The second half of August I got to spend 10 days in Guatemala in Mexico for work.  The purpose of the trip was to meet with forestry members and talk about their work with teak and possible ways to collaborate with my masters project.

The first week we were based in Guatemala City and visited the departments of Jalapa (inland and mountainous) and Escuintla (more coastal, flatter, and hotter.  On the weekend we ended up at a resort on the Pacific outside Puerto San Jose, not too far from El Salvador.  The following week we headed up to Villahermosa Mexico.  The beginning of the week we visited a nursery on the Tabasco Chiapas border.  Later on we drove east towards the border of Tabasco and Veracruz.

All together it was a long and interesting trip.   Making the trip longer than previous visits was the unfortunate bug I picked up in Guatemala.  Travelling with locals on a work trip definitely allows one to see different parts of the country.  On the flipside it can be disappointing to pass up wonderful opportunities precisely because it is a work trip.  This trip was another painful reminder that I need to work on my spanish.