From Lijiang we rode to the outskirts of the Himalayas and Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest gorges in the world, for a two-day trek. Our trek began at the downstream end of the gorge.
How Not to Arrive in a Foreign Country
The moment we stepped off our sleepless fourteen-hour flight to Beijing and into one of China’s coldest winters on record, Lacey and I began an epic first week here, facing what, at the time, felt like an extra helping of
Profe
When we arrive at the top of the hill and pedal up the final, more gradual rise to the turn-off for La Cuchilla, we hear the first shouts of “profe, profe!” Lacey and I are drawing breaths in huge gulps
Final Travels in Central America, Part I – The Carribean and the Rio Dulce
Our final two weeks of travelling began when we reached the Honduran Bay Islands, and spent two days and a night camping on this small, gorgeous, and completely undeveloped Carribean Island, called Water Caye. Not a bad place
Final Travels in Central America, Part II – Tikal
Early morning looking from Temple IV over the jungle at Tikal, perhaps the greatest ancient city of the Maya. The ruins are huge; we spent an entire day exploring the site, often hiking through dense jungle on overgrown
Final Travels in Central America, Part III – Semuc Champey and Lago de Atitlan
Gorgeous light in the Verapaces, the mountains above Semuc Champey. The river just below Semuc Champey. The wonder of Semuc Champey is tough to get your mind around; while a roaring river undercuts a kilometer-long limestone natural
Festivals and Practices
A monster roams San Cristobal Totonicapan, scaring children (and tourists) until December 15th, when he and his cohorts will be ritually driven from town. More monsters, taking a break from scaring to pose. San Simon, the porcelain
Final weeks around the highlands
Banana plant and the beautiful waterfall near San Cristobal, which we visited on a day hike in our final weeks. Our incredible cast of roomates, without whom this trip would have been far less
Volcán Santa Maria
Clouds on the summit at approximately 6 a.m. View toward the summit around 7:45 a.m., from halfway up. It cleared off, but it’s still a lot steeper than it looks! At the top! Looking southeast down Guatemala’s
Trekking from Nebaj to Todos Santos Cuchumatan
We took “chicken buses” from Xela to get to the remote indigenous town of Nebaj, our starting point for the trek. The infamous chicken buses often pack as many as 80 people onto old, garishly repainted American schoolbuses.