Because 2 weeks of traveling isn’t enough
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Market Days
Even the sleepiest town in Guatemala explodes with life on market day. Busloads of Mayans bring their wares and shopping bags to haggle, eat, and socialize. Descending from the stuffed bus there is a parade of baskets leading to the heart of the market. The markets all begin calmly enough at the outskirts with…
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Cliques
During 2 1/2 months of low-budget travelling in Central America, we rarely get the opportunity to mingle with the one-week vacationers we used to be. Antigua has plenty of opportunity. We signed ourselves up for a bona fide tour to climb an active volcano and watch lava flow for a rock-bottom price. At 6am, a…
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Pase Adelante
Our first impressions of Guatemala were the dry volcanic landscape and the snail passing our bus uphill. Almost immediately we were confronted by the bright colorful dress of Mayan women. Unlike El Salvador who decimated their indigenous population, the Maya constitute over 50% of the Guatemalan people. However, they don’t live in the many…
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The Weekenders
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, making most destinations a short hop from the capital. While travelling through small towns, we can’t help but be reminded of quaint New England towns that spring to life with New Yorkers and Bostonites on the weekends. Because there are fewer ¨natural wonders¨ here than…
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Art and Music
Throughout Suchitoto posters hang for a gallery opening on Sunday. Adam joked they might have wine so we should go, continuing our favorite Pittsburgh habit. I laughed. But lo and behold, before the mid-day sun was beating its hardest, we were sipping iced sangria while perusing paintings of the female body by a popular Salvadoran…
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Pupusa Hour
As our bus approached a police checkpoint near the El Salvador border, the bus conductor informed everyone, they would need either their identification or 100 Lempiras ($5) in their hands. The actual border crossing was our easiest yet with a doctor checking for sick people, Honduran and Salvadoran officials, and a money changer all filing…
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Copan
It almost gets repetitive. Great civilization flourishes over a thousand years ago. They abuse their natural resources. They decline rapidly, and all they’re left with is corn and cold showers or illegally immigrating to the USA. Copan is the proclaimed ¨Paris of the Maya¨ – famous for their intriguing sculpture work and detailed hieroglyphic…
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In the Cold Room
Stepping into the cold room of Celaque Botanical Gardens is a nice respite from the heat of the Honduran lowlands. Orchids bloom profusely in hundreds of lush different varieties and pleasantly sculpted structures funnel the water into falls. In the canopy, the sounds of chirping birds are piped in through speakers. On the cardboard…
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Visit San Juan
San Juan, Honduras is a small town on Sunday when the market is open and bustling. On Monday morning, it´s a really small town. We arrived in San Juan after 3 hours of bumpy windy dirt roads North along the old Lenca Route, peers of the Mayas. Amongst the natural attractions of forests and…
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Ode to Coffee
On our last trip, we went to mostly tea-drinking areas, including New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and India. Even Tanzania, which grows some of the best coffee in the world, is inhabited by tea-drinkers. When we were able to find coffee in those countries, it was almost always instant. We had fortunate tasty exceptions in Vietnam…
Got any book recommendations?