guatemala
Maximón: Guatemala’s Chain-Smoking Savior
Floating mosaics of water lilies hug the sunken interiors of old buildings that line both sides of the dock. I sigh while staring at the jagged cement tops that barely pop above the surface. Water levels here have been rising steadily over the past 50 years. “There used to be a huge park here . […]
Go To Guate: Climb Acate
Examining my sleeping bag as I unravel it, I am relieved to see it is a proper sub-minus piece of kit. Not that I’m some sort of born-again Edmund Hillary-type, but you never know with these “adventure tour” outfits — some of them may as well send you off with a handkerchief and a glass egg cup for all […]
3 Countries To Visit In 2015 If You Don’t Want To Be Lame
Lonely Planet recently named Singapore their number one county to visit in 2015, which in it of itself is fine, except for the fact that it’s technically a city/state, right? That’s like saying my favorite food in the world is gum. While technically correct, it’s not exactly a satisfying an answer. (Actually, I don’t really […]
My Discovery Of Eden In Semuc Champey, Guatemala
I’m riding in the back of an open truck that must have served to transport cattle at some point, but on this occasion, it is taking me from the town of Lanquín to the secluded community of Semuc Champey, in the heart of the Guatemalan jungle. Riding with me is my girlfriend and about a […]
Turning The Car Around: One Road To Expatriatism
Stories can be told from limitless angles of perspective. So let’s begin this tale from the viewpoint of a Salvadorian family living in a small, rural village. It is a sunshiny day in a one-goat town a few hours drive and world away from the busy capital — a place far removed from the beaches […]
You Haven’t Experienced A Sunrise Until You’ve Done So In Tikal, Guatemala
The only thing more magical than hiking through a jungle in the dark, following a path that must be made of white gravel because it glows faintly in the full moon, is hiking through a jungle in the dark past big black hills — blacker than the sky behind them, blacker than the trees that […]
8 Stunning Photos From Lake Atitlan
Lake Atitlan in Guatemala — the 1.8-million-year-old 600-meter-deep volcanic lake located a couple hours from Guatemala City — is usually the highlight of anyone’s trip to the country, with its picturesque volcanoes towering over the lake, the small villages clustered along the shorelines and the chocolate shaman who seek spiritual enlightenment in cups of cocoa. The vagabond Canadian duo […]
My Encounter With Keith, The Chocolate Shaman Of Guatemala
The mist smells of banana leaves and wood smoke, the scent of the Guatemalan highlands when it rains. Mothers carry firewood on their heads and get knocked around by a downpour that’s like bowls of dirty water being thrown from the sky. Village children in hand-woven clothes hide under a tree and squeal as workers […]
How To Help Invest In The Future Of Guatemala
In the current presidential election there is a lot of talk about safety nets. Without being political, I’ll say that the most in the developed world have them, and they tend to be pretty effective overall. In the third world, these nets often don’t exist, or are filled with human-sized holes. What this means is […]
Check Out Our Interview With QiRanger About Guatemala [Podcast]
This week I and TheExpeditioner Managing Editor Luke Armstrong sat down (virtually) with writer/Korean podcaster QiRanger (aka Steve Miller) to chat about travel in Guatemala, which you can here in the above clip. There is a discussion of what to eat while there, the best ways to travel about the country and maybe even a little […]