Sailing Adventure down the Belizian Coast

The other day someone asked me how long it took Laura and I to plan our trip. I wasn't exactly sure how to answer this. We had been talking about it since January, discussing which countries we were planning to hit up and figuring out which flights we needed to buy. But besides that we didn't really do much planning. Our style of traveling pretty much involves a plan-as-we-go method. We work one country at a time - only looking ahead one country as we go. So when we were in Honduras we began making our plans for Belize. The only thing we knew for sure we would do was Caye Caulker. While reading her trusty Lonely Planet Laura came upon an incredible sounding 3 day/2 night sailing trip down the coast of Belize.  The tour company operating the trip is called Raggamuffin, which just happens to be what Laura's mom called her when she was a little girl. We took this to be an obvious sign that we needed to book this trip!

 The night before departure we met at the office for a quick briefing. We found the "alcohol lecture" the funniest part of the briefing notes. One would think that maybe they would ask you to watch your consumption, etc.... Nope. In fact it was quite the opposite. Verbatim from the sheet, "From our experience half the crowd will be the alcoholics and half the non-alcoholics and at this stage it doesn't matter who is who. However, when you get to the camp sites those who could identify themselves as the party animals can quickly see who is not indulging as much as yourselves. We request that you take note and remember to respect those persons with regard to not harassing them whilst you enjoy yourselves...don't try to 'tempt' them to get as drunk as you!!" Haha. Well the Rum Punch was flowing heavily throughout the trip and while no one was harassing the non-drinkers, it did take some encouragement to get even the party animals to drink too much of this sugary cocktail!

Ragga King

The trip was incredible! We rode on a 40ft sail boat called the Ragga King.  Designed as an island hopping adventure for people who wanted to experience an uninhabited Caribbean paradise, we spent our days sailing for two hours at a time and taking several breaks to fish, snorkel and swim. We could not have asked for better weather! There was not a cloud int he sky for most days! This was both good and bad... When we were in Greece and Croatia Laura was all about the sun. She doesn't believe in SPF over 15 and never laid in the shade. When we went to London and Honduras with my fam, I was glad to have a break from the sun as I felt my body couldn't handle any more sun (even with regular applications of SPF 30). Laura on the other hand was sad to leave the beach and could not wait to return! Well, on this trip I also learned that even Laura has a sun limit! After the first day in the sun - we were all exhausted! We spent the next day maneuvering our bodies to get into the shade of the sails.

Tobacco Caye - look how small it is!!

After a day full on the sea we spent each night camping on the beach. The first night we slept in the most beautiful location! Our own private island, Rendezvous Caye, was literally so small that our 7 tents took up the entire thing! The second night we slept on a slightly more inhabited island, Tobacco Caye, but that's not really saying much as the first island had a population of 0 (17 when we were docked).

standing on the dock of the island

our new travel buddies Chole and Gail

Rendezvous Caye

 Our group consisted of 6 single ladies, 4 couples and 3 crew. We met some really amazing people and got a lot of advice for the rest of our trip! In additional we gained two new traveling buddies, Chole and Gail from South Africa, who will be joining us for the rest of our Central American journey!!

our group

going out in Placencia with the single ladies from the trip

Attack of the Killer Eel!

After some time on the mainland, Laura and I decided it was time to return to our island living life style. So we headed to the Caye (pronounced key) Caulker - a small coral island off the coast of Belize in the Caribbean Sea. The island has all sand roads and measures about 5 miles (north to south) by less than 1 mile (east to west). In recent years the island has become a popular destination for backpackers and other tourists. There are over 30 tiny hotels, and a number of restaurants and shops along 3 main parallel streets: Front Street (on the beach), Mid Street, and Back Street.

As I just got my scuba certification in Roatan I was eager to get back in the water! A main attraction of diving in Belize is the opportunity to explore the famed Blue Hole. It lies in the middle of the Lighthouse Reef a small atoll 70 kilometres (43 mi) from the mainland and Belize City. The hole is circular in shape, over 300 metres (984 ft) across and 124 metres (407 ft) deep (which gives the hole its deep blue color). The dive trips were def out of our backpacker budget but we decided go by Laura and her friend Parker's moto of YOLO (You Only Live Once). Plus I decided if this was something we HAD to do in Belize, it would be cheaper to do it now than it would be to return to Belize.

The walls are sheer from the surface until a depth of approximately 110 feet where you encounter stalactite formations which was to me the coolest part of the dive as we got to weave in and out of the massive overhangs. At 150 feet below both Laura and I felt it was SUPER cold - but later our dive master told us it was really 75 degrees Fahrenheit. haha! That just tells you how warm the water is here! After the Blue Hold we went to two other dive sites. The second dice at Half Moon Caye Wall was our favorite of the 3 dive day as we saw the most animals.

