Content tagged Guatemala

Damn. That Martine sure knows how to move his hips! I like to think of myself as a very uninhibited and confident dancer. But during the salsa lesson we filmed tonight, I found keeping up with the 5'2" Guatemalan dancing machine quite the challenge. There we were, all lit up and on camera in the middle of a popular Antiguan club, trying to look natural while Martine marched us through a… more

A trip to a world-famous lake like Atitlan conjures up images of sun bathing, hammock swinging and sailing around in circles just for the fun of it. Our visit couldn't have been more different. Instead of indulging ourselves in any resort-reserved hot rock rub downs, each of the Wayfinder cast members was given a challenge to be completed by the end of the day: go out and produce our very own… more

Waking up at 3:30 a.m. sucks, no matter where you are. Waking up at 3:30 a.m. to trudge out of your warm hotel, and into the cold, uninviting and pitch-black morning so you can watch one of the most famous open-air markets in Central America come to life also sucks, but only because I'm not a morning person. Besides, when's the next time I'm ever going to be in Chichicastenango… more

If I was pitching a movie about this morning's hike up Pacaya, it would be called, "Erin vs. Herself vs. The Volcano." Because not only did I have to keep up with the rest of the Wayfinders and scale a lava-filled mountain, I also had to make sure my own clumsiness didn't kill me along the way. Trying not to trip. The walk from our campsite to the crater surrounding Pacaya was… more

Ever pray to a moustachioed cowboy? Ever been smacked across the face with a bundle of wet Guatemalan grass and herbs? I bet you haven't. It's just not the type of thing that happens to most people, let alone most tourists who visit Guatemala. Well, it happened to me today. And it felt surprisingly good. We visited a town outside of Antigua called San Andres. That's where a shrine is located dedicated… more

A "fellow filmmaker" (ha!) like Quentin Tarantino would have been proud of all of the real-life blood and guts I got on film today. It was ingloriously disgusting. I got all up to my elbows in entrails, intestines and other goopy cow innards, and I loved every second of it.   But the day sure didn't start out on such a high note. When the Wayfinder crew first informed us this morning… more

First day here in Guatemala, and I already feel like I'm adapting to this new-to-me culture. I mean, I haven't started speaking Spanish yet. I haven't started wearing one of those amazingly beautiful Mayan dresses the women here wear that make them look like walking rainbows. And I couldn't tell you who the president of Guatemala is. But I can say I've jammed out with a couple of real-life Antiguans. And… more

How does a single Wayfinder make compelling TV about meditation in Guatemala? That's what I set out today to discover in our first Wayfinder.tv solo challenge. Last night, the crew told us we each had to go out on our own and come up with a story to film in one of the towns around Lake Atitlan. So, this morning, some of the crew members and I hopped in a water… more

As predicted in yesterday's blog, I awoke this morning at 3:30 a.m., completely unrefreshed and bleary-eyed in Chichicastenango. But the producers insisted we get an "early start" today, filming the largest open-air market in Central America come to life. And so we did. Learning how to make tortillas in Chichi. But just to be fair, I think some of the other cast members did a better job than I could writing about… more