September '24

Mexico → Disney → Guatemala → El Salvador 😳

Philip Manning
September 30, 2024

Here's what's been going on...

Met up with the fam in Disney World for a 20 year reunion
Flew back to Guatemala to visit Antigua and Lake Atitlan
Feeling at home in El Salvador

Think Mom was happy?

Opposite Worlds 🇲🇽🐭🇬🇹🇸🇻

September was a bit of a wild-ride.

I got to experience polar opposite worlds. After a week traveling around the Yucatan peninsula, I got dropped off in the most magical place on earth: Disney.

Yes, it’s true. Maybe David Blaine’s house is more pure magic, but Disney definitely creates some of the most magical, immersive experiences in the world.

Where else do you find a life-size Millennium Falcon?

While most of parks were exactly as I remembered - the highlights were no doubt the new Star Wars and Pandora sections. The attention to detail is wild.

There were a few new rides since I was last there that were super impressive as well. The stand outs for sure were Tron and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Me and bro on the new Tron ride

After Disney, I hopped back down to Guatemala. The quick taste at the border from Chiapas in Mexico had me wanting more - and of course I started to Google around and felt I had to go back to see Antigua and Lake Atitlan. And they did not disappoint…

Antigua on Independence Day

Especially since I arrived on Independence Day 😆. It was AMAZING - marching bands, baton twirlers, fireworks…super special 🇬🇹.

Then I made my way to Lake Atitlan which is beeeeautiful. Unfortunately, I came down with a fever the few days I was there - but luckily this was the view from bed…

Volcano views

After Atitlan, I had a few more days in Antigua and while I loved it - it was pretty wild having experienced Chiapas, then Disney World, then Guatemala. I really became aware of the stress levels thinking about safety and theft. In Disney, I was chillin - but these other places you really have to be on - both aware and cautious. If you live somewhere where you don’t think about these things multiple times per day, take a moment to really appreciate how lucky you are 🙏

After many good meals in Antigua, I took a shuttle down to El Salvador.

And wow this coast is amazing…

Office for a few weeks

I always wanted to visit when I lived in Costa Rica a decade ago, but it was a little far and super dangerous back then. But the new President cleaned up the country big time and you can feel the optimism in the air. Construction everywhere (not Bali-level thank god 😆), and new business popping up all along the coast. And not to mention epic ALL right-hand waves 🤩 I will definitely be back 🇸🇻

Brought to you by SafetyWing…The best travel medical insurance to use as a digital nomad. I use SafetyWing specifically because…