Group Orientation: Date to be arranged

Trip Leaders: Mel (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and Leslie Dinkel (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Share your talents to help empower women, children and families in the Mayan village of San Martín Chiquito, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. This cultural immersion service adventure will introduce participants to the tremendous beauty, bounty and poverty that exist side-by-side in this country which, going south from Mexico, is the gateway to Central America. Meet and work side by side with the Mayan people as they share their rich culture and strive to overcome the great hardships inherent to many developing nations. Your participation will provide support for critical programs that improve health, promote and deliver education, and create job opportunities. Together, these opportunities empower Mayan communities to thrive, and make it possible for them to build meaningful live at home with their families.

Included: All lodging, transportation, many materials for service projects, in-country experts, many meals and entrance to many attractions. Airfare is not included.

Trip Cost (Double/Triple Occupancy): $1,953

9-Night, 10-Day Custom Trip

Trip Leaders – Ashlee Palka (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and Molly Corbin (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) with Mel and Leslie Dinkel accompanying • Includes all accommodations, transportation, many meals and activities as listed. Air transportation is not included (see suggested flights below)

Group Orientation by Phone: Date to be arranged

Join us on this adventure in service across three locations, including: Quetzaltenango and the village of San Martín Chiquito in the lush Guatemalan highlands, and breathtaking Lake Atitlán. We will match your talents and interests to meet critical needs in this Mayan village where Mám is the native language. Click “Details” to learn more!

Trip Cost (Double/Triple Occupancy): $2045

Machu Picchu Adventure (August 7-16, 2021)
with Peruvian Amazon Option (August 16-20, 2021)

Join with fellow Local Hope/Xela AID Alumni to experience the beauty of the Peruvian landscape and culture. This journey includes all accommodations, ground transportation, tours, all breakfasts once in Peru, and many other meals during our stay in Cuzco and Machu Picchu. All accommodations, ground transportation, custom excursions and meals are included in the Amazon. Air flights are not included.

• 10-day, 9-night Machu Picchu Adventure - $2998*
• Total with 5-day, 4-night Amazon Add-On = $3933*
• Trip Leaders – Mel and Leslie Dinkel

Art Ambassador and Local Hope present this high-comfort, exciting retreat for artists, photographers and people who appreciate art! Join us for a deeply enriching cultural experience where you’ll meet local people clad in the colorful attire of the Inca. Your journey will be rife with beautiful and varied landscapes and architecture on this highly recommended adventure where you will be able to “take thousands of pictures for painting reference for years to come,” notes Master PleinAir Artist Kevin Macpherson. Your expert guides will take you through the stunning landscapes of Cusco-Machu Picchu region of Peru, and you will enjoy mentoring and numerous critique sessions. Participants can paint the stunning vistas and the colorfully-dressed people of the region. Grow your expertise while you mentor budding young Peruvian artists. Note that all model fees are included. Air flights are not included. Please note that are schedule may be adjusted to maximize the experience for painters and photographers based on feedback from an August 2020 trip.

10-day, 9-night Machu Picchu Adventure - $3698*

Trip Leaders – Kevin Macpherson and Lori Putnam, with Mel and Leslie Dinkel

*Prices are for double or triple occupancy. We will be staying in lovely accommodations in Cusco and Aquas Calientes. A single supplement applies for all hotels and is space-limited, available first-come, first served.

Art Ambassador and Xela AID present this exciting retreat for artists, photographers and people who appreciate art! Join us for a deeply enriching cultural experience where you’ll meet local people clad in the colorful attire of the Maya. Your journey will be rife with beautiful and varied landscapes and architecture on this highly recommended adventure where you will be able to “take thousands of pictures for painting reference for years to come,” notes Master PleinAir Artist Kevin Macpherson. Your expert guides will take you through Guatemala’s most beautiful places, and you will enjoy mentoring and numerous critique sessions. Participants can paint the stunning vistas and people of the colonial city of Antigua, the rural Mám-Maya village of San Martín Chiquito, and breathtaking Lake Atitlán. Grow your expertise while you mentor budding young Mayan artists. Note that all model fees are included.

Locations: Antigua, San Martín Chiquito, Lake Atitlán

NOTE: (Replaces March 20-29, 2021)

Trip Leaders:
District 5320 Foundation Governor, Kevin Padilla, Placentia Rotary • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Lorriane Padilla, Placentia Rotary • This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Top-Rated Accommodations in 3 Locations:
• Quetzaltenango, Latam
• Atitlan - Casa del Mundo
• Antigua - La Aurora 

Come as a Rotarian or a private citizen to collaborate on Rotary and community development projects that will take advantage of your interests and unique talents! We’ll enjoy fellowship with one another while volunteering and exploring the bounty of Guatemala’s most beautiful places. We will travel in comfort on this service trip which includes luxury accommodations, transportation, entry to attractions, tours and many meals across four distinct locations, as well as a deeply enriching service experience working side by side with the Maya of “El Area Mám”— a culture-rich, resource-poor enclave in the Guatemalan highlands. Airfare is not included. Cost $2880 (double occupancy)

Trip Leader:  Colleen Biggs, Founder and CEO, Lead Up for Women

Logistics: Leslie Baer Dinkel and Mel Dinkel, Local Hope Guatemala

Featuring: High-Quality, Authentic Accommodations: Quetzaltenango, Atitlán, Antigua

Details: 11 days/10 nights

Orientation (required):

• Saturday, January 8, 2022, 9-noon PST by Zoom

Note: In order to receive the full value of this trip and so you are well-prepared, please join us!

Lead Up for Women is proud to offer this exceptional opportunity to “Learn, Serve and Lead!” in the extraordinary setting of a Mayan village AND the most beautiful places in Guatemala. This custom service trip will match your interests and talents to meet the needs of indigenous women living in extreme poverty. They will welcome you with open arms! Like a time traveler you will go behind the scenes to listen and learn about the centuries-old Mám-Mayan culture, including their sometimes-magical understanding of the world. We will serve together along side the women of the community, powerful in their own way while still working to overcome the shackles of poverty and the scars of colonialism and a brutal civil war. Incorporating your new understanding of the plight of women of the developing world, those who wish to be a “Global Speaker and Presenter” may design and lead a workshop to empower your brave sisters of this community. Over the course of this journey, you’ll enjoy fellowship with other powerful women while volunteering and exploring the beauty of the colonial cities of Antigua and Quetzaltenango, and the magnificence of Lake Atitlán. We’ll enjoy lovely, comfortable accommodations in the authentic spirit of Guatemala.

Included: All accommodations, entrance fees and many meals, as well as a deeply enriching service experience working side by side with the Maya of “El Area Mám”— a culture-rich, resource-poor enclave in the Guatemalan highlands. Air travel is not included.

Cost: $3866 double occupancy*