Final day in Pasac!

Day 4- Today was our last full day in Pasac! Ah!! Estoy triste! In the morning we went on another hike to see an absolutely gorgeous waterfall. It was so secluded from the town and felt like our groups little secret place. Once we got back it was time to prepare for our evening.  We all got the opportunity to go in one of the tamascals and clean ourselves. The… Read More

Utzzz

We arrived in Pasac last Monday with mixed expectations. We knew it was another mayan village and were worried about the challenges we would face. We also heard that we were staying with families, which presented the challenge of communicating with families who´s second language was spanish. But the other Central America group said they loved it here so we kept an open mind.  I guess our adventure begins with… Read More

Broken Vans & 5 Star Resorts

Hey yall. It´s been a trying journey to Antigua but we finally made it.  We were in the car from San Andres for about 16 hours yesterday.  First 2 bridges had construction and we couldn´t pass, so we detoured a few hours, which brought us back to Coban for lunch, after which our van´s radiator overheated. After fixing it using our drinking water we traveled onward until the condition of… Read More

Tikal/San Andres

Hey everybody! Our first day in San Andres we traveled to the Mayan ruins of Tikal.  They were extremely impressive and massive.  We saw a lot of unique animals and plants during our hike there. This was also the site of where they filmed Star Wars (the ewok settlement.)  The best part was climbing the highest temple in Tikal.  From the top we could see the expanse of the jungle… Read More

Currently in Flores

We arrived in the Isla de Flores, Guatemala yesterday in the afternoon. We found a hostile looking into the lake and happen to see multiple rainbows that evening. Around 6:30pm, the group grabbed dinner and for dessert, went for ice cream afterwards. This morning, a few of us did yoga and got breakfast at 8am. We had a few hours of free time afterwards before heading to San Andres for… Read More

The First 8 Days!!!

Hello everyone! Sorry we haven´t been able to blog as we have had an eventful start to our trip. We started orientation in Coban, Guatemala where we got the chance to get to know each other as well as immerse ourselves into the central american culture. We stayed at an excellent hostel that should be famous for their pancakes and coffee. Our stay there was a wonderful way to begin… Read More

Helen and Emilie in Coban, Guatemala!

Today we got to venture through the city of Coban. This is our first time out and about! It´s quite exciting! We were given a bunch of challenges like finding food, internet and getting a phone to call the leaders. That was interesting, we attempted to ask a woman standing near the banos (bathroom) for her phone, we still don´t know if she really wanted to let us use it,… Read More

Greetings from Coban

Hello all! We have arrived safely in Coban, Guatemala. We are staying at a beautiful hostel called Misterio Verde. The first days of travel and orientation are going well and it is nice to be getting to know our group members. Today we are exploring Coban while doing a scavenger hunt around the city. Completeing several tasks while not speaking the language too well is challenging but fun at the… Read More

Itza in Guatemala!

We just wanted to let all Itza’s blog followers know that the group landed safe and sound this morning in Guatemala. They were picked up by a driver from Misterio Verde, arrived in Coban, and have been enjoying settling in and orienting to the program, Guatemala, and one another. They will be updating the blog themselves shortly and sharing their journey as they move forward. All the best, Heather Diamond… Read More

Central America Updates

Hello Central America students and families, Thank you to everyone who has called or emailed us with concerns about the eruption of Vocan de Fuego in Guatemala. We have also been following the situation in Guatemala and have been in touch with our contacts there. We just wanted to reassure you that, in talking with contacts at TACA, we’ve been told that everything is fine at the airport, flights are… Read More

Rockin’ It Steady In Portland!

To our intrepid group of Central America travelers: Just a quick check in to let you know that we are working hard and having a blast at the Fall 2012 Carpe Diem training, here in the lovely land of Portland, OR. We are learning lots and co-creating a magical journey for the group. As we learn more about each other, about each of you, and about the amazing places we… Read More

Vote for your favorite photos and videos!

Thanks for all your submissions and drum roll please! After going through a rigorous selection process, we narrowed the field down to 14 photos and 3 videos – there were so many good ones to choose from, so thank you again. We just posted the videos and pictures up on our Facebook page and now it’s time to vote on your favorites! It’s pretty easy, just ‘like’ your favorite and… Read More

Fall 2011 Photo, Video, and Short Story Contest

Thanks to all of you for your submissions for this semester’s contest! We are going through all of them right now and will post the finalists very soon for everyone to vote on their favorites. Stay tuned and thanks again for another amazing semester.… Read More

On our final encounters

We sat in a circle on a square wooden platform built on the powder white sand beach in front of our hotel, a collection of aging bungalows arranged on a secluded beach like driftwood scattered amongst sea grape and mangrove trees. The platform by day functions as an area to bronze or burn and, for most visitors, drink beer or brightly colored cocktails while watching the sunlight change the color… Read More

Bittersweet

@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Leaving the turtle project and arriving in San Jose was bittersweet. We were glad to be on normal sleep schedules again, but also felt the impending end of our trip. Though San Jose was different for everyone, we all enjoyed a few days of relaxation and the… Read More

Free Travel is fun but not free

Hey everyone! On Tuesday April 12th we said so long to the beautiful Playa and Parque Maderas and drove to Grenada to kick off our week of free-travel. This week was different than the rest of our trip in that the students decided where we go and arrange the accommodations, transportation, and other logistics to make things happen. We were led by Kaile’a, Lukas, and Emily and they did an… Read More

Buscamos Tortugas en Camaronal

We finally arrived in Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula last Tuesday, wet and tired after a long day of travel in public buses and rainstorms. They fed us right away on rice and beans, and we tried our best to stay awake for their presentation on this recently created turtle sanctuary, wildlife refuge, and public access beach called Camaronal. Four types of turtles visit this three kilometer stretch to lay their… Read More