Today we went on a half day snorkel tour. As I am running out of time at our Internet cafe I must be quick but here are two stories of the day worth mentioning:

The first is how this entry got its name. So I decided to innocently dive down to have Laura take the following picture of me under water. Next thing I know everyone was screaming at me.... Having NO clue why they were yelling I turn to the side and am face to face with a HUGE Green Moray Eel. It was literally less than 3 inches away from me bearing its BIG teeth. I immediately began to join in the screaming and shot to the surface faster than I have EVER swum before. At the top the lady leading the tour first asked if I was bit (bc everyone thought I was for sure a goner) and then later told me eels are very territorial and if you head down in their area they will attack. Good to know!

Our second site was called Sting Ray Alley and was SOOOO INCREDIBLE!! As soon as our boat arrived at the site, we were swarmed by stingrays and nurse sharks just coming right too you! Here are some pics.

Tomorrow we leave Caye Caulker to go on a 3-day sailing trip down the coast of Belize to Placencia. We will be snorkeling, fishing, and relaxing by day and camping at little islands along the way at night. It should be a LOT of fun and I can't wait to report back.

Maya Walk Adventures

When getting advice on things to do in Belize, my friend Ryan told me I HAD to do the ATM Cave. He told me it was one of the coolest things he had ever done. So from the start the bar was set high. And after the debacle of getting to San Ignacio (where said tour would be departing) we were really hoping it was going to be worth it. Well it was. Would I say it was one of the best things I have ever done? No. But it was really cool and we ended up having a really cool group - which after all really makes the experience. We booked the tour with Mayawalk Tours and were so pleased by their service that we ended up booking a second tour with them the following day. Well.. that is kind of how it happened. Read to to get the full story.

ATM Cave

Actun Tunichil Muknal (commonly called ATM bc lets be serious who can pronounce that?!) is a cave in Belize, near San Ignacio, Cayo District, notable as a Maya archaeological site that includes skeletons, ceramic pots (or as our tour guide referred to them: vessels), and stoneware. Upon signing up for the tour we received an email with all the information for the following day. At the bottom in bold it read:


Note: Must be in good physical condition to enjoy this tour. No weight limit, but must have sufficient mobility and strength to climb a 15 foot ladder, swim, scramble over rocks & do a 45 minute jungle hike.

The hike that they mention turned out to be an easy walk. The actual cave part... not so easy. We got there we strapped on our helmets and headlights and took off! Right off the bat we had to do a swim through cold water at the entrance of the cave. It wasn't hard per say but it is very awkward swimming in running shoes.

Following that we waded our way through water whilst climbing though r rocks formations. During much of our walk into the cave we were in VERY tight, dark spaces. One of the guys on our tour was extremely claustrophobic - I am not sure how he didn't run right out! Once inside the dry chamber our guide gave us a history lesson about Maya rituals and ceremonies as we looked at remnants they left behind. We saw a lot of "vessels" before getting to the good stuff- i.e. skeletons. The most famous of the human remains is known as "The Crystal Maiden", the skeleton of a teenage girl, probably a sacrifice victim, whose bones have been completely calcified by the natural processes of the cave, giving it a sparkling, crystallized appearance.

There are several areas of skeletal remains in the main chamber here are some pictures:

After we returned to San Ignacio we went out with our group for some beers at the bar across the street from our hotel. Well one beer turned into 5, which turned into dinner, which turned into more beers, then dance party at the local casino. Random - yes but fun all the same. Well during dinner (which remember was about 5-7 beets in) one group member Aaron convinced Fred and Shaughnessy to join him on the following day on the Tikal Tour. Well it wasn't too hard to change Laura and my plans either. Note- we had planned to do Tikal upon our entrance to Guatemala in 10 days, but we were so close and had such a good group that we decided to switch up our itinerary. I mean it may have been the beers making the spontaneous decision - but we maintain that it really did make logistical sense and being with our crew was well worth it! Now staying out till 2am drinking beer and vodka sodas may not have been the best idea when we had a 6am tour the next day. But we were all surprisingly quite bright and cheery the next day.

our group at the Casino nightclub (1am)

Tikal Ruins
Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. Situated in the department of El Petén, the site is part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I had no idea what it would be like. In fact the only thing I had to go by was Chichen Itza, another Mayan civilization outside of Cancun, Mexico. Well let me tell you NOTHING alike. Tikal is MUCH bigger than Chichen Itza and it is in the middle of a jungle. Here are some pics from the day:

“You have to Belize it to believe it!”

