As I wrote before, Making Chocolate in Antigua, Guatemala was one of my favorite activities. However, making chocolate during a heat wave, and then staying at a budget hotel with no AC meant that my handcrafted chocolates were not long for the world. So I decided to give pieces of chocolate to the people in my tour group! My chocolate before it set. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.
Catedral de San José Antigua means Ancient in Spanish. While not as old as the Mayan settlements, the city was founded in the mid 1500’s the city served as a capital of the kingdom of Guatemala. However in the 1700’s a series of earthquakes rocked the city until it was abandoned and the capital was moved to Guatemala City. It is amazing to look up and see the sky, framed by the walls. Slowly in the 20th century people started to return to the city, but rebuilding was limited. Today you can still see many of
As I was racing around the island in a golf cart to try (and succeeded) to win a scavenger hunt I saw this beautiful sunset and squealed to a stop before snapping this pic. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.
There is something scary and a bit mysterious about venturing into a cenote. Staring down into the dark abyss, I was a bit apprehensive. It looked so deep. It also was much bigger than I had thought it would be. Those were my first thoughts of seeing the Ik Kil Cenote. After traversing the winding path 85 feet below the earth I looked back up. Small waterfalls decorate the walls, and roots from the plants above dive below the water. I shivered a bit in the darkness, no longer afraid but due to the temperature change for being so far below the
I use to be a little obsessed when souvenir hunting. I had a mental checklist of items I needed to add to my collection. Which is why I searched high and low for a unique shot glass in Guatemala. I shopped in El Mercado for hours but not finding anything. I was being too picky. And then I saw this little clay shot glass, small and dirty and for some reason I thought it was perfect. And so I bought it! And then a few stores down I found the actual perfect shot glass...but I had spent all my money!
My last full day of my G Adventures Mayan Encounter Tour was a free day. I had already been to Playa Del Carmen before, and so wanted to see Chichen Itza as I had missed that on my last trip. The problem was, many of my tour-mates had already seen it earlier in their own trips. So I was the only one who wanted to go. No problem! My tour guide arranged for me to join a day trip to see it. And both she and I explained to that tour company that I needed to be back by 5PM
While cave tubing in Belize a cenote allowed a little light into the dark cave. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.
Its Christmas in July! This little tea cup ornament comes from Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. George and his wife Martha were very fond of tea. Read more at: Tea from the archives Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.
Today is World Oceans Day. With so many news stories of rising ocean temperatures and bleached corals, now more than ever is it important to protect this important part of our ecosystem. So today I share some of my favorite snorkel photography and hope we can all help protect the oceans. Above is Waterlemon Caye, off of St. John USVI. The large school of fish you can see are Sergeant Major, my favorite fish. Here you can see more Sergeant Majors near Isla Tortuga, Costa Rica. I like this fish as it reminds of me the coloring of Flounder from the
84 Years ago Amelia Earhart was preparing to fly this cherry red Lockheed Vega 5B across the atlantic by herself. She was the first woman to do so, and the second person (after Charles Lindbergh) in the world to complete the journey. Later in August 1932 she then flew this plane non-stop from coast to coast! These were just two of her amazing feats performed in this plane. Be sure to check it out at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington DC. Museum Monday is an every other week series about museum news, objects, and reviews.