Greetings from Texas!

I’m so thrilled to be home with my family, sitting on the couch, watching football and curled up with the family dogs – a perfect Texas Sunday! I got home super late Thursday night, three days earlier than I initially planned. I wanted to give my mom a nice surprise and give myself a little more family time before I head out to Thailand on Christmas Day…..wheeeeee!

My last week in Guatemala was solid – I got to know adorable Antigua and hiked up Pacaya, one of the active volcanoes that hovers over the town. It was a perfect activity to end my first big chunk of travel time – as the sun set over the surrounding countryside, the sky was clear enough to see the a red glow at the top of the volcano, where lava still sits cooling from it’s last big eruption in early 2014. It was freakin’ awesome.

I’m looking forward to getting caught up this week here on the blog – I’ve got several stories from my last weeks in Central America, including my first attempt at paragliding and engaging in a cacao ceremony with a group of hippies that I’m still not sure what to think about. I can’t wait to tell you guys all about it!

Hope you’re enjoying some family time too this holiday season. I love traveling, but there isn’t anything quite like spending quality time with the people you love most.

Have a fantastic week!

Antigua’s Christmas parade on the 6th. You can’t tell in the photo, but this “float” was being carried through the town on the backs of several dozen small children!

My friend Katy and I stumbled across this museum showcasing some incredible modern photography in Antigua. How amazing is it’s courtyard?

December 7th is the official day for the “Burning of the Devil” in Guatemala. In one of the main squares, a sculpture of the devil is burned in a giant bonfire to represent the cleansing of evil before the holy Christmas season. I snapped this photo of him earlier in the day, before he met his fire-y fate!

The Hotel Casa Santa Domingo is not only the nicest hotel in Antigua, but it is built around the ruins of an old monastery and church, which it integrated beautifully with it’s modern design. It’s the best surprise we found in the town!

Our group hiking up Pacaya volcano as the sun sets.