Ahuehuetes, or the Montezma baldcypress, are Mexico’s national tree. The name comes from the Nahuatl (a family of Uto-Aztec languages) meaning “upright water drum” or “old man of the water.”…

I felt more prepared as we paddled along the southwest side of the island, though the thought of paddling the entire way north to Belize still sat heavy in the pit of my stomach.

“In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans; in one aspect of You are found all the aspects of existence.” ? Kahlil Gibran Passover,…