In early March, my younger brother Canyon and I detached ourselves (somewhat reluctantly) from the revelry of carnival and our new friends in Rio and headed north into Central America.

Attempting to fly out of Sao Paulo, we were kept from boarding the plane by an agent who said we couldn't leave without yellow fever vacinations. Nine hours and a couple wasted plane tickets later we found ourselves airborne and heading towards Nicaragua, where we planned to spend the next couple of weeks volunteering with El Por Venir, an organization working to bring clean water and education to the rural communities in need.

With me taking photographs, and Canyon writing, it was our hope to learn more about the NGO's on the ground and the plight of the Nicaraguen people while lending a hand where we could, and ultimately spreading the word through the stories of the individuals we met along the way...

Read more about Blue Planet and El Porvenir:

http:://elporvenir.org

http://www.blueplanetnetwork.org