"Welcome to Africa," a man said as we piled off the boat from Rio Dulce and entered Livingston, a Guatemalan town known for it's Garifuna culture. But, you wouldn't really know it unless you were told. The town is comprised, mostly, of two touristy streets...
Roger Ebert, a famous American movie critic, recently passed away. I was sitting on my couch in Antigua when I read the news, and his final blog post, and I started to cry. When Mildred, one of the girls who worked at my student house,...
I hadn't exactly planned on going fishing in Caye Caulker. But, when a vivacious Dutch girl I'd just befriended drunkenly stammered across the table, "I'm going to catch a fish tomorrow! Valerie, do you want to catch a fish?" really the only thing to do...
I wish I could say I was fearless. But that is far from the truth. You've probably noticed that I'm afraid of a lot of things. Pretty much everything, actually. But, truthfully, most of these fears congregate over two main themes: a fear of heights...
Sometimes the world seems so small. Like when you're standing on a dock at night, wind whipping past your skin, looking out over the horizon. And the edge looks so close. Like you could just reach out your hand and slice your finger on it. Or...
I spent an afternoon in Guatemala exploring the Mayan ruins of Tikal. There were several options for getting there but I chose an afternoon sunset tour. The sunrise tour sounded interesting, seeing the ruins in a mist, hearing the jungle wake up. But personally I...
If you're looking for things to do in Flores, Guatemala the answer is: there aren't many. The island of Flores, for me and most people, was really just a jumping off point to explore the nearby Mayan ruins of Tikal. So most backpackers didn't stick...
I had intended to write here about how, sometimes, I feel like an awful traveler. Like how I've been forking over extra money to take shuttles instead of chicken buses because I feel more comfortable and because it's just that much easier. Or like how...
Chichicastenango is a large market a few hours outside of Antigua. It's held every Thursday and Sunday, and a slew of vendors take over the town, selling everything from tourist trinkets to tools to soap to live chickens. I managed to come away buying just...
On my fifth day in San Pedro, when my back was still sore but feeling a bit better, I joined my friends Marlies and Jorien (a pair of Dutch girls I'd studied with in Antigua), and another Dutch boy and we explored a nearby lakeside...