**Note: This entry was copied from Laura's blog (I couldn't have put it better!)**

Just when I think I have mastered the art of traveling I remember that its not possible to actually perfect. The only thing I know thing I know for certain is how uncertain it is! After retarde trains in Paris, and a flat tire in Croatia, for some reason I was under the impression that our travel karma was on the upswing - I mean, it has to be right? Not so much. On Saturday, Vandria and I got up bright and early in Honduras to catch a flight to Belize. Even though the actual distance was only about 160 miles, for some reason TACA airlines chooses to add 2 layovers in San Pedro Sula, Honduras and San Salvador, El Salvador before reaching our final destination of Belize City - 6 hours later. Which isn't all that big of a deal, but still rather out of the way, no? All was going great with the first 2 legs and we were scheduled to arrive in Belize in time to catch our pre-arranged shuttle to San Ignacio (inland Belize...aka the rainforest). We even got so far as to board the plane when they announced that because of mechanical issues we were going to be delayed 2 hours. At this point we knew it would pretty much take a miracle to get us to Belize City on time to catch our shuttle. (I guess I should take this opportunity to explain that the reason we needed to get inland that night, was because we made a last-minute decision to do a cave tour in the rainforest - near the Guatemala border - scheduled on the following day).

Just as we thought, we arrived in Belize City about 3 hours behind schedule and there was no shuttle in sight. We learned later that the airport doesn't even stay OPEN that late, and our arriving flight (at 6:30pm, mind you) was the last one of the night....so strange. Our only option at the airport was to take a taxi the 1 1/2 hours to San Ignacio for $140 USD!! WAY out of our budget. Instead, we thought we'd "outsmart" the taxi driver and have him drop us off at the bus station in Belize City and we would just catch the last bus of the night to San Ignacio. When we arrived at the bus station, however, it was dark, the bus was PACKED, semi-sketchy looking, and I wasn't too thrilled about scrunching into a hot, ancient school bus, only to stand with my 20 kilo backpack for 3 hours. I had Vandria wait by the bus as a last resort while I went out onto the street to try to find a taxi driver willing to negotiate with me. Luckily, I found a nice man named Oscar who, after some serious bargaining, offered to take us there for $90 USD. It was still way more than we had planned to pay, but looking back...it was definitely the right choice.

When we got to Oscar's taxi personal minivan, we were surprised to find his wife, Antonia, in the front seat along for the ride! Oscar and his wife didn't seem to catch that we were exhausted from about 12 hours of travel, and talked our ear off about Belize, his wife and kids, the hurricanes, etc. One of his first sentences once we started the drive was: "you listen to me now, and I tell you tings they dont have in no geedbook." (The official language of Belize is English, but one of the more common languages spoken is Kriol...which, if you aren't familiar, sounds a lot like a Jamaican-ish accent, and is basically speaking in half words). Here are sample phrases from our guidebook:

How are you? : Da how yu di du?

How much does this cost? : Humoch dis kaas?

I don't understand: Mee noh andastan.

So aaaaaanyway, that explains my butchered quote from Oscar...but I digress. After a history lesson (or twelve) from Oscar, we finally arrived in San Ignacio, but not before he left us with the cheesiest, most amazing quote: "make sure when you get home you tell everyone there that they have to Belize it to believe it!" Classic Oscar...

Did you think we were at the end of this travel story??...haha oh no! We had heard from several sources that there was no need to book accommodation in advance and there were plenty of places to choose from when you arrive. Well this is, in fact, true - UNLESS you happen to arrive on the one weekend per year of the "fair." We never really got an explanation of what the fair is, and we certainly saw no signs of a fair in town, but it still made every. single. place. completely booked up. We walked (with our packs, mind you) to about 10 different hotels, hostels, etc. before we decided to go to the Mayawalk office (from whom we were taking the tour) to see if they knew any secret places. The woman at the front desk was SO kind and called just about every hotel in the phone book to no avail. Just about the time we thought we might be sleeping on the street, we talked to a man who said that, though his hotel was at 100% capacity, he had a room that he didn't rent out that he reserves for archeologists who come to explore the caves. It was a massive room with FIVE double beds - and the reason he gave for not renting it out was that "guys usually go out drinking and bring "friends" back to the room for free because they have so many beds." After promising repeatedly that we would NOT do that, he not only let us stay in the room, but stay in it for only $5 USD per night! I mean, it was really no frills, but it saved us...and let me tell you, we sure did spread out in that room and take advantage of all the space!

So...the moral of the story...GO WITH THE FLOW and everything always works itself out in the end! It took us about 5 hours longer than expected (and a minor anxiety attack) but we made it safely and it ended up being well worth the struggle!

Diving fun in Roatán!

