Trey Johnston
I'm 29 years old, male, from Texas in the U.S. annd looking for adventure and opportunities to help others out. Ready and willing to travel the world.supertek78
I first decided to do volunteer work in 2007 but was unable to make it happen because of my career. Today however I'm at a place where I can afford to take 3 months off to volunteer my services in Central America. It's going to be tough there, no hot water, bunk style living without air-conditioning and I'll have to wash my clothes by hand. A shocking change for someone coming from America, but this is the way these children live everyday. The place: Casa Guatemala is an orphanage with 250+ orphaned children who live in the jungle environment near the Rio Dulce.
This website is what I will use to chronicle my trip to Guatemala, from the first day I leave until I return. Currently I am awaiting my passport renewal so I can schedule a flight out during the month of March. At which point I will fly into Guatemala City, take a taxi to Letigua and grab a bus to the Rio Dulce. For the first two weeks of stay I will be living and working at "HotelBackpackers" as seen below, but let's be honest; It appears to be more of a water-shack then a hotel we're used to. This will help me get acclimated to the culture and change in environment before I go to the orphanage. So, why do I want to do this and what do I hope to accomplish you may be asking? I think we tend to get so caught up in ourselves, our self fullfilling goals, money, career and the material things we work towards obtaining and forget about the things that matter most. I don't want to continue taking for granted all the simple things I am afforded as I continue to feed myself all the things I want. I wanted to take some time to see what it's like to live in sub-standard environment but I also wanted to do "something with meaning", something that "matters" and what better than to volunteer to help those less fortunate :) If I can make a different in just one persons life, then I will have accomplished what it is I'm working towards. I'll be the first to admit I haven't always given to good causes or volunteered my time, but I want to change that and this seems like a good first step to me :)
Travel Blog Posts
Finca Ixobel
Published: December 1st 2008Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Caribbean Coast » Río Dulce
December 1st 2008
Hola, My trip is over with now but I have so many videos to post! This video collection is from my trip through Guatemala from Rio Dulce to Tikal. It was a long trek but it was fun! I went to Finca Ixobel which is a town located about halfway to Tikal. Then I travel another 4 hours to El Remate which is just outside of Tikal. Then of course there is the day I spent at Tikal which was fantastic. I hope you enjoy the videos! They are short but it's something ;) Cheers... read more
Gulf Shores Alabama
Published: October 26th 2008North America » United States » Alabama » Gulf Shores
October 26th 2008
So, my parents had their 30th anniversary celebration in Gulf Shores, Alabama. This at first sight doesn't seem like your typical vacation spot, but man was it a pleasant surprise! The beaches were clean, quiet even if the water wasn't the best. It was so peaceful there, a great place to take your family. They have excellent seafood from what we hear at "The Oyster House" but our experience there was mediocre, That's not to say the trip wasn't really fun and enjoyable. In addition to the 30th celebration my little niece Morgan had her first birthday. She was tired and a little cranking because she missed her nap but it was still hilariously fun :) ... read more
Laural Run Camping
Published: October 20th 2008North America » United States » Virginia » George Washington Nat. Forest
October 20th 2008
Hey everyone I'm back... Well just this last weekend we went camping in the George Washington National Forest. (The 1-million-acre George Washington National Forest is steeped in American and pre-American tradition: a one-time home for Indians, a passageway for pioneers and a battleground during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars) It was so beautiful, peaceful and a real change from the hustle and bustle of the American way of life. We built campfires, shivered in our sleeping bags and made some great meals! We had some sweet Smores, Wassle and Pumpkin Muffins to top it all off. One of our bold companions even attempted to scare off what may have been a ghost screaming in the night! He shouted out in a deep baritone voice "WHO WAS THAT" and that was the end of the screaming spirit ... read more
July 2nd 2008
So I made it to Florida safe and sound in the great city of Miami on June 12th, 2008. I don't have any pictures because I became extremely ill on the flight over. Very ironic considering that I never once became sick in Guatemala or Honduras and yet I catch a fever and a stomach flew on the flight back. So I traveled around Miami at 9pm at night wandering the streets to see if I could find the Miami International Hostel which I could not, but I did stumble across this other Hostel which had a Mexican restaurant right below where I bought 2 huge burritos. I was too sick to eat them then and there so I saved them for the trip the next day. I was going to hitchhike but I was just ... read more
