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A Little Spectacle…Yes, Gringos Grow That Tall
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 26 May 2010
As I glanced up from my task of delicately descending the roughly cobbled steps I noticed a group of six Guatemalan teenagers below thrusting small cameras and cell phones in my direction. Giggles and huge smiles on their faces, this group was clearly excited over something far bigger than just the presence of this sweaty gringa navigating down the steps of an old church in Antigua’s bustling Parque Central. I darted a quick look around me and my gaze landed on something, quite literally, far bigger than me…about a full ...
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A Little Learning…Authenticity and a Town I Just Shouldn’t Like
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 23 May 2010
I have a secret confession to make right now. I really like Antigua, Guatemala. And I feel like I shouldn’t because the town seems so tourist-purposed and overrun by westerners; Antigua is such a marked contrast to the “dangerous” and grittier reality in nearby Guatemala City. When I mention to other travelers I spent a month total (split across three visits) in Antigua I often get those judgmentally inquisitive lifts eyebrow of an eyebrow. Antigua’s cobblestone, almost idyllically pretty streets are clean. The low-slung buildings are a rainbow of neatly painted ...
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Is Guatemala Safe?
Blog: Two Backpackers - 21 May 2010
I was asked if Guatemala is safe by another traveler while hanging out in a hostel in Argentina. And let’s be honest, Guatemala is much less developed than Argentina, so it’s a legitimate question. It’s not the first time we have been asked about traveling in Guatemala, although the questions did usually come up when [...]
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A Little Food…Macadamia Nuts and a Slice of the Expat Lifestyle
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 17 May 2010
The chicken bus bumped to a stop in front of the Valhalla Macadamia Nut Farm and I got my first glimpse of the expat lifestyle for Emily and Lorenzo, an expat couple that have created an entire non-profit movement in the region toward sustainable farming. The farm is about 15 minutes outside Antigua and fully trades the jostling elbowing on Antigua’s brightly colored streets for a vast expanse of trees lining the curved drive that leads into the nut farm. Walking down the dusty dirt path we dodge the low ...
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Making the Best of a Sunny Day on Lake Atitlan
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 8 May 2010
On Tuesday, the sun came out all day, and we were able to enjoy Lake Atitlan as best we could, without getting into the water. From San Marcos, we walked down to the lake, and along a path that led through dense forest and near steep cliffs. The views across the lake of several volcanoes and the clear blue sky were astounding. The path we were walking along was quite narrow in parts. Really, the worst that could happen is that you could fall into the water, but that did not seem very appealing.
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A Sociologist on the Move: Fourteen Months, Four Countries, and Three Kids
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 8 May 2010
On May 27, 2009, I began a long trip with my family. Over the next 14 months, we would be living in four countries, beginning with nearly three months in Kingston, Jamaica. Our journey has not been easy all of the time, but it has never been dull, with one adventure after another. Thankfully, we have had the good fortune of meeting many people whose good will has made these fourteen months abroad much easier and more productive.
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Sipacate’s beauty, despite the rain
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 8 May 2010
We met Carlos on the boat ride from San Pedro to Santiago de Atitlan. A tall man with a big, bushy, white beard, he was hard to miss. Carlos, a Guatemalan American retired mathemetician in his sixties, was planning to go to Sipacate with some friends of his. We had not made up our mind if we would stay in Santiago de Atitlan or keep on moving. Nando played some music on the boat and chatted with Carlos most of the 45 minute trip across the lake. Once we got to Santiago de Atitlan, Carlos invited us to have a beer with him.
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The “Jewel of Guatemala,” Lago Atitlan, has lost some of its sparkle
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 8 May 2010
This morning, we set out from our home in Villanueva, Guatemala City, headed towards Lake Atitlan, one of the jewels of Guatemala. Lake Atitlan is a huge lake set between volcanoes, renowned for picturesque scenery and colorful traditions. We decided to take a bus from the Trebol, where old schoolbuses make the trek westward. We got a bus that took us to Los Encuentros, where there is a turn-off for Panajachel, one of the larger cities on the lake.
