Santa Cruz

Bright and early, Anthony and I headed to the airport to make our way through the customs-like checkpoints for heading to the famous Galapagos Islands. While we weren’t leaving the country, the islands are treated a bit like their own country, with their own set of very strict regulations to ensure the environmental integrity of the islands. Look for my upcoming blog post on how to do the Galapagos islands for under $1000.

We paid the $100 entrance fee, had our passports checked, our luggage raided (lost a bag of chia seeds in the process, darn!) and then boarded our plane with a load of other tourists all excited for the trip of a lifetime. It was an hour and 45 minute flight out over the Pacific ocean and as the first island came into view we all excitedly peered out the little oval windows for our first look at the Galapagos. Continue reading →

I took a shuttle from the quiet city of Antigua for the two hour drive through the mountain country side to reach Lake Atitlan. The drive was captivating and I couldn’t take my eyes from the road, starring out bright eyed as the sights blurred past me: mountains surrounded us on all sides, farms were scattered here and there, hardy crops of maiz perched on steep slopes, the occasional small village, and now and then plumes of smoke from small rubbish fires dotted the distance. As we got closer and closer to the lake the land became more mountainous, the roads became steeper and cliffs began to form as we hugged the hillside, looking over precariously steep drops with no guardrails. Continue reading →