September, Friday the thirteenth. Not a good day to begin a new adventure.

In looking for a Central America trip, I was attracted to Costa Rica. But apparently so were everyone. This less popular tour is incredibly less expensive in comparison. El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize. Mostly Guatemala. I’m going for the birds, flowers, and people. Maya history is wrapped more in mystery than fact it seems. I’m not a fan of theoretical history. There are a lot of volcanos.

The notices from the State Department are alarmingly scary, but posts from travelers are much more encouraging. Indeed, both El Salvador and Guatemala have knocked back the danger substantially in the past year, which the State Department will catch up on in a decade or two. It’ll be interesting to see how things really are.

The group I’m going to be with is odd. Ten travelers, only one couple. 5 of each gender. The Trip Leader’s ancestors came from China.