I wrote this on my second night in Guatemala. I decided not to publish it at the time in case I jinxed myself, but now I am safely out of the country and feel I can share:

“Quetzantenango, Guatemala: My first day in Guatemala and it only took 20mins to find and enroll into a Spanish course which left me racing back to my hostel to check out in time, drag my bags across town to my new host familie’s home whom I hadn’t met yet, and then scream back to the school to commence my first lesson. As always, when things happen they happen fast, and I hope I’ll pick up Spanish in a similar manner, though that’s being optimistic!

Its my first night in a stranger’s home. I’ve just killed two spiders in my bed and am about to go to sleep. I’m a little worried about there being more spiders. I’m not really that worried about the fact that I’m in a country I know nothing about or staying with people I never knew existed until a few hours ago.

The one thing I was warned about before coming here is not to photograph children because some locals associate that with child kidnappings that were common recently. Apparently a Japanese couple were stoned to death by a mob while snapping away at some kiddies. I shoot a couple of hundred pictures a week… I’m not sure how I’m going to manage to keep children out of all of those! There were also tales about uneducated masses who carry guns and fire at will. The story goes that one man was shot simply for trying to hold a parking bay open for a friend of his. It’s amazing anyone’s alive with such savagery! Surely these guys are going to see this pale-faced African coming from a mile away and take me for all I’m worth?

But I’ll worry about that later. If I had worried about all these things when I was told them I would never be here today. Now I am here. No sign of gunmen or stones flying at my head. All there is, is a family who’s accepted me into their home, some food in my stomach, and two spider corpses smeared into my bed sheet. It’s so easy to let your imagination run away with oneself and end up in a frenzy over what could be. One should always know as much as possible and be prepared for what could happen but this should never hold you back from doing what you desire. Who knows, all you fear could already be squashed.”

During my month spent in Xela the most dangerous thing I encountered was the cold weather that forced me to wear every item of clothing I had. I never saw any acts of violence nor was involved in any precarious situation, I wasn’t even bitten by a spider! After hearing so many tales of atrocities I almost felt cheated when I left the country without a confrontation. But I ended up getting my moneys worth… Four days after I returned to Cape Town I was held up in the driveway of my home. Fortunately – along with my sister’s fast reflexes – we managed to scare them off and nothing was stolen and no one was harmed.

Moral of the story: Harm can find you wherever you are. Even in your own home.  So you might as well take the risk to enjoy the few good things that are left on this planet. I’m so pleased I took the risk in finding Guatemala. This place is incredible.

PS: These pictures were taken while hiking up volcano Santa Maria. At the top we stumbled upon a Mayan ceremony. It was interesting to see the merge of maintaining cultural roots with modern day influences.