Volunteering in Guatemala with Worldpackers

Volunteering in Guatemala was one of the best things that happened to me during the two months I spent in the country. Yes, yes, you read that right. Why? You might be wondering. No, Titín, we are not wonderin— JUST HUSH, I WANT TO TELL YOU slaps them like the Batman meme. Because, first of all, it took me all the way to Livingston, the Guatemalan Caribbean coast, which I honestly doubt I would have visited otherwise. Not for lack of interest, but because if you look at a map, Livingston is practically cut off from the rest of the country and can only be reached by water.

You can imagine my excitement when I found out the volunteer placement was right there, in a hotel overlooking the river. I basically turned into a mermaid.

This little photo is from one of the spots I reached by paddle boarding straight from the hotel.

Volunteering in Guatemala

I found the volunteer placement in Livingston, Guatemala through Worldpackers. It’s a platform for finding volunteer opportunities all over the world that I’ve been using for about five years now. Given the way I travel, I mix volunteering with simply traveling, housesitting, or working in the places I visit. I’ve been traveling solo for about 15 years now, so traveling is basically a lifestyle for me. Because of that, how I organize myself keeps changing.

There are times I need solitude or need to catch up on my creative work. During those times I do housesitting or rent something cheap just for myself. Other times, I want to socialize and meet other travelers, and in those cases I stay in hostels. And finally, there are times when I do what I love most: getting to know the culture I’m visiting. Currently, I do Couchsurfing or volunteering because I think they’re the ideal way to really dive into the culture you’re visiting. I really think meeting local people is one of the best ways to learn.

Here I am with the Garífuna girl I shared front desk duties with at the hotel.

What did volunteering in Guatemala do for me?

Thanks to this last volunteer, I got to know the Garífuna culture of the Guatemalan Caribbean. Since several of my coworkers were Garífuna, and I could also spend time with Kekchí people. Kekchí is the name given to one of the Mayan groups living in Guatemala and Belize.

This time around, I traded five hours of work a day, six days a week, for a private room, three meals, free coffee, tea and fruit, plus the chance to do SUP every day.

But what I valued most was living and working side by side with such different cultures. It’s not the same to spend a couple of hours getting to know someone one day as it is to share a workspace, tasks, and daily life. It’s challenging, and it can be frustrating at times not being able to communicate the way you’d like, but to me, those are the best moments. You grow through discomfort, and it’s amazing what you learn once you step outside that comfort zone where everything works exactly the way you expect it to.

I recommend volunteering as a way to really immerse yourself in the culture you’re visiting, and especially if you’re traveling solo, it’s a great way to be around people and learn within a safe space.