In this video I head down to Guatemala and explore scenic Antigua, hike Volcano Pacaya, take a road trip to Lake Atitlan (and ride a horse along its banks), then head north to Tikal, home to the capital of the once mighty Mayan Empire, where I climb the many temples [...]

“Hop on! Just make sure you don’t burn your leg on the exhaust.” I straddled the back third of the scooter seat behind my newfound gringo and gringa companions, Luke and Leta, and started looking for a bar or something to grab onto. “Put your hands around my waist, no [...]

At 12,336 feet, Volcán de Agua towers over Antigua, which was once the capital of the country until 1773 when a massive earthquake struck destroying much of the country. Antigua’s population is only about 30,000 people, but during the height of the tourist season that number swells to over 60,000, many of [...]

What would Che say? Perspiring at a rate that suggests total disintegration is imminent, the police officer wiped another sweat globule from his a forehead. “Where are your papers?” he asks. With nostrils floating in a sea of rubbery flesh, shirt buttons straining against a bloated paunch, the overall impression [...]

Warning, if you enjoy reading about Mormons being mauled by lions, then keep reading . . . For those of you who follow my Expeditioner posts (Thanks Mom, Dad and Roberta*)  you may have noticed that my last two posts hinged upon a lion that mysteriously showed up in my [...]

“They are taking the lion to the vet, because he is sick. He is merely sick.” “We are taking the lion to live in the zoo in Guatemala City because they have kept him in inhumane conditions.” “They are taking the lion because they have a court order to take [...]

If I were superstitious, I might have seen the lion as a sign that in an hour-and-a-half I was going to be kidnapped or murdered. From the back of my motorcycle my roommate McKenzie pointed and exclaimed, “Dude, there is lion just sitting in a cage in that vacant lot. A [...]

“Come join us for yoga after work,” we would often ask them. We being gringos. They being Guatemalans. At the educational development organization I work for in Guatemala, we have both local Guatemalans and international volunteers on staff. Since one of our international volunteers was a yoga instructor in a [...]

Guatemalans love ice cream. Well, at least in Antigua they do. At every turn, the historic city’s cobblestone streets seem to be crawling with people licking drippy cones of sugary frozen cream topped with a dollop of syrupy strawberry goodness. And it made me want it — like really want [...]

Guatemala has a loud tradition of setting off firecrackers early in the morning to celebrate a birthday. Contributor Luke Maguire Armstrong has a tradition of sleeping in the early-morning hours. Dear Firecracker-Loving Guatemalans, Let me begin by assuring you that I am no hater of firecrackers. When I was a [...]