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You take your kids to Pizza Hut in Guatemala City??
Blog: Fourteen months, four countries, and three kids - Tales from the Field - 8 May 2010
In Guatemala City, the places we most often take the children are chain restaurants – Pizza Hut, Pollo Campero, Wendy’s, and the like. Although I am not generally a fan of taking my children to places where the food clogs your veins and makes you fat, in Guatemala City, we have done this, perhaps more than anywhere else we have lived. We do have our reasons for this.
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A Little Climb…Red Hot Lava and an Active Volcano
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 7 May 2010
Mini pandemonium broke out as six of us teetered on a jaggedly tiny ledge of dried volcanic lava – although the top surface of the lava was hard and quite solid under our feet, the heat radiating from every single crevice of the charred gray rock had me feeling like a pot roast in a slow cooker. Standing nearby was our guide – and though he had just ungracefully deposited six of us here, perching on a lookout spot that you pretty much need help to jump onto, he was ...
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A Little Climb…Red Hot Lava and an Active Volcano
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 7 May 2010
Mini pandemonium broke out as six of us teetered on a jaggedly tiny ledge of dried volcanic lava – although the top surface of the lava was hard and quite solid under our feet, the heat radiating from every single crevice of the charred gray rock had me feeling like a pot roast in a slow cooker. Standing nearby was our guide – and though he had just ungracefully deposited six of us here, perching on a lookout spot that you pretty much need help to jump onto, he was ...
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Monterrico Beach Guatemala – Episode 10
Blog: Two Backpackers - 4 May 2010
Enjoy Monterrico Beach in Guatemala through an HD Travel Video from Jason and Aracely of TwoBackpackers.com. In Episode 10, we show you black volcanic beach sand, rough waves, baby turtles being released into the sea and a beautiful beach sunset. Enjoy the show! Monterrico is located just two hours west of Antigua on the [...]
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A Little Color…Authenticity on the Guatemalan Chicken Buses
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 3 May 2010
I was sitting on a chicken bus this afternoon and had one of those moments where things just sort of clicked. One of the reasons that I travel, and let me assure you it’s certainly not so that I can ride chicken buses, but rather for the faces of the locals surrounding me. The bumps and potholes on the roads here in Guatemala ensure that I’m going to arrive at my destination just a touch on the ill side – plus the chicken buses are probably one of ...
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A Little Color…Authenticity on the Guatemalan Chicken Buses
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 3 May 2010
I was sitting on a chicken bus this afternoon and had one of those moments where things just sort of clicked. One of the reasons that I travel, and let me assure you it’s certainly not so that I can ride chicken buses, but rather for the faces of the locals surrounding me. The bumps and potholes on the roads here in Guatemala ensure that I’m going to arrive at my destination just a touch on the ill side – plus the chicken buses are probably one of ...
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Antigua and Panajachel Plus More Misadventures of Luis :)
Blog: Lost World Expedition - 1 May 2010
Well, ladies and gentlemen Luis has done it again! Following the misadventures of this space case zen master is hilarious and sad. Some of you may remember some of the prior “incidents” he brought to this adventure of ours e.g.: The fuel tank full of gasoline in our diesel burning vehicle (Link), the near expedition [...]
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A Little Peep…The Faces of Antigua’s Easter
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 27 April 2010
Semana Santa is certainly a week for the religious, but it’s also a week where the Antiguan community comes together and all of the residents are on the same team. The same goal. There is a single minded purpose to many of the activities and a devotion within the community that makes this week unlike anything I’ve ever previously experienced – it’s one of the richest holiday experiences I have had abroad. Let’s take just one last look at the people and highlights from Semana Santa in ...
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A Little Peep…The Faces of Antigua’s Easter
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 27 April 2010
Semana Santa is certainly a week for the religious, but it’s also a week where the Antiguan community comes together and all of the residents are on the same team. The same goal. There is a single minded purpose to many of the activities and a devotion within the community that makes this week unlike anything I’ve ever previously experienced – it’s one of the richest holiday experiences I have had abroad. Let’s take just one last look at the people and highlights from Semana Santa in ...
