My 2 teens and I, our friend Susan and her daughter Marisol are in Antigua Guatemala—a quieter, emptier Antigua with almost everyone wearing masks. This trip is different because for the first time ever we won’t visit birth family or travel around the country. Swaths of Guatemala have been declared Red Zones and, although we’re all vaccinated, we’re essentially self-isolating. Hand-washing, social distancing, mask-wearing. Yes, yes, of course.

We came because my kids wanted to come. Olivia describes our trips to Guatemala as “centering.” We’re in the same house we’ve rented for the past 8 years and it feels like a second home. Here are a few pix.