Well, it's definitely not getting any cooler the further I head south. It must have something to do with this is Equator thingy. Despite the rise in the heat index, I'm rather happy with my decision to continue on to Nicaragua. So far, I'm really enjoying this country. My bus ride down was quick and painless. I had the driver drop me in León so I could slowly work my way south. León, which was once the capital of Nicaragua, is the second largest city in the country and sits in the most volcanic region of Central America. T [View Full Entry]

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Crossing borders into El Salvador has brought a change in culture and ease of travel. Unlike Guatemala, this country is not as geared for tourism and thus takes a little more effort. The Spanish here is also slightly different making communication more challenging. A lot of travelers I have talked to skipped past El Sal because of these very reasons. But, I have also talked many who have been here and absolutely loved it. I only had a few days to spend here, so I decided to check out the surf beaches near Libertad. I set up my transportation through Tica [View Full Entry]

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Just last year, I made a decision to sponsor a young child from a Third World country. I went online through Compassion International (www.compassion.com) to make my selection. At first, I was not even sure in which country to begin my search. I thought back to my father's recent travels in Guatemala, in which he accompanied Vine International. He had told me so many good things about the country that I decided to narrow my search there. After several minutes of scrolling through the children's pictures, I came across the cutest little girl [View Full Entry]

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Dad’s time in Central America is coming to a close as we spend Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Antigua; along with everyone else in the country. This is the busiest week of the year for Latin America and Antigua is the heart of the action. The town is alive with hundreds of people dressed in purple robes, massive parades, floats depicting Christ’s Crucifixion, clouds of incense, and beautiful carpets of colored sawdust and flower petals (Alfombras). Processions and other events actually take place every weekend through Lent (The 40-day period prior to Holy Week), but the ones during [View Full Entry]

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With our feet buried in Honduran sand, Dad and I sighed with relief after a long 2-day journey across three countries by planes, boats, and buses. There is no travel more exciting than when the plans are spontaneous and very flexible. The following is a run down of the means by which we traveled, the bumps we ran into along the way, and finally the results of a successful mission. To accomplish our goal, at least one leg of the trip needed to be by air. Much to our surprise, the domestic flights were rather inexpensive and allowed us to cut [View Full Entry]

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Hello again! I must go ahead and warn everyone that this entry could be very slack. I believe I have been affected by the local laided back atmosphere, way too much sun, and an abundance of Cuban cigars. Let me just put it this way; my brain and body are fried. On the mini-bus ride from Flores to Belize City and the cigar boat over to Caye Caulker, Dad and I met a group of 5 Swedish girls travelling the coast. We spent the next three days in Caye Caulker snorkeling, scuba diving, and having nightly dinners and entertainment with the [View Full Entry]

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We're back, and it is day 3 of the father and son expedition through the ancient land of the Mayans. We said our farewell to the Rio Dulce and saddled up for another exciting bus ride across the country. On this occasion, we were not the only gringos along for the ride. There was one other couple by the names of Sue and Biff Johnson (a classic name). Poor Biff and Sue didn't know what was in store when they decided to travel across Guatemala by bus. The sweat soaked, long sleeve shirt and look across Biff's face was priceless. These [View Full Entry]

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Well, my mission in Antigua was a complete success. I set up transportation and airport pickup for my father for Monday and reserved us a room in Antigua during Semana Santa. None of you realize how difficult that task was. Due to the size and popularity of the festival in Antigua, people are supposed to reserve rooms at least 3 or 4 months in advance. I spent all day going hotel to hotel getting the same answer; we're full! The word around town was that every establishment was booked for that week and the rooms were going for around $110 (American) [View Full Entry]

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So far in my travels, I have heard many different beliefs and views on religion, and all of this time I have just listened and gathered thoughts. Now I would like to share with you my personal beliefs and opinions. When the topic of religion comes up, I have noticed that everyone always asks "What religion are you?", "Oh your a Christian, what denomination are you?", "Your non-denominational, what is that?", "Don't you have to pick one of the types to follow?" I have thought about it and have come up with this; I personally believe that religion (all of these [View Full Entry]

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Life at Lake Atitlan is behind me and now it is time for the next chapter. I am staying for a week at the home of Dennis and Doris Rice in Quetzaltenango (known to everyone by it's Quiche Maya name Xelaju or simply Xela - pronounced Shea-lah). Dennis and Doris manage Vine International's warehouse operations in Xela (For more information on Vine International, see my past entry or visit www.vineinternational.org). The Rices are one of the kindest and spiritually solid couples I have had the pleas [View Full Entry]

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