Visiting Guatemala: Santiago Atitlan and the Spanish colonial capital of Antigua [Part Four]

We left Panajachel for Antigua on the morning of our fourth day, but first we took a boat ride to Santiago Atitlan, another quaint town along the lakeshore. Dad was thrilled about the life jackets we were forced to wear. Safety first! We then squeezed ourselves into a tuk-tuk for a quick ride up to

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Visiting Guatemala: The market and graveyard at Chichicastenango [Part Three]

On our third day in Guatemala we drove from Panajachel to a popular Mayan market at Chichicastenango. But before we left, Dad and I explored the lakeshore at sunrise, watching the predawn light transition to bright blue sky shrouded with smoky haze from nearby “fire forests,” as Tony liked to call them. Local farmers burn

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Visiting Guatemala: On the road to Panajachel & Lake Atitlan [Part Two]

On our second morning in Guatemala we enjoyed breakfast at our hotel, Barceló Guatemala City, before boarding the bus for a full day of sight-seeing. We began with a windshield tour of Guatemala City. Our guide, Tony, took us to several different areas of the city, called zones, so we could get an idea of

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Visiting New York: A Quick Trip to Syracuse

  Last October I spent a long weekend in Syracuse, NY as part of my graduate program at Syracuse University.  My dad lives nearby in Pennsylvania, so we also used it as an opportunity to meet up and do some exploring. On our first day, we did a quick tour of a few local waterfalls.  The

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