I heard of this amazing place from a local Guatemalan photographer while taking shelter in a small hut from a tropical downpour in Tikal. He said these black volcanic beaches are rare on the Pacific coast, the only ones in Guatemala and of course I had to go see them. He mentioned we'd have to take a ferry, but didn't say anything about a shabby barge not much bigger than my van. Driving onto the barge I thought there was a 50/50 chance it would sink along with my unfortunate vehicle. But surprisingly it held and after about an hours of transversing the lagoon we arrived at the beach that was dotted with small fishing villages. On the boat we befriended one fisherman who invited us to park in his backyard, which was facing the ocean. The waves were perfect for body surfing (which we attempted right that night- the moon was bright) and the water seemed to be warmer than the hot air.