KIP'S LATEST FOR MEN'S JOURNAL: MOST BEAUTIFUL LAKE ON EARTH

At the luxury boutique hotel Casa Palopo, Todd roughs it as a Men's Journal model. 

A few weeks back, we took a quick detour from El Salvador to visit Guatemala's Lake Atitlan for a story Kip was writing for Men's Journal. 

In addition to checking out the lake, arguably the most beautiful in the world, we also braved a visit to the stunning Casa Palopo, a former villa turned luxury boutique hotel that features some of best views of Atitlan, including the one above, plus an infinity pool and two heliports. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon or two. 

See our Photo Friday of a lightning storm over Lake Atitlan.

Preview to the story is below: 

Men's Journal: The Most Beautiful Lake on Earth

When German explorer Alexander von Humboldt famously called Guatemala's Lake Atitlan "the most beautiful lake in the world," he was just trying to be accurate. Surrounded by the towering volcanoes that helped create it, Lake Atitlan and its cobalt blue waters set a scene that borders on being "too much of a good thing," as English novelist Aldous Huxley later wrote. But the area isn't just for Prussian explorers and British recreational drug enthusiasts: The area around the lake has a sublime hiking, paragliding, climbing, and mountain biking scene.

For starters, visitors can sign up with a machete-toting guide and tackle some of the countless trekking trails that crisscross the hills. Weave through coffee plantations, avocado trees, and corn fields en route to...FULL STORY

DANGER IN NORTHERN RWANDA

We enjoy a goat skewer, fries and Gatanu beer by the deadly Lake Kivu, just south of the Congo border. 

Wait, is overeating dangerous? 

Despite common misperceptions, Rwanda has been safe for visitors for years. Yet, in a small town at the Congo border near Lake Kivu in the far north, there are actually a few ways you could get an express ticket to the afterlife:

• First of all, there's the lake itself. Under the deep waters of Lake Kivu a giant bubble of killer methane and carbon dioxide lurks and is expanding by the day, just waiting for the chance to escape to the surface, as a similar bubble did in 1986, killing more than 1,000 people. Lucky for us, it wasn't our day.

• Then there's the political unrest less than a mile away in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Political instability and violence in the DRC has been threatening to slip across the invisible border into Rwanda, as it did late last year. 

• And last but certainly not least, there's the active Muhavura Volcano (photo at right). It's crater has seen recent rumblings, but scientists don't expect an eruption anytime soon. Of course, aren't volcanic eruption predictions about as accurate as weather forecasts?

Either way, we made it out safe and sound, just like thousands of other visitors each year. And we did it without even choking on our skewered goat or french fries. Now there's a tale of survival. 

VOLCANO TREK TO A WATERFALL

A thick cover of clouds loomed overhead as we hiked up the slope of Mt. Isarog, a Filipine volcano that's never known to have erupted, but that scientists say certainly could.

Luckily, the rain held off, as did any volcanic activity, as we made our way up the mountain. Our 11-year-old, self-appointed "guide" led us along a dirt, mud, and rock trail through rice terraces and corn fields that slowly disappeared into dense forest.

About an hour in, we heard the unmistakable rumble of falling water up ahead. The trek was well worth it. 

We hitched a ride back in the bed of a dump truck. Got tangled in some horrific rush hour traffic.