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From L.N., New York, NY

This past March, my husband and I took our two children on a wonderful trip to Central America. We began in Antigua, Guatemala for Easter Week. Antigua (not to be confused with the island!) is a World Heritage Site colonial town that was once the capital of the Spanish Kingdom. Now, in addition to colonial architecture and Spanish language schools, Antigua is famous for its incredible Easter Week celebrations. Locals create beautiful “carpets” on the cobblestone streets made of crushed flower petals and straw. Religious processionals then walk over the intricate carpets during the many parades that take place in the days before Easter.

We stayed at a lovely inn, the Casa Encantada (9a Calle Poniente Esquina #1, Antigua; 011-713-344-2344; www.casaencantada-antigua.com). There are several other properties, such as the Posada del Angel (4a Avenida Sur #24A, Antigua; 011-502-7832-5303; www.posadadelangel.com) and the Meson Panza Verde (5a Avenida Sur #19, Antigua; 011-502-7832-1745; www.panzaverde.com) that would also be wonderful choices. The Casa Santo Domingo (3a Calle Oriente #28A, Antigua; 011-502-7820-1220; www.casasantodomingo.com.gt) is another great choice. It is more of a hotel than an inn and is situated in a beautiful former mission. It also has a large pool.

While in Antigua, we hired a helicopter to take us to Lake Atitlan for the day. We circled the active volcanoes surrounding Antigua on our way to the lake, which was amazing! We didn’t spend the night at Lake Atitlan although there are two beautiful properties there: the Hotel Atitlan (Finca San Buenaventura, Panajachel; 011-502-2360-8405; www.hotelatitlan.com), where we landed, and the Casa Palopo (Carretera a San Antonio, Santa Catarina Palopó; 011-502-5773-7777; www.casapalopo.com), which looked incredible but didn’t allow children. The lake is surrounded by various villages, which you can visit via boat. We went to Santiago, where our guide took us to visit the shrine of Maximon, a Mayan deity, in the home of a local shaman.

After spending Easter week in Antigua, we traveled to the rainforest in Belize. We stayed at the Chan Chich Lodge (011-501-223-4419; www.chanchich.com), a jungle lodge built on an ancient Mayan plaza, surrounded by 130,000 private acres of rainforest preserve in northwestern Belize. I was a bit concerned when we first arrived as the rest of the twenty or so guests were serious bird watchers, which is not really our family’s thing It turned out to be an incredible adventure! Our guide took us on amazing nature walks which included crawling into looters’ trenches in the side of the Mayan ruins. Also, there is a working farm, Gallon Jug, that is part of the estate and where we went horseback riding and canoeing on a beautiful lake. We went on night drives in a jeep to look for jaguars and other wildlife. During the day, howler monkeys swung from the trees all around us. We stayed in a fabulous two-bedroom villa with a living room, which I highly recommend for families.

After three nights in the jungle, we flew to Ambergris Caye for three days of beach. We stayed at the Mata Chica Resort (011-501-223-0002; www.matachica.com). The property is a small, hip hotel directly on the beach. The only negative is that we were in one of their three “luxury villas” which, unlike the single room accommodations, was set back from the beach, behind the other rooms. We would have preferred to be directly on the beach. Belize has the second largest barrier reef after Australia, so we were able to do incredible snorkeling. The town of San Pedro was not much, so we preferred having dinner at our hotel where the food was fabulous, or at a neighboring property, Azul (011-501-226-4012; www.azulbelize.com), which also had a great restaurant. Azul also has two villas, both of which are on the beach. They looked very nice from the exterior, but we didn’t see the interiors.

I organized our trip with the help of ViaVenture (www.viaventure.com), which is based in Antigua, Guatemala. They did an amazing job of organizing guides, drivers, helicopter trip, and our transportation from one location to another.

Read another member’s account of her trip to Guatemala.

From Los Angeles interior designer Moises Esquenazi:

“My first love was a lady of a certain age, with good bones, good breeding and an indifference to maintaining appearances. A regal guardian for centuries and officially named Cartagena de Indias in 1533, she claimed many bloodlines: African, Andalusian, Indian.

Extravagantly beautiful and wild at heart – a bit windswept and always kissed by the sun. A musician, she played her own tune that her children called Vallenato. Her hospitality unmatched, and she knew how to throw such a fiesta…

My first love was a city called Cartagena.”