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Into Guatemala-Finca Ixobel to Semuc Champey
Blog: Lost World Expedition - 25 April 2010
Leaving Belize, we headed into Guatemala crossing the border near San Ignacio. The border crossing was fairly straightforward: Check out of Belize and get the vehicle stamp in Luis’ passport canceled, then head into Guatemala to get the stamps and vehicle papers there. It was nice and easy and within a half hour we were on [...]
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A Little Tour…Coffee’s Amazingness Knows No Bounds
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 19 April 2010
A fantasy series that I once read revolved around the premise that “all knowledge is worth having” (among many other premises). I’ve always loved that quote because it echoes my own sentiments to very closely. I love to learn. And I love to tell other people about the cool little fact’s that I’ve learned – that being one of the key characteristics that you either love or hate about me. So as I was attempting to drown out the annoyingly load music at my hostel in Antigua, Guatemala I somehow managed ...
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North & Central America Trip – Experiencing Real Guatemala Culture
Blog: As We Travel - 15 April 2010
North & Central America Trip – Experiencing Real Guatemala Culture Hi everybody, It’s been another action packed couple of weeks, and we’re glad to be alive and well in the backpacker mecca of San Pedro, on lake Atitlan. We’re loving having a soft bed and hot shower, after the last week. We’ve discovered the ‘real’ Guatamala. We had our heart set [...]
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A Little Religion…Guatemala Reenacts the Last Days of Christ
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 13 April 2010
Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is perhaps one of the best times to be traveling in a Catholic country. Just as the Buddhist, Hindus and other religions have their colorful celebrations of devotion, sacrifice, and religious fervor, that’s Semana Santa week for the vast majority of Catholic Guatemalans – and the fantastic part of Semana Santa is that you don’t have to be religious at all to enjoy it, you just need an appreciation for other cultures and liking festivals would be a plus. I’ve already talked about the decadently beautiful ...
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A Little Kindness…Guatemalan Easter Warmth
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 11 April 2010
Deep into night on the Wednesday before Easter a few new friends and I were wandering the streets at the late hour of two o’clock in the morning in a search for water (you can’t drink tap water in Guatemala). Let’s not get into precisely why we were searching for water at that hour, but suffice to say that we were. Except that all of the tiendas (shops) were closed and the locals still wandering only gave vague directions to a 24-hour tienda that just never seemed to materialize. Just as we ...
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A Little Life & Death…The Carpets of Semana Santa (Holy Week)
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 7 April 2010
Construction on a Semana Santa carpet, or alfombra, starts in the wee hours of the morning when the cool Antigua air is still chilly on the skin and spotlights light up portions of the street where the alfombras will lie for mere minutes sometimes before the parades slowly shuffle along the cobbled streets, destroying the more than 12 hours worth of careful work and construction. This video takes a look at the full life cycle of a Semana Santa carpet – from life until sad death: Conception of a Semana Santa Carpet ...
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A Little Celebration…Antigua Preps for Easter Madness
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 6 April 2010
The buzz throughout the city of Antigua is infectious on the Wednesday before Easter; although the Semana Santa celebrations (Holy Week) don’t “officially” kick off until the morning of Holy Thursday, the colorfully picturesque town of Antigua, Guatemala has been milking this holiday for the past two weeks with early processions and mini-carpets of offerings. And though the Antiguans start the celebrations early, Wednesday is when actual true madness starts to descend once the tourists flood into Antigua. Antigua is like a city taken right out of Disney world – all ...
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A Little Photo…Semana Santa Celebrations in Antigua
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 2 April 2010
Happy Semana Santa and Easter weekend! It’s absolute craziness here in Antigua, Guatemala. The Semana Santa celebrations are fully underway as the city reenacts the last days of Christ. These carpets, or alfombras, decorate all the streets of the city and take a dozen hours to make – the people make them as an offering…they are destroyed as the religious parades walk through the streets. Expect more Semana Santa stories and photos next week! Have a wonderful holiday :-) Tweet This! Stumble upon something good?
