Sofia Somewhere

For the next half of our travels we headed east. We were initially just thinking Rio Dulce, but then that expanded to Livingston, and then to Puerto Barrios, but just to catch the bus back from there. So first up, Rio Dulce! Like I mentioned on my last post, traveling via public transportation can get tricky. Researching showed that to get from Lanquín to Río Dulce would have taken us at least 3 bus changes and 9 hours, and that’s if we were lucky and the buses pass by at certain times. In the end, we decided to just get a shuttle for Q175, and had an easy and hassle free journey to Rio Dulce. Ready for more travels We left Lanquín at around 8:20 (supposedly 8am, but we had to wait for a few people), and had a direct trip with no stops to Rio Dulce, getting us there 5 hours later. It’s a small town, so we got off with everyone else and walked the 5 minutes to our hostel, The Shack. It was right on the water, and seemed really fun. It was a small two story hut with a bar below

Whenever I travel to a new country, I have never-ending list of places I’d love to see. Guatemala is no exception. A quick search on the country shows a number of volcanoes, lakes, ruins, and other natural parks, several of which went on my "places to go to" list. Getting to these places can be quite a challenge what with the distance between them (making weekend trips difficult), as well as the public transportation options available (many tourists often opt for shuttles when time pressed). So I was really looking forward to this weeklong trip two fellow teachers and I had been planning. We set to do it at the end of the school year, thus giving us more time. It made a nice "treat yo self" trip (though while still under somewhat of a budget) and early birthday trip for me. Travel buddies We started our travels on Sunday, and spent the whole afternoon traveling north to Cobán. We arrived not too late in the evening, and had enough time to check in our h

The other morning, I looked out the window of my room, and a got a view of the house across the street hanging up their laundry. I spent some time taking in my surroundings; the simple houses in the community, some made with cinder blocks, and the rest with just metal sheets; the children playing on the street and the laughter that carries; the taxis beeping their horns waiting for passengers; the several tortillerias making fresh tortillas . La Esperanza is a simple community, unfortunately sandwiched between rivaling gangs. Throughout my time here, I have been exposed to hearing about family members of my students get shot, people I know being extorted, and different stories about the hardships of the community. Violence aside, I’ve also had to deal with cultural differences, the way people go about doing things, the seeming lack of efficiency, disorganization, chaos, and other little things. But despite all that, I’ve also been exposed to the beauty of the life and the will of the