Why is jesus wearing a skirt? July 22, 2010

Good question, but the answer remains an unsolved mystery…

Just thought I’d throw that in there, we thought it was one of the funnier things the whole trip; up there with the amateur taxidermy wing of the museum in Xela.

07.10.10

We splurged for a more comfortable tourist van for the ten hour trip from Xela back into Mexico to San Cristobal de las Casas. There were only two eventful occasions the whole ride; the first was a money changer at the border who carried a fancy gold decorated gun in a brown leather side holster, wore a massive cowboy hat, manly black handlebar mustache, and a tangled mess of gold necklaces around his neck. I only describe him because I want to portray his awesomeness without the use of a picture which we were terrified to take.

The second interesting event was when we boarded the next van over the border in Mexico. A large Mexican man with dark glasses held in his hands a black plastic bag. At some point he brought out the contents of the bag, being 10 multi-colored toy plastic balls. At that moment the very strong smell of marijuana hit my nostrils; great, riding with a drug smuggler, how fun! Making himself even more suspicious he clutched the balls suspiciously to his chest as he napped the majority of the ride. The oddest part about this man is that Jessica remembered him crossing the border without using a passport, only a slip of paper that the Guatemalan guard stamped; really odd.

Anyway, I just thought those were fun border stories, always crazy things happening at border towns, like when Jessica almost got us kicked out of Cambodia mouthing off to a corrupt guard…good times.

We arrived in the absolutely gorgeous city of San Cristobal in the late afternoon and checked in at a brand new hostel requested by a Couchsurfer who was unable to host us. Hostel de la Iguana was new, clean, friendly and best of all, cheap!

The streets of the city are gorgeous with plenty of alleys dedicated solely to pedestrian traffic flanked by fancy bars and restaurants. As we walked up the cobblestone street to the large yellow cathedral perched in the distance up a hill, we were amazed by the affluence of the locals and the beauty of the town. Like Antigua it felt much more similar to a European town.

Up at the cathedral a newly turned 15 year old girl was receiving her quincierra as loud music filled the streets below and bottle rockets exploded loudly overhead every few minutes for a small parade celebrating the Santa Guadalupe. We sat and enjoyed as I got fleas from two irresistible street dogs.

On the way back down we grabbed a quick bite of Lebanese food and headed to the center of the town. Night life in Central America is unlike anywhere else we have been in the world. Every city includes a beautiful central park or plaza, and each night it is packed with a good chunk of the city enjoying each others company. At the nearby cathedral a troupe dressed in traditional Mayan costume performed dances and rituals to entertained onlookers.

On no particular special occasion aside from being Saturday, the city was filled with a music and color, making San Cristobal an instant favorite city for both of us.

We ended the night with tequila and cervesas with a large group of local Couchsurfers at our hostel.

07.11.10

Often when we come to a new city, we come at the request of others and just leave ourselves no expectations. We were told by some Italian travelers to go on the Sumidero Canyon boat tour, so at 8am we loaded into a bus and headed out to a massive dock where literally hundreds of mostly Mexican tourists were strapping on bright orange vests and loading into masses of speed boats. Seemed a little Disneyland for us, but no backing out now.

The trip turned out to be fantastic, even though we understood very little of what the driver said. The massive canyon lay inside of a national park, sanctuary to a number of birds, monkeys, and other critters. The canyon itself however was probably the most stunning part.

We went an hour and a half into the canyon spying some beautiful birds, stunning geographic features, and plummeting waterfalls.

The way back was a real treat as our guide played crocodile hunter, and we got to see four large crocodiles in their natural habitat; extra exciting since we have only seen them at wildlife parks until now.

After unloading we hopped in the van again and headed to a very cute town, Chiapa de Corzo for lunch. The most beautiful feature of this town is its vividly colored central cathedral which we climbed to the top of.

Walking by an entire grill covered in dead chickens got our mouths watering. So we sat down to one of the better meals we have had the entire trip for some flawlessly spiced pollo!

We got back to the hostel, took a quick siesta and hit the streets again for more beautiful shots of the city and all its sights.

The city is simply perfect for just wandering around, clean, beautiful, safe, and so many nooks to explore. One of our favorite activities was just taking pictures of doors; call us easy to entertain, but there are some pretty cool doors.

