you know, the bike camping sounds actually really cool. I think that’s pretty cool. And just anything. So they’ll reach out to you. Is there anything else I should add to the show notes? Is that the best way for them to connect with you?
Yeah, I think that just through our website, adve is the website. There’s a, you can book stuff now or you can reach out via email. There’s contact forms. My email’s matt at adve That’s another easy way to do it. But yeah, I think that that’s a pretty good way to get in touch. All right, very cool. Well, I appreciate you joining us here on the Big World Made Small podcast and helping us make this big world feel just a bit smaller. And…
Great chatting with you, great connecting with you. Look forward to meeting you in person next time we have a conversation. So thanks, Matt. Appreciate you being on the show. Yeah, thank you. All right.
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