Over the years, I’ve heard Cartagena compared to the historical ports of New Orleans, Charleston and San Juan. Like these cities, Cartagena was an anchor for an Imperial Europe conquering a virgin frontier and fusing many cultures into one. The abolishment of the slave trade in the mid-1800s along with a wide outbreak of cholera around the same time put the city in a deep and preserved sleep. For many years, there were few outside visitors to the city, although since my childhood, it was the place many Colombians spent their holidays. With the emergence of the Colombian economy and a greatly improved security situation, Cartagena is being rediscovered by travelers eager to explore a place not invaded by McDonald’s, tour buses and retirees sporting elastic waistbands. Cartagena is very real, and very chic, relevant but not processed.

Growing up in Colombia, most of my great vacation memories come from the time I spent in Cartagena. In fact, I derive most of my inspiration as a designer from two characters that went hand in hand growing up: my father and the city of Cartagena. My father owned plastics and carpet factories on the outskirts of town. At the factories, which we reached by boat, he showed me how things worked and attempted to interest me in engineering while all I did was play in the carpet remnants. After visiting the factories, we would proceed past the bay for half an hour, past the muddy waters at the base of the river and into the shallow emerald Caribbean Sea. In this sea, he taught me to swim while enchanting me with tales of pirates and mermaids.

My father also taught me the Moorish influences on the city’s Spanish Colonial architecture and the West African influences in the vibrant colors. Within the walls of old city, the historical architecture is well preserved. There are hundreds of stucco colonial buildings with wood-beamed balconies and carriage doors, many of which have been converted to stores, restaurants, clubs and hotels.

Many times we stayed at the Hotel Santa Clara (Calle del Torno, 39-29; 575-650-4700; www.hotelsantaclara.com), a 17th-century convent turned hotel that still maintains the original chapel. My brother and I were always fascinated with a resident toucan that hopped freely among the hotel’s vast courtyard. Like the residents of the city, the staff is warm, accommodating and always smiling. Given its location and amenities, the Santa Clara hosts many weddings and events. It’s always so fresh and current. I love his hotel.

A handful of smaller hotels are springing up as well. My favorite new small hotel is the Hotel Agua (Calle de Ayos 4-29; 575-664-9479; www.hotelagua.com.co), which is a converted colonial home. Proprietors Sergio and Gustavo have filled the property with much of their personal art and antique collection – all done with impeccable taste. The home’s 17th-century architecture showcases many elements that influence my designs, such as formal and informal spaces, open-air rooms and outdoor daybeds. With only six rooms, I feel like a pampered personal friend when I visit the Agua.

Many young artists and designers have established themselves in the city. You could find my childhood friend and jewelry designer Mercedes Salazar’s creations in Los Angeles at Kitson or Barney’s New York, or you could stroll down Cartagena’s cobbled stone streets and discover a wider selection at her local boutique (Calle Ricaurte 31-56; 575-660-2440; www.mercedessalazar.com).

Cafes line the city’s many plazas and there are always merchants, musicians and dancers in the streets. Vallenato, a mixture of Indian, African and Spanish music, is played throughout the night and day within the city walls. Yet, due to the heat and humidity, the city is a little groggy during the day and springs to life at night. The clubs open late and stay open until very early in the morning. Aguardiente, a local potent liquor taken as a shot which tastes like a combination of ouzo and tequilla, is always in abundance.

Arepas, made from corn meal and sometimes filled with cheese, are my favorite Colombian food and always seem to help cure an aguardiente hangover. The papayas and mangos sold on the street carts or from the baskets carried on the heads of the local girls and are sweeter than anywhere else in the world; the city has incredible seafood as well.

The best beaches are outside the city on a series of islands called Las Islas del Rosario and at beach clubs along the outer peninsula. Hotel Agua and the Santa Clara each have their own beach clubs and Playa Blanca is a public beach on the peninsula of Baru. Time permitting, it’s best to charter a boat and spend time swimming in the shallow waters of the Caribbean or stopping at small beaches to have ceviche and beer.

The Hay Festival, which Bill Clinton called the “The Woodstock of the Mind,” is scheduled for January 2009 and is receiving international attention. The festival originated in Wales and celebrates writers, musicians and comedians. Love in the Time of Cholera, written by Nobel Prize Winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez and starring Javier Bardem, John Leguizamo and Benjamin Bratt, was recently filmed in Cartagena. Garcia-Marquez’s home sits just around the corner from the Santa Clara Hotel.

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From Tiffany Schauer, founder of Our Children’s Earth

I just returned from the Dominican Republic, which I reached by a flight from Miami to the Puerto Plata airport. My trip was for fun, but it also had a purpose. I wanted to enjoy the beach, culture and sun and also to learn about the various humanitarian efforts serving Dominicans as well as the Haitian refugees. I connected with two extraordinary people in the VIP world of Dominican tourism/commerce as well as the world of service and aid for the underserved populations living in the Dominican—Timothy Tuccelli, the go-to guy for the island, and Paul Moore, the founder of CitiHope International (www.citihope.org). They compiled a five-day itinerary for me that incorporated a variety of experiences, including visits to aid operations in the Puerto Plata area.

