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Recently I’ve been reading, “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed. When the author was in her mid-twenties she solo hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. Her book unfolds as she treks north, nursing her blistered feet and cumbersome heavy pack along a majority of the 2,663mi (4,286km) trail. It initially begins at the Mexican border, passes through California, Oregon, and Washington in the USA and over the border into Canada. Several years ago I’d … Read more »
Cost: $50-60 a day
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen recently?
Immediately after learning to scuba dive in Utila, I hopped on over to nearby Cayos Cochinos (Hog Islands). Some of the small islands and cayes that make up Cayos Cochinos resemble one of those ‘paradise island’ posters that bored office workers paste on their cubicle walls to remind them of the next holiday they’re working towards. You know the ones. Chalk white sand at … Read more »
Cost: $50 a day
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?
Two days of trekking through muddy paths deep into the mosquito infested jungle of Northern Guatemala’s Peten region brought me and nine other adventurous travelers to the ancient Mayan city of El Mirador. Upon first viewing the ruins I was struck by how thoroughly nature can reclaim its territory after human abandonment. Thick layers of soil and dense vegetation surround, infiltrate and in some … Read more »
Cost: $25 a day
The strangest thing I’ve seen lately
Few people outside of the small town of San Pedro la Laguna on the shore of Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalan highlands have heard of the San Pedro Celtics basketball team. With a population of approximately thirteen thousand people, mostly of Mayan descent, one could be forgiven for thinking that there wasn’t a basketball team at all in this soccer (fútbol) mad part of the world. … Read more »
Cost/day:$10
The Caribbean isn’t really that cheap. However, if you’re creative and have some skills, anything is possible. Most of my money went on beer and bus tickets.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen lately?
Three men waving a live lobster, barracuda pizza and and an Ugly Man competition.
Many moons ago I was flown to the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica to evaluate a business plan for horse tours on a 2,024 hectare family owned ranch. It has mangroves, jungle, two river estuaries and 3.5 km of undeveloped shoreline. The family was in the beginning stages of protecting a good chunk of that land as a nature preserve and wildlife refuge. At the time I knew very little about … Read more »
There has been a lot of talk on Vagablogging lately about the merits of slow travel and taking time to understand local culture when traveling. This was my goal when I came to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, to volunteer at an after-school program for a month, and I quickly discovered an even better, unexpected outlet for cultural immersion – Spanish school.
There are dozens of Spanish schools throughout Guatemala – and hundreds in Latin America overall … Read more »
If you had asked me any time in the last couple of years what word I associated with San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua—I’d have said surfing. With waves on my mind, the region was the highlight of the surf trip I was planning with my husband. Sure, I wanted to see more of the country. Right after I finished surfing.
But a recent trip to Nicaragua … Read more »
While my personal wardrobe may lack variety in the color department, I always appreciate the use of bright hues everywhere else. On a recent trip to Nicaragua, I couldn’t stop smiling at the tropical colors on buildings, in clothing, on pottery and in fruit juices.
The vividly painted adobe walls of the colonial city of Granada are arranged in brave combinations of red and green, orange … Read more »
I’m all for staying healthy while traveling, but I still want to try new things and enjoy myself. One of the keys to enjoying my food is finding a local version of fried dough.
I’ve long been a fan of beignets in New Orleans, where the unwritten rule is that you cannot breathe in or out when you bring one to your mouth. Breathe in, and … Read more »