A crack appears in the fiberglass bottom of the boat each time we hit a wave as we cross Lake Atitlan. It is a cloudy and hazy morning, and I am heading north to Peten, the largest state in Guatemala.  It is home to the most largest concentration of Mayan ruins in the country. I can’t wait to get there.

After the boat docks at Panajachel, I walk over to a travel agency to see about getting a ticket to Guatemala City, from where I can catch a bus to the town of Flores.  Within fifteen minutes I catch a shuttle and am leaving the Atitlan area.  I will miss it.

As we wait to pick up others, I see a boy kicking a small puppy in the yard of his house. The puppy is chained up, and cannot run away. I open the sliding window of the van and…