Prologue

As I embark upon this journey through Guatemala, Panama and Ecuador I would like to begin by saying that while I have traveled abroad several times before, this will be for me, the first trip of its kind. Notably because it is my first trip traveling solo into a foreign speaking country, but also because I will be putting myself into situations which have not historically been my strengths. Specifically foreign language and manual labor. Two of the principle objectives of this trip are to learn Spanish though cultural immersion and to spend a month living on a permaculture reserve in northwest Ecuador. Let’s hope this is a record of personal growth –however it will more likely be a tale of the blunders that happen along the way.