I stayed at the Casa Colonial (Playa Dorada, Puerto Plata; 809-320-3232; www.casacolonialhotel.com) in Playa Dorada. The hotel is one of the few, if not the only, boutique five-star properties in the Dominican Republic. The hotel brilliantly blends the heart and soul of the country’s culture with splendid luxury accommodations and services. A Dominican family owns the hotel, and their commitment to local culture is evident throughout the hotel. The hallways are filled with art and artifacts depicting Dominican resources and spirit.

Sara Garcia de Casoni, the hotel’s president and architect, and her family are invested in treating their guests well, but they also empower their employees with respect and proper compensation. Paying less than subsistence wages is a common practice among some resorts in the Caribbean, but Casa Colonial (particularly their expansive spa) is staffed by the happiest people I have ever seen. After a couple of days, the hotel people seemed to know and accommodate all of my daily habits and preferences while happily agreeing to teach me Spanish. I felt like I had lived there for months on end.

I loved eating at the hotel restaurant, Lucia. Chef Raffi consistently served delicious local fresh food. Veranda, their beachside restaurant had fish tacos to die for. The lobby bar has an excellent selection of drinks and tequila. I recommend a shot of Porfidio tequila followed by an orange slice sprinkled with cinnamon. Another highlight is the rooftop pool with four infinity hot tubs overlooking the beach and hillside—a perfect place for happy hour cocktails. In town, I enjoyed Trapiche, a Euro-Dominican fusion restaurant. They had excellent fresh fish and fun outside seating. My all-time favorite meal was at Juanita’s restaurant, Los Charros. Juanita has not formally opened the restaurant so getting a reservation is really tricky (call Tim to see if you can wrangle an invite). Way off the beaten track is a restaurant called Chez Maeva at Perla Azul in the old Yagua region. It is run by a Frenchman named Claudio and his family. This rustic gem is on a deserted beach with one bungalow for rent and out-of-this-world fresh fish for lunch. You can also arrange to ride horses on the beach here. This is a must see if your kids need a true Robinson Caruso experience. It is remote, untouched and so quiet. Again, call Tim to find this place.

My humanitarian visits included a medical clinic, CEPROSH, located in Puerto Plata. I arrived to witness their receipt of the only immune system diagnostic machine, associated with H.I.V. testing, in the Dominican Republic. The local press covered the event to encourage people to come get tested at the clinic for free. Anyone testing positive can begin treatment through the clinic. I also visited one of the main donated pharmaceutical distribution centers— Servidores de los Enfermos hospital pharmacy. This organization operates out of a humble house run by the divine Sister Sor Tehodora. While I was there, a young mother brought a baby in for medicine. The baby had an open wound on his belly since birth, and they were picking up prescription cream from Sister Tehodora. Later, I visited a Haitian Maternity and Pre-Natal Medical Outpost. When I arrived, thirty Haitian women (including teens) sat with their babies awaiting treatment. The room full of thirty babies was eerily silent from malnutrition and despair. That facility lacks a refrigerator; the needs are stunning.

The Haitian population in the Dominican is in dire need of basic necessities: running water, food, medicine, healthcare, education, and economic opportunity. I visited Haitian refugee villages, which were built as part of a larger effort to provide minimal living conditions for the hundreds and thousands of refugees. I arrived at the Los Algodones village just in time to see the new water hose recently installed surrounded by children with water jugs. The Samaritan Foundation partners with another group by the name of Dominican Crossroads (www.dominicancrossroads.com) to build subsistence level housing, provide running water, and electricity. The image of smiling Haitian children getting water and dancing in the cinder block foundation of their future school was priceless and life altering.

I also met with people working for a group called Esperanza (www.esperanza.org). Among other things, Esperanza works to provide small loans ($100-$150) to the underserved people of the Dominican and Haiti with the goal to empower people to start small businesses that will jumpstart the participants out of the cycle of poverty and into the economic food chain. Esperanza was founded by Seattle Mariner, Dave Valle, who was inspired to help when playing in the Dominican Republic as he was coming up through the ranks of professional baseball. Esperanza has been on the ground helping for the past 13 years. The concept of microfinance and some of Esperanza’s projects are also showcased on the larger microfinance site at www.kiva.org. Anyone can register at this site and become a micro lender—it’s amazing!

In my mind, the Dominican Republic is a country with devastating poverty, unrivaled natural beauty and an exquisite soul and human spirit. There are endless ways to enjoy nature, sun, and beauty while finding the same intensity for opportunities to augment the evolution of the human condition. Don’t miss it.