After spending 12 days chilling on the mainland, Laura and I finally bid adieu to my family and set off on out own to begin our great Central American Adventure. First stop: Roatán. Spectacular diving and snorkeling draws visitors from all around the world to the Bay Islands. (Islas de la Bahía) Their reefs are part of the second-largest barrier reef in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Roatán is the largest and best known of the Bay Islands. We stayed in the West End, the area where virtually all backpackers and divers come. Though it does not win the award for the most beautiful island I have visited (that award still goes to Fernando de Noronha) it really ranks up there. It's beaches are picture-postcard idyllic with clear warm turquoise water, colorful tropical fish and powdery white sand. And lying 50km off the coast of mainland Honduras, the island is a real diving mecca, surrounded by over 100km of living reef. What better placr to get my open water scuba certificaltion?!

I started off by taking the PADI eLearning course while still in Beunos Aires. This meant once we got here all I needed to complete were the confined water dives and 4 open water dives. After researching many dive shops in the West End, I finally went with Reef Gliders as a friend of mine had worked there last summer and gave them great reviews. I could not have been happier with my decision. Everyone at the shop was so helpful and it had a really homey feel.  I spent two full days having one-one training. By the third morning I was certified and ready to do my first official "fun dive" with Laura! Diving is such a cool experience. I was a little nervous at first, but once I was in the water it came so easily. It is a very strange sensation being able to break underwater! On my 5 dives I saw so many different tropical fish, eels, lobsters and turtles. I am really excited to continue diving and work with my buoyancy.

On our last day Laura and I decided to take a day off diving. We slept in (something I was unable to do all 3 days prior due to my training) and then had a nice 45 minute stroll to the West Bay (about 5km west of West End). It was a gorgeous walk along the beach! It was really hard to not jump in the clear water every few minutes. But I restrained myself and it was well worth it when we reached the gorgeous bay! Laura and I rented snorkel and fins and took Baby Beluga (her waterproof camera) out for his first swim. It was a fun afternoon and perfect way to round off our trip. After 6 days, we left Roatán this afternoon to return to La Ceiba. As we have a 9:40 flight tomorrow to Belize, we decided it would be cutting it short to take the ferry that arrives at 8:30.

Honduras with the Fam

I have family in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and El Progreso

Last year when I came to Honduras with Jessie, we spent the majority of the time in San Pedro Sula. In all honestly it is a much prettier part of the country than the capital Tegucigalpa (pronounced Te-goo-see-galpa). However this time around Laura and I spent most of our time in Tegucigalpa and really got to explore all it had to offer. It’s a pretty big city situated in a valley surrounded by mountains (which makes the Tegucigalpa airport one of the most dangerous in the world to land in due to its short runway). Knowing how freaked out Jess was last year, I decided to keep this lil tidbit a secret from Laura.

The reason most people (including my entire family even Suyapa who lives there!) find the city so ugly is that there is very little greenery to the city whatsoever. It is all buildings, traffic and pollution. However travel 30 minutes up a beautiful mountain covered in lush vegetation and you arrive to a cute little artisan village called Valle de Angeles. The town depends 100% on tourism and is filled with cute little marketplaces - you know how much I LOVE artisan markets!

The following day, Suyapa a took us to explore downtown Tegucigalpa. She really wanted us to get to know the old centro so we could feel the true Tegus (the city's nickname). While there were a few pretty churches, plazas and more artisan shops, the downtown area did not have much to offer. It was still a nice activity to get us out of the house (by the end of the week we had memorized the TV schedule - American programming was quite a treat for us!) .

On another outing (Suyapa's attempt to entertain us) we went up to visit a giant statue of Christ. While Tegucigalpa's Cristo is no competition to that in Rio it was still really cool to go up to see it. The statue is situated on a hill overlooking the city. From here you can really get a grasp of just how big (and congested) the city is.

After spending 10 days in Tegus we finally headed to visit more family. We first stopped in El Progreso to have lunch with my tia Eda. Next we went to San Pedro Sula to eat dinner with my Tio Roberto's family. There is always a theme in visiting with my Honduran family and that is eating. I swear to you we have done nothing but eat amazing home cooked meals since we got here. My cousin Karol just had a baby girl, Camila, a month ago so it was quite exciting to visit with her! After dinner Laura and I went out with my cousin Roberto and a bunch of his friends.

my cousin Karol, new-born Camila and me

my cousin Roberto and me

out celebrating San Pedro Sula nightlife

All and all it was really great spending time with my family. I am really happy I am getting to know this side of the family. They of course asked when I would be returning next. As I will soon be employed and still have SO many places I want to travel to, I am not sure when that will be. But with Facebook and Skype we are all easily connected!