"If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there."

Buenos Aires... a city of late nights, patriotism and passion.  A massive city of 30 million people, such a contrast from my time in Guatemala that it was pretty hard to transition and take it all in during the few days I spent there.  I walked the statue filled plazas, mingled with locals at a milonga , shared mate  with locals and fellow travelers, and joined thousands of protesters in a national march.  I didn't spend long here, but I made some memories and connections that I'll remember for a long time to come. Buenos Aires nightlife was perhaps the biggest change from Guatemala, where I was in bed by 10pm and awake at dawn.  In Buenos Aires, things start and end *late* - people generally have dinner around 10pm, and many dance clubs won't even open until 1 or 2am!  Consequently, mornings tend to start slow, often with a coffee & medialuna  for breakfast around 10 am, and a siesta later in the day for those who were up partying ...

Lake Atitl án , with Volcán San Pedro in the background Hola amigos! Lake Atitlán was certainly an interesting way to begin my trip, very different from anywhere else I've been. It's a tiny but bustling little ecosystem, filled with people from very different walks of life - indigenous Mayans, Guatemalan tourists, American expats, hippies, party kids, Europeans. An odd mix of world travelers, and people who have spent their entire lives in a single village. The lake (an ancient, deep volcanic crater), is ringed by more volcanoes, with 9 or 10 villages nestled between their folds. To get from one village to the next, you can take a little 3 wheeled taxi (a "Tuk-Tuk") for 10Q (~$1.50) - but be warned, the roads between villages are very rocky, and the Tuk-Tuks are barely faster than walking! Tuk-Tuks navigating the streets of San Pedro A better option to go between villages is to take a boat across the lake, for 10-15Q ($1.50 - $2.00).  Boats come eve...

Hello friends! For those of you who've been waiting for me to post something, I'm sorry it's taken me so long. There's just so much to see, and seeing things is a great excuse for not writing about them! Nevertheless, I do think it's important (whether for future Aaron or some other reader) to document my travels and the thought process behind them, so here goes... For a while now, I've been toying with the idea of random wandering as a means of breaking habits and expanding one's experiences. It's basic human nature to fall into patterns, yet those patterns are not always beneficial. Often times there are better things out there, better ways of living our lives, which we simply haven't discovered because we have blinders on. I've certainly found this to be true in my own life. I've spent most of the last 8 years following a pretty consistent routine - eating at the same restaurants, practicing the same hobbies, barely venturing outside...