Blog

Hiking Volcanoes in Antigua (by Emily and Anna P)What a week! After a long bus ride to Antigua, we settled into our hotel and set out to explore the cobblestone streets, local cuisine, and distinct culture- everywhere we turned there were mountains and volcanoes! Little did we know just how difficult some of those volcanoes would be to climb. After a day to catch our breath from the travel, we set out on our first “warm-up” hike up Mt Cucurucho. We were supposed to hike… Read more

Our Scuba Diving Journey!By Katherine Tilson If your child has not been checking in often, here is your confirmation that they are alive and well! The first week of activities has been fun and rewarding for everyone. We were split into group A and group B for scuba diving and have had a great time getting to know each other in these small groups. Each day, one group had an early wake up for diving while the other slept in and could explore Cozumel. On day one of divin… Read more

One of our students, Christina, fills us in about Coral Conservation in Cozumel:  After an awesome week of working towards our PADI Open Water Scuba Diving Certification, we put our new diving skills to use in an effort to help the dying coral reefs of Cozumel. Our day would begin in the classroom with a passionate lecture from our instructor German, starting with what coral is. Coral is a collection of live animal polyps that form together to create the coral. These b… Read more

Let's catch up with one of our students Ava, who is living the dream in the Caribbean Sea:   For the past couple days we have been doing a lot of traveling from Mexico to Belize.  Yesterday we left on a sailboat for three days of island hopping and camping. The first day was beautiful and very sunny and we went snorkeling and attempted to spearfish. Although we had no luck spear fishing, we did catch a fish off the boat! The first island we went to was Rendezvous Caye… Read more

Avery gives us an insight into life underwater: We started scuba today and I don’t think any of us could put into words how we were feeling. Nervous and excited I guess! For a majority of the group, this would be their first dive. Although it sounds easy, telling your body to breathe underwater can be difficult. For those with some dive experience, their priorities were more about perfecting skills like neutral buoyancy and air consumption. By the second dive it became a… Read more

Here we are in dreamy Central America! I remember arrival day like it was 15 days ago. After leaving the freezing fudging winter of Chicago, Mexico’s warm, welcoming breeze lifted my spirit. We were all strangers. We had all definitely stalked each other’s social media’s, and I’m sure everyone found the wrong Devin on Instagram because the first question I got was, ”You’re a dude!?”We made it through orientation and bonded through the sweaty, salty, sandy, small shared b… Read more

The much talked about volcano hike finally arrived and our groups departure was on our doorstep. We were scheduled to summit Acatenango, a massive Guatemalan volcano outside of Antigua, in 7+ hours. The night before was filled with last minute acquisitions for our overnight trip.  Some flooded the grocery store for bags of water while other stood outside Old Town Outfitters after they had closed, as we convinced them to let us buy last minute supplies. We went to bed ne… Read more

Sitting in the quiet early morning, watching the sun peek out over the vast volcanos in the distance, I was struck by the fact that it had taken two long days to get to this beautiful mirador. Eight long hours each day of pulling our sore bodies, laden with heavy packs, over boulders, into rivers and through valleys. Of course, not all of it was difficult or painful. The majority of the trek was passed peacefully, walking by awe-inspiring views in the company of good peo… Read more

The next stop on our Central American journey afforded us a week-long stop in the city of Xela, Guatemala.  This was an exhilarating and interactive learning experience. Xela, which is an alternative name for Quetzaltenago, happens to be the second largest city in Guatemala. The name Quetzaltenango is derived from a species of beautiful birds which are called the Resplendid Quetzal. They liked these Quetzales so much the currency  also shares this name.  Xela is actually… Read more

The Belize zoo is unlike any zoo I've ever been to. When I think of a zoo what usually comes to mind are small enclosures with a variety of animals not indigenous to that country and huge crowds of people all trying to see a big cat get fed from a metal hook. The Belize zoo is different from the "regular zoo". This zoo is a non profit animal sanctuary, and does not receive any funding from the government, so all the visitors coming to the zoo who are paying for admission… Read more