A black and white cat jumped up beside me. I immediately began crying.

This photo isn’t a “travel photo” in the most obvious sense but I have been to Guatemala twice and it is by far my favourite travel photo ever. I was hesitant to go on this trip as it was to be my first ever solo trip. I pondered it for so long and it weighed on me, but I never took the plunge.

A month before I left (didn’t know I would actually do it yet), my grandfather suffered a major stroke and passed away. He was such an important person in my life. He’d saved my life twice and he was just the greatest person, the one who understood me the most. I realized life was too short and booked the trip. However, fear began to overtake me.

A week before leaving, I was about to cancel everything. I was full of grief and so scared, and I had a full blown breakdown in my room. After calming down, I decided to hold off on cancelling and sleep on it. Before going to sleep, I looked up at the sky and said out loud “Grandpa, if you’re with me, please show me a black and white cat on my trip”.

A couple days into my trip, I arrived at Casa del Mundo, a stunning hotel on Lake Atitlan. In each room, they had a little welcome binder in which it said that the owner of the hotel has two cats that roam around. As I set out to explore this beautiful hotel and Guatemala’s landscape, I sat on the balcony of my room to take a breath before setting off. As I sat down, a cat jumped onto the chair next to me. A black and white cat. I immediately began crying. We spent my entire stay together. He slept outside my room, joined me for all my meals, and joined me while I explored this beautiful hotel carved into a Guatemalan mountain. This photo is one I took while we explored together. 

Guatemala is a beautiful country with simply the most amazing people. This photo reminds me just how special it is. I have so many photos that could make you jealous of the stunning country that is Guatemala, but Guatemala has a deep heartbeat that is inexplicably magical, and I am reminded of that every time I see this photo and my furry companion.
If you’ve never been to Guate, go as soon as you can.