How we lived at Casa Guatemala
Published: June 19th 2008Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Caribbean Coast » Río Dulce
June 18th 2008
Hola, After looking through some pictures and videos from my trip I realized I never really posted anything about our living conditions. So, here are some pictures and a video of our surroundings at Casa Guatemala. The run down... Every morning we woke up to the sounds of the pigfarm next door. If you've ever heard pigs being fed you'll know it sound just about the same as them being slowly slaughtered, it's terribly loud and annoying. Additionally, before that takes place we here the sounds of roosters and howler monkeys at 3am and 5am. (I thought roosters crowed at daybreak only?) Once we wake up we usually take a trip to the showers which are extremely cold in the morning but rather refreshing in the evenings. Then we sit down for some warm or room ... read more
June 9th 2008
Well, I am an official Rescue Diver!!! Utila is a great place to dive, the people are really cool at Cross Creek and I would recommend it to anyone. Diving is one of those things I'm proud of doing because it's very different from anything I've ever done. This is one of the reasons I came on this trip, experience new things, different people and find out what it's like to live life by doing the things I want to do, by taking sensible risks, facing my fears by attempting things I wouldn't normally do. I think I've done that here... And there will be more to come. FYI- I have approximately 3-4 more blogs to post with pictures and videos coming soon that I was unable to post in Guate. ... read more
Casa Guatemala - Our trip to Rio Frio
Published: June 7th 2008Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Caribbean Coast » Río Dulce
June 7th 2008
So the Rio Dulce is by no means a cold water river, so it really wasn't that refreshing when we went swimming. However, about 1.5 hours through the jungle you come to Rio Frio which is very cool and so refreshing. Sometimes we take the kids there on special occasions and this was indeed special. We walked through many pastures until we came to one in which there were a few hundred cattle. I think they were Brahman cattle which can be a little wild and crazy at times, and this was no exception. We were almost in a stampede, it was a little scary to be honest... Anyway, enjoy!... read more
Utila Honduras-I´m a diver!
Published: June 5th 2008Central America Caribbean » Honduras » Bay Islands » Roatán
June 5th 2008
Well, I am now an Advanced Open Water Diver and am working on my Rescue Diver certification now! It is AMAZING here, diving is like discovering a new world rich with alien life. It´s like a work of art, the water, the coral and the marine life! Ivé seen all sorts of fish, a sea turtle, barracudas, caves, mountains of life rich with color. I have a few pics but will get more up soon-... read more
My going away party / Rio Dulce / Casa Guatemala
Published: June 2nd 2008Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Caribbean Coast » Río Dulce
May 28th 2008
Well the journey is winding down now and I'm on to new adventures! I had an awesome experience volunteering with the orphanage. The volunteers and the kids made this one of the best, most eye opening experiences of my life. I learned a few things about myself, gained a better understanding of other parts of the world and met some really great people along the way. Guatemala is a wonderful place, the people are trusting and friendly and ·Casa Guatemala is well worth your time. But now I'm taking some time for myself these last two weeks for some diving in Honduras! I'm diving with this outfit called Cross Creek and the people are great! You can see straight to the bottom of the ocean the water is that clear, and it's possible I might get ... read more
Semuc Champey, Coban, Flores and Belize (Hitchhiking 101)
Published: May 18th 2008Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Caribbean Coast » Río Dulce
May 18th 2008
So Henry and I went to Lanquin, just an hour or so away from Semuc Champey, which is a MUST for anyone traveling in Guate! There is this awesome place in Lanquin called El Retiro, although the staff can be asses at times, the benifits outway that aspect. In lanquin you can see the local caves or take an innertube down this FREEZING river. We did neither, but there are no regrets because we enjoyed everything else there. After visiting the Semuc caves, which was the most exciting thing Ive done in a long time, we went to the waterfalls and pools there for a swim. The caves take about 1 hour or so to venture through, it¨s very Indiana Jones and you only have the light of a candle that¨s in your hand.... It was ... read more
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