Hi, my name is Rose (@rosekodal), and I’m here to tell you the story of why a 21-year-old Danish girl like me has stayed with Maximo Nivel 3 times, and why I am definitely doing it again.
The story begins in September 2021 just a few months after I had graduated high school and started my first gap year. I was thinking of plans I could potentially make for my gap year, and something I knew for sure was that I felt very eager to explore the world. A couple of years prior, my older sister had been in Costa Rica where she had volunteered and stayed with a local host family in Manuel Antonio through Maximo Nivel. Her travel story inspired me, and I decided to look into the opportunities of volunteering in another country. After 3 years of Spanish in high school, travelling to South America was very appealing to me and after a bit more searching, I decided on Peru, where I found an animal volunteer program in Cusco.
A few months passed, and in April 2022, I suddenly found myself on a flight to Peru. This was my first big solo trip, so safe to say I felt more nervous than ever. However, amongst the nerves was the excitement of a young woman getting to fulfill her dreams of exploring the world. I felt safe knowing I had someone waiting to pick me up at the airport, and after I had unfortunately lost my luggage along the way, Maximo was happy to help in any situation where I needed them. After a couple of days of volunteering at a dog shelter in a small village outside of the city, I asked Maximo to shift to another volunteer program. I hadn’t felt completely safe taking the bus out of the city all by myself, and thankfully I was met with a very understanding team at Maximo’s office, who were happy to help me change programs.
A few weeks of volunteering and exploring all the beautiful nature and sights surrounding Cusco went on, and I only had very little time left in Cusco before heading back to Denmark. I had been so happy staying in Cusco, with Maximo Nivel as an organization, but also because of my lovely host family, so I knew that it wouldn’t be my last time in Latin America. In fact, I already started thinking of opportunities to return.
The great experience with Maximo Nivel in Peru led me to my next big solo trip that I started last year in October. About a year ago I had watched a tv-program in Denmark about some people competing in a competition whilst travelling through Central- and South America, and I was reminded of how incredible my trip to Peru had been. That was when I remembered that Maximo Nivel also had a school in Guatemala. Inspired to travel to Central America and to learn more Spanish, I started planning my trip to Antigua, Guatemala.
Once again, a months later, I suddenly found myself on a flight to Guatemala, completely unaware of the great adventure that was waiting for me on the other side. When I first arrived in Guatemala, I found myself in a bit of a “crisis” – or at least I’d had some different expectations before my trip than what I met, when I arrived.
When I was in Cusco, there were constantly lots of things to discover, but I realized after arriving in Guatemala that this wasn’t necessarily the case there. I thought of myself as the kind of traveler who thrives on adventure and seeing lots of different monuments, and besides hiking Acatenango, I was surprised with the fewer adventure options in Antigua. The feeling of slight disappointment, however, only lasted a few days, because that was until I fell completely in love with the city and the country as a whole.
I quickly befriended many of the other students at Maximo, locals and travelers, and my host family, and the other travelers staying there, became my own little “family” where I felt safe and loved. Soon I created my own little routine consisting of going to Spanish class at Maximo, going to a café in the afternoon to do my homework, taking a salsa class at Maximo every Tuesday, followed by going to Las Palmas to continue the Salsa dancing and ending up at my host family to eat a family dinner. I rapidly improved my Spanish (and salsa skills!!) with the help of my very competent Spanish teachers, and I would use my free time in the afternoons to stroll around the beautiful streets of Antigua or exploring the many markets with my friends. That routine was why I became so happy with my trip to Guatemala – so happy that I even decided to return to Guatemala just 1 month after leaving to experience a bit more of Central America.
Even when I went to Costa Rica in November, I did a surf-camp through Maximo, where I also got to stay with a local host family. I had an overall great experience with yet another lovely host family and good surfing instructors.
Of course, my experiences haven’t been perfect, but that is all part of the growth process you experience when you travel. There will be highs and lows but looking back I have nothing but happy memories and good feelings. I wish I could relive every single experience I’ve had solo travelling in Latin America, but for now those experiences are locked in a special little room in my memory.
Solo travelling can be scary, but it is one of the best decisions I have taken in my life. If I could give one piece of advice to someone who is contemplating going solo travelling, it would be to not overthink it, but rather throw yourself into it. I have learned so much about other people and their culture, and I have created friendships I would not be without. I highly recommend Maximo Nivel as an organization, and I can guarantee they will be there to support you during your stay. And you can be sure that I am already planning my next trip with Maximo :).