Posts under ‘Guatemala’

My brother thought he had it all figured out. After a short stint in college he had moved back to New York. Instead of staying in his childhood room, he used his remaining funds to purchase an old, beat up camper. The idea was to sleep in the camper near where he worked in the [...]

Visiting less touristy places can be both a blessing and a curse. With little coverage in the guidebooks, it can be difficult to find places to stay and things to do before you get there. But once you settle in and find your way around, there’s less people around whose business it is to hassle [...]

Yesterday’s post was about how the U.S. and Latin America have differing notions about trust.  In the U.S., we go by the “trust but verify” ethic. While Latin America tends to rely more heavily on the “honor system,” (i.e., I’ll be offended if you don’t take my word for it). Although Latin America’s “honor system” [...]

After a long day of traveling, my family and I arrived at our hotel in Guadalajara, Mexico. But our reservation was not in the hotel’s computer system. I pulled the print out of our reservation through Orbitz from my wallet, and the hotel clerk gave us a room. But he insisted on keeping my print [...]

I swore off the idea of bringing my iPhone on my next Latin adventure after I incurred hefty roaming charges during my trip to Mexico last year. But I couldn’t bear the thought of going to Guatemala without it. After all, it’s my favorite camera, music player, e-mail receiver, and Internet device. (Wouldn’t it be [...]

“Cuidado” (watch out) someone shouted as I was wandering through a crowded outdoor market in Queztaltenango, Guatemala. The warning came just in time for me to make way for the car barreling its way toward me.  It hadn’t occurred to me that the narrow lane between the vendors’ stalls also functioned as a motorway. It [...]

By a strange twist of fate, disaster struck Guatemala City just days after I left for home from its airport. On Thursday, the Picaya volcano–which is about 20 miles south of Guatemala City–erupted and closed the city’s airport after dumping about an inch of ash on its runway. The eruption killed a reporter and injured [...]

For many people, traveling to places like Costa Rica or Mexico means living in a bubble. Contact with nearly everyone who lives there is avoided by staying in an all-inclusive resort. Maybe the trip will include a walk into town, but even then a stroll through downtown Cancun is about as authentic as Disney World. [...]

In this intrepid traveler dispatch, I describe how I overcame my paranoia and figured out how to relax in and enjoy Xela, Guatemala. Getting from place to place can be difficult. But Guatemala’s friendly people and beautiful sites make the journey as wonderful as the destination. THE TRIP: A 7-day stay in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. It’s [...]

In this interview with Cathy Brown, the editor of the Expat Daily News blogs for Central and South America, she describes the aspects of life in the U.S. that drove her to move with her young family to Argentina. She also tells us about a challenging fundraising effort she’s pursuing on behalf of a nonprofit [...]