We next climbed up a ton of concrete stairs to a cathedral on a hill on the opposite side of the city from the one yesterday. On the top we witnessed the following; firemen training on a rock wall, a cop exercising in full uniform on a public elliptical machine, and a Caucasian couple who must have been on ecstasy dry-humping in the park; never a dull moment. We also got a bag of the most delicious churros we have ever had, which are smaller and crispier than back home, and a bag of popcorn, which Mexicans always cover with hot sauce. The view of the city below was pretty great as well

We enjoyed some local coffee at a cafe with live music, then had a tasty dinner followed by a night of unwinding to some movies at the hostels media room.

07.12.10

In the morning we had some time to kill before our bus so we headed to a museum built by a German couple whose life work was documenting traditional Mayan culture. They have both passed away, but their photography and conservation efforts remain.

Our three hour bus ride to Palenque was uneventful and we were soon checked into a tiny little oasis in the thick of the jungle called El Pachan. El Pachan is a picturesque little community of hostels and restaurants connected by dirt paths and completely enveloped in the jungle canopy; very Robinson Crusoe (to quote our guidebook).

We met up with our Israeli acquaintance from Lake Atitlan and his two Scottish friends, who now live on an island in Honduras because…well why not? We chatted over beers and a surprisingly incredible pizza and salad, odd enough to find Italian food so delicious in Mexico, let alone the middle of the jungle.

We then slept to the buzzing of cicadas and other assorted jungle sounds.

07.13.10

The Mayan ruins of Palenque were a six minute collectivo ride from our jungle hideout. Even though we arrived early, we still didn’t manage to beat the throngs of tourists flooding the stone structures like ants. We managed to sneak past the main attractions and catch some beautiful shots of jungle consumed ruins without humans crawling on them.

The Palenque ruins are particularly magnificent in both size and detail. In the center lies a large palace complex surrounded by tombs, religious and civic buildings. The dense jungle makes the place even more picturesque.

After a thorough wandering we headed towards the exit to be greeted by some beautiful flowing waters along the way. The museum at the end was particularly impressive, containing a number of very well preserved artifacts and a stunning tomb of Lord Pacal, all displayed using particularly attractive methods and lighting.

We now had a lot of time to kill until our evening nine hour night bus ride. We went into the city to explore for a bit, but found little to do. We killed time reading, chatting with other travelers, and meeting with yet another Israeli acquaintance and his Austrian friends to more good food and beer.

The most exciting point of time killing was watching a stream of farmer ants carry their massive load of cut leaves on their backs. This may sound boring, but it is one of the only species that farms and cultivates its own food by letting plants decompose in the burrow and consuming the fungus that grows. Seriously fascinating.

Our bus ride north was mostly easy except the police and military waking us up on three occasions to check for drugs and other contraband. The military even marched everyone outside, groggy eyed, to check bags and the bus innards. Slightly annoying, and seemingly completely useless since they checked no one’s baggage under the bus; obviously just a show they put on to pretend they are doing something to curb the drug trafficking problems.

As always, check out the Flickr pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/flufflebuns/sets

The lake, the market, and the dud July 20, 2010

07.06.10

A few hours of curvacious roads eventually led us to the tucked away town of San Marcos along beautiful Lake Atitlan. We arrived with John and Ameris, an American couple we’d met in Antigua. The search for a hotel was easy as there were few options to begin with.

A super chill Canadian dude and an incredibly friendly local run the hostal Paco Real, currently under renovations after the previous owner’s son trashed the place by turning it into drug and party pad for him and his friends. Thankfully “under renovation” means a great deal on beautiful new rooms!

Our tum tum’s a grumblin’ he suggested a place run by American ex-pats called Ganesh. The place is exactly as it sounds; hippie as all hell, but damn do they make a killer BLT.

During the dry season, the large lake is a crystal clear, baby blue, surrounded by volcanoes, some active, with tiny cities of local Mayan people tucked away in the valleys. Now, in the rainy season, all is true except the “crystal clear” and “baby blue,” now, more of a choppy, dark blue, but still gorgeous!

Each town has its own distinct flavor, and the primary mode of transport are boats that circle the whole lake, picking up locals and tourists alike. With the water, and the surrounding hills as barriers, each town has the feel of beings its own island.

