Have You Heard From Laura?

 322 Perhaps the best time of day in Montericco is 5:30 in the afternoon. This is when el Torutugario (Sea Turtle Sanctuary) releases the baby turtles into the ocean. the babies that have hatched over night are saved until 5:30 and all released together with great ceremony and best wishes for a safe voyage. The […]

For my last days in Guatemala, the plan was to regroup, and eat and shop in Antigua, and climb volcan Pacaya. I decided to ‘go big’ and spring for a $30US a night hotel. Ever helpful, the Lonely Planet had many recommendations in this price range, so I picked one in a promising part of […]

Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s Guatemala. Today was a series of nice people. Travel books and travelers themselves often talk about rip offs and tricks to avoid them. What about tricks to attract nice people? My advice would be to just allow people to be nice. Give ’em a chance. Believe them. I woke up […]

Guatemala has a reputation for being dangerous. All the guidebooks, and most people, always tell you to skip Guatemala City entirely. This is easy enough to do as Antigua is just 1 hour from the airport and it’s much easier to find comfortable lodging and transport to all the major stops in Guatemala from Antigua. […]

I heard about Finca Ixobel and the tree houses from some other travelers along the way, and so without much resistance, I dragged Klaus there with me. The Finca is located in Poptun, a small town 2 hours south of Flores, also in Peten. The Finca came highly recommended in the guide books as a […]

 285 From Coban we negotiated some good minivans, and in combination with well timed motion sickness tablets, we got to Flores without much of a hitch. I even got to ride in the front seat for two out of the 3 micro buses, yeah! Flores is up north in Peten, the northern and low region […]

After some internal debate, I opted for the guided tour to Semuc Champey park. Some chicas de Alemania (girls from Germany) recommended this park with its natural limestone bridge as a must go. Sometimes we budget travelers think, ‘Why do I need a guide?’ and we just opt for the transport and skip the guide. […]

Some of you are well aware that it’s not pretty when I get motion sickness. Today was not a pretty day. According to “The Book” (Lonely Planet), it would take 8 to 9 hours and 4 buses to get from Panachel at Lago Atitlan to Coban, our destination north. We left Casa del Mundo at […]

 363 We have transfered down the lake just a bit to another place. Casa del Mundo is a hotel built into the cliff on the north shore of Lago de Atitlan. It´s an amazing place! The views are face south towards all the volcanos and also west toward the sunset. There is a wood fired […]

 344 We spent two beautiful days at Isla Verde. Unfortunately, I´ve been sick with a cold the whole time. Fortunately, my bed and little bungalo are very comfortable. Ooh, what a nice mattress! Strong hot solar showers too.  My bungalo bathroom is open to outside. Like a little private bathroom garden. Food is OK, they […]