Before every Atlas Unbound journey, we send our travelers these story booklets and other surprise gifts and talismans to immerse them in the universe they’re about to discover.

 

In Guatemala, we trace the steps of a cartographer mapping out the wilderness and cultures; for Chiapas, we go back in time to days of ancient exploration and follow the Catherwood expedition in discovering the Mayan pyramids. In the Barrancas del Cobre, it’s a long-distance marathon runner who has come to race the fleet-footed Raramuris, and in Xilitla, we take on the voice of a neurotic lady of society who comes to visit Edward James and promptly gets whipped up in the surrealist magic of the gardens.

Written text is by yours truly, and illustrations by an incredibly talented artist in Mexico, Mauricio Ramirez Castillo.

Barrancas del Cobre 

Chiapas

Sierra Gorda

Guatemala

Dolomites