Blogs from Capital Region, Guatemala, Central America Caribbean - page 7

Have you ever stood in the breeze up a hill and stared at the sky, those moments of Devine peace when you exhale pain and inhale forgiveness. Just 20 minutes out of Antigua town I stand, gazing at the full moon, Fuego volcano erupting in the back ground, Venus and Jupiter alining in the sky above us. The calm, the energy, it blew me away. Those once in a lifetime experiences are why I travel, there where I find my release. Never have I seen the earths core blowing out of an active volcano, I mean how many people actually experience these things. It makes you wonder suddenly, how varst and insane Mother Earth truly is. How beautiful, how unexplainable. Our inner emotions, our daily struggle peril in insignificance when the sky, the moon, the stars, ... read more

I am not going to lie, I predicted the last two weeks of this trip were not going to be our favorite stops and it is proving to be true with the exception of San Diego and Cabo San Lucas. Today’s port was super industrial although they had an attractive area at the pier for shopping. Many arts and crafts vendors were in residence and although I found their goods attractive, didn’t buy a thing. We have no room to bring anything else home so we will not be buying anything else from here on in. Saw some iguanas near the shore and other than that not much to do unless you travel 50 miles to see Antigua. The temperature today was in the nineties so we were happy to spend most of our time on ... read more

Distance driven today: 184 miles / 296 km Cumulative distance driven: 6,476 miles / 10,422 km Today’s trip: Huehuetenango to Guatemala City, Guatemala Indigenous masks bought for Christer’s collection: 1 Entering Guatemala, through the northwest region, also means that the entire road infrastructure quality dropped a few notches compared to Mexico. At the same time as the poverty level in the villages along the road became starkly visible. But perhaps the most noticeable change is the fact that the average driving speed immediately dropped to 30mph / 50km/h. This is primarily due to all the slow moving trucks, endless curves, constant grades thought the hills and mountains, and the complete lack of any chance to overtake other vehicles (even when driving a motorcycle!). Up until southern Mexico I could easily ride 250-400 miles / 400-650 km ... read more

After 6 and a half years of being together, Mal and I tied the knot in October 2014. Instead of taking a conventional one or two week honeymoon to one destination just after the wedding, we decided to leave it a few months, save up and take more of an extended trip. After a little deliberation of destinations (Australia, the Caribbean and various countries in Central America) we decided we weren't content on visiting just one country and we settled on travelling around Central America for a month if possible (depending if we could get the time off from work). Originally we put together a little plan of travel consisting of all of the countries in Central America but then we realised one month would be pushing it a little to see all of them in ... read more

Holy week in Antigua, Guatemala is one of the most beautiful religious celebrations known in America. Not only has it's creation of luxurious carpets made up of colorful sawdust, flowers, and fruits become tradition for Antigua civilization during Semana Santa, "Easter Week", but it's religious grandiose homage to Jesus and his crusificition via Guatemalan artisans man made 'andas' (floats), statues and elegant robes proves that lent in Antigua, Guatemala leads to a true spiritual and cultural opportunity for one. In Guatemala, processions (or as they would say, procesiones) occur during Holy Week and Lent. During my stay in Antigua, Guatemala I was privileged enough to personally view Antigua's Catholic celebration commemorating Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Have I ever been one with strong faith and core beliefs when it comes to religion? No, not ... read more