Running on Water: September’s Your Shot/Travel

Published in the September issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine.

Photograph and text by AUTUMN MARIE SCHANIL

Last November while I was volunteering in Tela, Honduras, I took a side trip to Guatemala with two other volunteers. We stayed three nights in the village of Livingston, an old port at the mouth of the Río Dulce. Accessible only by boat, Livingston is known for its diversity. On our second day there, we ate fresh-caught fish at a restaurant owned by a Garifuna woman and located on a stunning stretch of the beach. I returned later that afternoon to take photos. I began walking out into the surf. The water was only knee-deep for what seemed like half a mile out. All I could see was sky and water; I felt at peace. Suddenly three young Garifuna boys ran toward me—my opportunity. They were full of smiles and laughter. I snapped photos as they ran around me. This photo is one of my favorites: the red shorts against the blue sea; the ripples in the ocean; the boy’s form—his upturned hand, the flash of his foot as it kicks up from the water. Most of all I love the energy, the life, and the beauty of the moment.

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