Blog
Lake Bunyonyi: A Photo Story
Beginning the Lake Bunyonyi Canoe Trek.
Mana Bena’s on Lake Bunyonyi.
Maytal learning how to shoot a bow and arrow from the B’twa people.
Peter and Morgan doing headstands at the top of the mountain we climbed during our trek.
View of the coast of Lake Bunyonyi.
Learning how to make woven bracelets on Lake Bunyonyi.… Read More
Leaving Guatemala with a Bang
By Juliette Clem
Hola friends + family of Maya!
Greetings from El Paredon, Guatemala. This past week has been packed full of so many fun and interesting activities that I thought the best way to share them would be through a collection of photos. I hope you enjoy!
We started our week in Antigua, where we had our first student-directed travel time so we got to choose our activities, which… Read More
Sweat Lodge Ceremony in the Hills of Raglan
By Jamie Vischer
Hey Parents!
We have had an unbelievable week exploring the coast of the North Island. We started in Raglan, a cool surfing town on the West Coast. Our time was mainly spent at the Marae, a Maori community gathering space. We learned tons of stuff about Maori history, ceremonies, and language. We had the pleasure of experiencing a pōwhiri, a traditional welcoming ceremony in the Maori culture.… Read More
Trekking to Small Villages in Thailand
By Alejandra Villanueva Navarro
We have arrived back to Chaing Mai after four days of trekking and walking to small villages. Our first day of trekking seemed like an endless walk of going up and down steep hills but arriving at the small welcoming villages made it all worth it. We stayed in a cabin with no electricity and a small mattress to sleep on, but it was all we… Read More
Becoming Part of an Ecuadorian Family
Hola familia! We spent this week in the beautiful city of Banos, a backpackers dream city full of opportunities for great food, extreme sports, relaxation, and good times. The group has enjoyed our homestays this week. We were able to become part of a real Ecuadorian family. We were treated like real daughters and sons, as we were served great meals and kindness.
One of the most important things we… Read More
“That was the best silent om I’ve ever heard!”
By Angelo Accus
Our journey to Lake Atítlan began with Talia being a team player and using her Level: 100 finesse skills to talk down our boat driver from 500 quetzales to 280 quetzales. Talia truly raised the bar for the Transporte position. We then glided across the sparkly blue-green Lake Atítlan, which smelled much cleaner than we had anticipated. Many of the Maya group members took photos as the… Read More
Raglan
By Olive
Hey guys!
I wanted to go a little more in-depth about student-directed travel. We drove from Wellington to a town north of Raglan and we stayed there for four days. We worked on getting into a groove with cooking and our group roles. There was also a lot of free time with opportunities to go kayaking, laying out in the sun, playing in the waves and exploring the… Read More
Group Bonding: A Photo Story
Wes working the grill at our spot just outside Raglan.
First evening walking the beach in Ki Whaingaroa at sunset.… Read More
Trekking Lake Bunyonyi
By Jason Tyler
Hey! Hoping this finds everyone back home doing well!
We’ve had an eventful past few days at SNEC and Lake Bunyonyi.
We arrived at SNEC, a school for special needs students in Uganda, on March first. While there we volunteered in the classrooms doing activities with the students and helped rebuild a veranda around a classroom building. It was a lot of hard work but our group… Read More
Volunteering at SNEC: A Photo Story
Dressed up to visit the Gaddafi Mosque in Kampala.
Buying produce in the fruit market in Kabale.
Exploring the hills near the Special Needs Education Center outside of Kabale.
Goofing around outside of SNEC.
Kiara contemplating the hills of southern Uganda.
Saying goodbye on our last morning at SNEC.
The veranda that we helped build at SNEC. It’s not done yet, but our local carpenter friend Silas is finishing the … Read More
Bonding with the Hilltribe People of Fang
By Dominique Lakhiaminh
This week we were fortunate enough to stay with homestays in Fang. Fang is a village with Akha and Lahu hilltribe people. We all got to stay with wonderful families that were loving and full of laughter. We got to learn about their culture and be able to help build a school for students that would have otherwise had to go to work with their parents at… Read More
Our Stay at Finco Mono Verde
By Desi Casanova
Hola from Baños, Ecuador! The group and I arrived here late last night after a long and tiring 10-hour van ride. Here we will spend a week learning more Spanish and diving deeper into the culture with our homestay families. I won’t give too much away; that’s for our next storyteller! I’m here to tell you all about our beautiful stay at Finco Mono Verde, a permaculture… Read More
Foods of Lobitos
By Josh Krauss, Latitudes Peru ’18
Welcome to Lobitos
Greetings everyone, I am Joshua Krauss, and I’ll be your spiritual guide to all things food. And our first destination is in the small beach town of Lobitos Peru. Most people come for Lobitos to catch some waves, enjoy the time on the beach or even watching the beautiful sunset on the edge of the horizon. However, deep within the heart… Read More
Homestays, Salsa Lessons & Lagoon Hiking in Xela
By Paige Harris
Buenos dias from Xela!
We’ve had a very busy week learning Spanish and continuing to immerse ourselves in Guatemalan culture. Prior to our departure from La Escuela de la Montaña, we had the unique opportunity to tour La Florida, a cooperatively owned, self-sustaining permaculture farm. Our guide led us around the plots of land owned by various local families, pointing out bananas, macadamia nuts, cacao, and the… Read More
Jungle Walking: A Photo Story
Semester birthdays.
Working on the beach yoga thing.
Harvesting wild ginger.
Handmade birthday card for Audrey.
Jungle walk attire.
Bird watching.
Roasting coffee beans.
Roasting coffee beans.
Pounding coffee pre-roasting.
Out of the coastal humidity and back into the mountains. Wrapping up a nearly ten hour bus ride full of laughs, movies, and good music. Hola Baños!… Read More
Adventuring in Abel Tasman: A Photo Story
The Crew outside of Te Papa.
Getting into mermaid mode before hopping in the Waka-Māori canoe (Abel Tasman).
Lunch break snooze while backpacking the Abel Tasman.
Exploring Ocean Waves-Motueka.
Taking a moment to breathe at the beach.
Hiking to a hidden cave during our time with Whenua Iti.
Rachel gather seashells down by the seashore.
Making markings in the sand.
Preparing for the adventure ahead in Christchurch.
Taking a break … Read More
#momsendmoney
By Bella & Rachel
Kia Ora!
It’s been a rollercoaster ride since we landed in Christchurch New Zealand. We had our first few days of orientation while exploring the city. After losing a few group members and enduring the cyclone we hiked to an 80 million year old cave, went to the beach and met many awesome locals along the way. We stayed a few days near Nelson at Whenua… Read More
Send-Off Celebration: A Photo Story
Here are some pics from our Homestay and send-off celebration!… Read More
First Impressions
By Emma Clements, Latitudes Uganda Spring ’18
When I first arrived at the airport I had no idea what to expect. Were people going to be mean? Would I get lost? How many marriage proposals would I get? Mosquitos? Weather? Did I pack enough? With all these questions running through my mind, I stepped out of the airplane and into a new beginning to an end. After dealing with all… Read More