These monthly recaps give me perspective on just how much can happen in four weeks. May 2016 is a prime example — I spent the first half exploring Guatemala, and the second half in Connecticut, Cape Cod, and New York City for work and family time. I also took an unplanned break from blogging as life got busy. I’m in this for the long haul and that means occasional lulls in posting so that blogging doesn’t become a slog.

I’ll start with a preview of my time in Guatemala. Can’t wait to write more fully about this place in future posts!

I crossed over into Guatemala from San Ignacio, Belize. My first stop was Flores, a colorful lakeside town not too far from the extensive Mayan ruins at Tikal.

Iconic view of Tikal:

From there I took an 11-hour, nausea-inducing bus ride to San Lanquin, which is the base for exploring nearby Semuc Champey (famous for its natural blue pools). I booked at El Retiro Lodge on the river and loved my stay here.

My feelings about Semuc Champey are complex. Lanquin is in the middle of nowhere and requires a full day of travel on either side of the visit to get there and back. Once there, it’s still a 40-minute bumpy ride crammed into the back of a pick-up truck to reach the site’s entrance. A big piece of the charm is not knowing too much before you go and letting the day surprise you, but I’d read too many recaps of other travel bloggers’ experiences to go in with a blank slate — as a result I went through the motions instead of feeling a sense of discovery. Our guide was lackluster at best. But… Semuc Champey is indeed quite beautiful.

And there is a neat cave experience as part of the tour:

Next up I visited Antigua, a historic city with colonial architecture and cobblestone streets sprawling under the shadow of three nearby volcanoes. I loved it here and even came back for one extra night at the end of my trip before going to the airport. It’s a fun city to just walk around and explore. There are dozens of outstanding restaurants, a chocolate museum, great coffee shops. Other bloggers had written that they didn’t feel safe here, but I felt totally safe — in fact there was a noticeable police presence, scattered along city blocks even at 10pm when I came back late from dinner one night. In total I spent three nights in Antigua.

The last major stop on my trip was six nights at Lake Atitlan, a high-altitude scenic lake surrounded by volcanoes. I anticipated that this would be the highlight of my entire trip. If I’d had more time, I would have stayed here a whole month to do a Spanish language course.

But I arrived to a lake enshrouded by fog.

… And this was the extended forecast for the duration of my time here:

Shit. I’ve wanted to visit here for several years, and now I can’t even see the lake? Not cool, Mother Nature, not cool.

Each morning I woke up and drew back the curtains hoping to find sunlight. And every time I was disappointed.

The upside? The lake has cheap accommodation and really terrific restaurants, so I passed my days editing photos over coffee and reading books on my Kindle. I finally had the time to sort through the 3,500 photos I took in Spain last September and write up the Spain highlights post I shared last week. The crummy weather did not stop me from visiting several of the unique villages around Lake Atitlan, going for hikes, and doing yoga.

My adorable cabaña at La Iguana Perdida in Santa Cruz:

Enjoying a happy hour drink at Club Ven Aca in Jaibalito:

And on my sixth and final morning in Lake Atitlan, I woke up to clear skies. Finally… this is what I was supposed to be looking at the whole time! I can’t complain though, as at least I got to enjoy it for a few hours before my trip ended.

I flew into Boston and stayed with my good friend Victoria before heading back to Connecticut — it was her birthday and I loved catching up with her, her boyfriend, and her mom. I only wish I could’ve stayed for the party!

But work was calling. I spent a week in NYC as script supervisor for The 75th Anniversary Peabody Awards, which airs on Pivot on June 6th — I’ll do a separate write-up of that soon. It’s a really neat event with honorees like Jon Stewart and David Letterman.

My parents had a super exciting month too — they went on their first big international trip since their honeymoon in 1978! They spent two weeks in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris. They were so sweet to bring back travel-themed gifts and a whole box of macaroons!

I got in a few theater experiences this past month — I saw Kentucky at Ensemble Studio Theater (it was outstanding). Then I attended the Young Vic’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire starring Gillian Anderson and Ben Foster, currently running at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. I also saw the musical She Loves Me on Broadway.

It was my first time seeing a show at St. Ann’s and I was delighted to discover it’s located right under the Brooklyn Bridge — I got there early to walk around and grab a bite to eat outside before the show.

A few more NYC food photos… this falafel platter with hummus and baba ganoush made me so happy:

And I tried a coffee place called La Colombe that has a draft latte. How neat is that?

I ordered an almond milk latte instead due to my milk allergy, but my friend Sabrina reports that the draft latte is quite tasty.

I met my sister and friends Emily & Carrie for Indian food one night. I’ve barely scratched the surface of this cuisine and enjoy any opportunity to try more dishes.

Over Memorial Day weekend I went to Cape Cod with my family. We relaxed at our favorite lake in Harwich, played lots of board games, went for walks on the beach, and enjoyed dinner and a movie with my aunt and uncle.

My sister, lounging in a kayak:

Dogs are only allowed at this lake until Memorial Day so we made the most of it. They loved it. Apologies for the gratuitous dog photos. (Not really.)

My sister’s pup Oscar freaks out around bigger dogs but he’s very chill in his carrier:

I read the new Hamilton book cover to cover. Loved the photos, essays, and lyric annotations.

A few shots from our walk at Red River Beach:

And that wraps up May!

On tap for June: work in NY and LA. Time to replenish the travel fund!