Exploring Mayan Ruins
Miro and I visited the archaeological site of Tikal in December of of 2009. Our experience was profound and prompted my interest in pursuing learning about the historical significance of the indigenous people in the places we’ve visited. I realized I had never written about it and was inspired to research the Tikal site and Mayan traditions once again. In addition to visiting Tikal, we visited the Mayan runis in Cobá Mexico, Ixchel in Cozumel Mexico, Copan in Honduras,  Xunantunich in Belize,  and explored the underground caves called Actun Tunichil Muknal where Mayan ceremonies took place, in Belize. But until now, I have not written about the most famous …

One of our favorite places on our travels (and favorite places we’ve lived) is Antigua, Guatemala. Why? So Many reasons. The cuture, the lifestyle, the colors, the market, the art, the weather, the people, the location….

Whew! I could go on, but just to make sure you understand that we LOVE ANTIGUA, we mention this in every interview we’ve done PLUS when someone asks us if we are homesick for the States, we always reply with an emphatic “no!”, and in unison, Miro and I will say “…but we miss Guatemala!”

Miro and I lived in Antigua for almost 9 months and we definitely can recommend 5 fun family friendly kids activities. And we are not into recommending the expensive or pre-arranged tours and are big fans of creating our own agenda. (As if you hadn’t noticed). So if you’re budget conscious, playful and adventurous, these suggestions are for you. If you are planning on visiting our favorite destination with your family, here’s our top 5 picks of things for you to do with (or without) kids:

Living Cheap & Comfortably Explored
So what do you get for $1000 A Month for Two People?
Child riding bike in a Granada neighborhood
Slow traveling allows us to settle in one location for a period of time. We have had the opportunity to explore living frugally in several countries and several cities. This is an exploration of two of the cities we lived in, as we explore the budgets and comfort levels.
Living cheap and comfortable are separate concepts but are definitely related to one another. Living cheaply in a country is different than living frugally in …

Hope for the Children of Guatemala
In Episode #15,  Miro interviews Joe, a public development & research economist, working on a project in Guatemala that studies  chronic malnutrition among children.
“Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future”
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
The Program is geared towards eradicating malnutrition and stunting among children , something that effects over half the children in Guatemala. Staggering statistics, indeed!
Also in this episode, the Lainie and Miro talk about what they discovered from their our week long adventure on the Archipiélago de …

Great Advice if you are planning on slow traveling, moving to, or volunteering in Central America.
This guest post is by  David Bloom.  Mr. Bloom is active on the Couch Surfing boards for Central America and I’ve been communicating with him over the past year. I thought this article would be great travel advice to our readers and with his permission, we are posting it for you. If you have any questions or wish to contact the author directly, please send him a note here.
10 Things to Know Before You Move …

Arts & Culture
As Lainie and Miro travel, they have made it their mission to learn as much about the cultures they visit and have discovered, one of the best ways to understand any culture is to explore the arts. In episode #9,  Lainie & Miro share their impressions of the art and artifacts they’ve experienced along their journey and share what they’ve learned about Pre-Columbian art history. Also in this episode, Miro & Lainie  speak with Mario Lanz, an up & coming Guatemalan artist . Miro …