Buen Viaje (Great Trip)

At airport wrapping up a fun 10 days trip across Guatemala. When people first heard about my trip, first word was ‘be careful’, several friends from Latin America especially recommended not to go alone as a woman. It concerned me a bit yet I’ve heard similar comments for many other countries. People mean well yet …

What Makes Holiday Special?

What makes holiday special? For some, it’s the family reunion, tradition or secret receive. For others, it may be religious, political, or professional association. For me, holiday is usually travel time. I’ve had a motorcycle tour of Santiago, Chile; biked around country side of Cuba and helped harvest pineapples & tasted the sweetest ever; ate …

塞翁失馬焉知非福 Good or Bad Luck?

Booked 4:30am pickup for Tikal; it was raining and I standee at the street corner under a bulb, the only bright spot for 45min, didn’t see a tour bus stop or pass. Tried several times, finally got somebody on the call who claimed the driver didn’t see me (really?). He promised to pick me up …

Arbol de Vida (Tree of Life)

Mayan call the tree ‘Arbol de vida’ (tree of life) because its roots spread out in all direction which represents their ’round’ worldview as well as transferring message from earth to god. It’s nicknamed ‘wow’ reflecting the impression when people first saw it, the scale, color, beauty, acoustic…it reminds me of what Chinese called 頂天立地 …