I went to Guatemala in 2007 with friends and went back again in 2008 with a friend and my boyfriend (now husband).  Michael proposed there on my birthday at a beautiful place called Casa del Mundo.


I discovered that you do lots of laying around in hammocks when you go to Guatemala for vacation.  (Also, when you go there on vacation, you probably feel as bad as I did when I had to say "no" to all the people who asked if I was there for a mission trip!)   Then, you go home and crave a part of the experience you had.  The second time we went, I spent a good bit of time walking around clusters of little shops, hoping to find a good hammock to take home. By good, I mean inexpensive (and most everything is!).  We only spent about $8-$10 per night at most places we stayed.