From Santa Cruz La Laguna by Sasha Chernenkoff

Volunteering is a great way to extend your trip, as Realtraveler Sasha Chernenkoff found out while staying in beautiful Santa Cruz La Laguna, Guatemala. With gorgeous, lush foliage and a hospitable culture, this destination is a great place to visit while traveling in Central America.

Here is an excerpt from her blog:

“Santa Cruz was immediately appealing to me. I believe it has the most spectacular view of the lake and the volcanoes. La Iguana Perdida is set just off the water, meters from the boat dock. The pueblo (village) of Santa Cruz itself is set on the hill, a very steep walk from the shore. That weekend there was a hurricane warning for Guatemala. I liked Santa Cruz a lot instantly, and was in no hurry to leave, and I decided it would be an ok place to wait out the hurricane - which never did arrive. In the meantime I fell even more in love with Santa Cruz and the people at La Iguana as well as in the village. I studied Spanish for another week, then got set up volunteering in the hostel/hotel. By volunteering I was able to stay and eat for free. I also found volunteer work teaching English classes in the pueblo. The first week I taught 3 classes to children in grades 5 and 6. They were pretty shy, and it took some persuading to get them to talk…

I stayed in Santa Cruz for a month and a half and enjoyed my time there immensely. The setting was gorgeous, and the atmosphere was pretty relaxed. By teaching English up in the village and dealing with the chicas that worked in the kitchen every day, I was able to get to know the locals of Santa Cruz quite well and managed to practice and improve my Spanish quite a bit. It’s still far from perfect, but I am able to communicate quite well now without having to think about every single word before speaking.” (more…)

Visit these useful links to plan your own trip to this gorgeous Guatemalan destination:

Santa Cruz La Laguna Travel Guide
Santa Cruz La Laguna Travel Photos
Santa Cruz La Laguna Travel Blogs
Guatemala Travel Guide