Semana Santa Easter is commonly referred to as Semana Santa in Guatemala. The words literally translate as semana = week and santa = holy or sacred, or together they really mean ‘Holy Week’. And in Guatemala this term means the week prior to and including Easter, but also is loosely[…]
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Many first time tourists to Guatemala are confused by several features of Guatemalan bathrooms. Typically they are frustrated by cold showers, clogged toilets and have questions like, “where is the hot water knob?” I have been living with a Guatemalan family for about five months now and think I’ve figured[…]
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I didn’t do it, but I’m intrigued by the idea. This last week I was in my Spanish class and talking to my instructor about the art of medicine in different cultures. My instructor has issues with migraines and some occasional stomach issues. That was when she brought up that[…]
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Want to sleep in a pyramid? You can do it at San Marcos. Recently I went to Lake Atitlan which is the largest inland body of water in Guatemala. It is a big lake in the crater of a huge volcano surrounded by a handful of towns. I spent my[…]
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Forget hiding and finding eggs on easter when in Guatemala. But, as a trade off, you get to smash an egg on top of a friends head wishing them prosperity and good luck. Easter is one of those interesting holidays which has evolved over the last couple thousand years from[…]
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Zephyr Lodge Lanquin One of the best and most amazing places I’ve ever stayed is Zephyr Lodge in Lanquin. It was almost a polar opposite to my experience in Rio Dulce. The staff at Zephyr are more like your favorite bar tenders. They were entertaining and ultra friendly. The lodge[…]
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Casa Perico is about 10 minutes by boat from Rio Dulce Guatemala. We took a small launch to get there and arrived in the afternoon. The Lodge itself is beautiful and quant. The whole place is suspended on poles about three feet above the mud and ponds of the swamp[…]
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You never know with boat trips from one city to the next. More often than not thy are horrifying experiences where you spend most of the ride puking into plastic bags (i.e. from the main land to Utila). The boat ride from Livingston to Rio Dulce is almost the polar[…]
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Perhaps I didn’t give Livingston a fair chance. I really enjoyed getting there on the little boat with my luggage thrown in front (I kept wondering if it would fall out after a large wave). Livingston is unique in Guatemala in that it’s population is a mix of Garífuna, Afro-Caribbean,[…]
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One of the most unique and amazing places in Utila is the Jade Seahorse (jadeseahorse.com). I can’t even begin to describe the place, but it is a lot like someone from Burning Man building a house on an island. The “Jade” of JadeSeahorse refers to the fabulous Mayan stone so[…]
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This last sunday just after we were finishing my fifth dive in Utila, we pulled up anchor and started pulling away when someone spotted dolphins approaching the boat. The captain immediately shut off the engine while everyone donned snorkel gear and jumped in the water. The school of dolphins swam[…]
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Utila island is all about scuba. I’m guessing there must be 30 or more diving schools on the small island. Every other business is a dive school. Dive schools try to lure you in as soon as you get off the boat by offering free rooms, free tuktuk taxis to[…]
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