(continued from Part three: Lake Atitlán.)

The paved road gives way to gravel, which eventually narrows to a rocky path before disappearing altogether. Here, at the literal end of the road, lies a tiny island of Guatemalan cloud forest and the community protecting it. I was to be a guest of both in the coming days.

Step. Stop. Listen. See. Walking through the cloud forest with a skilled guide, it is abundantly clear how much of the ecosystem, teeming with life around …