San Marcos “island” is considered the most chilled-out, so we decided to see what it felt like on the party “island;” San Pedro.

A good deal more concrete than our humble town, San Pedro still has that laid back island feel. We wandered a bit to check things out; found a nice high church to climb for a view of the city and eventually headed back.

We explored our town a bit more, getting to see the locals in bright colors after a church ceremony that left the stone building smelling like delicious sage and spiced incense.

We later learned to loathe these church ceremonies as they were followed by hymns blasted over loudspeakers reminiscent of a 6 year old suffering from laryngitis performing karaoke through a machine with beats as complex as an old 8-bit Nintendo game. Never have we disliked religion more than right now…

The night ended with the four of us relaxing (suffering) in the roasting heat of the hostels Mayan sweat lodge (stone oven). Seriously, it is a big half sphere, made of stone, with a fire placed under with the intention of cooking humans. All the shaman sweat lodge stuff has to be made up just to cook white people. Jessica and the others loved it and to a certain temperature it feels kind of good, but man that shit gets HOT!

I left as my skin began to roast, and my lungs turned to goo, while Jessica could only comment that it didn’t quite get hot enough. She never gets ill, she can withstand extreme temperatures, and she actually laughs when seriously injured…sometimes I swear Jessica is a cyborg.

07.07.10

Somehow I was the only one who woke up in the middle of the night to the earthquake. An event even more commonplace here than even California.

In the morning our American friends left to attend to some work needing done and Jess and I decided to explore all the towns around the lake.

First up was San Juan, the “artsy island.” Beautiful murals decorated the city walls depicting modern events and Mayan tradition, as well as this one depicting a mudslide that killed a bunch of people.

A number of womans weaving collectives dot the town where Jessica bought a couple gorgeous, hand woven, naturally dyed scarves; as always to regret later not buying more!

At one of the shops they sold locally grown, handmade, fancy wrapped bars of chocolate for a buck. Mayan chocolate is unlike anything I have eaten before. There is slightly more bitterness without the overwhelming sweet, yet not as strong as a dark European or American chocolate. This one in particular was made with cardamom. If they wouldn’t melt so damn fast I would take home a thousand (and also be a thousand dollars poorer, and a thousand pounds fatter).

We rode the boat to the other side of the lake, enjoying the little villages it stopped off along the way to load and unload people and goods. The locals of each town have their own unique way of dress, wearing beautifully colorful clothing.

Enjoying the lovely cool weather and phenomenal scenery we eventually found our way to the more developed town of Panajachel. This town was filled with more resorts than the others, and is where locals from all the towns sold their goods along the street, half genuine, half made in china.

We wandered and made a couple small purchases, then sat and drank the best cup of coffee I have ever tasted. The coffee was so good we asked the cafe owner what brand it was. Don Maco, and we convinced them to sell us some of their bags since the only real place to get it is in Guatemala city!

We took the equally gorgeous ride back home, then headed to Ganesh’s to eat some astounding chili prepared by two English ex-patriots. We made quick friends with two great Israeli guys, chatted about travel and went to bed.

07.08.10

Bags strapped to our backs we boarded the first boat of the day to Panajachel to catch a bus to Chichicastenango. The early morning ride was spectacular with calm waters and each town draped in mist.

Our bodies jerked left and right along the twisting road towards Chichi. Finally we arrived feeling like we’d just been through and automatic meat tenderizer. A short walk up the street and we got to our cute hostel Posado Belen in a small room overlooking the city.

Our hotel has two views of completely different parts of the city on either side. On one side the city looks very reminiscent of a typical Indian mountain town; big concrete slab buildings of all different sizes mashed together haphazardly.

On the other side is a beautiful country town with quaint little homes along a lush green hill.

Odd.

Chichi is known for its massive Thursday and Sunday markets where locals meet from all the surrounding countryside to exchange goods and congregate for both Mayan spiritualist and catholic ceremonies. In recent years it has become two distinct markets, one for the locals, and one for the tourists; we came for both.

The first stop was the main Catholic church which marks the center of the markets where locals pray to their middle eastern, Jewish deity (who manages to always look white anyway) using more customary Mayan traditions.

The entirety of the day was spent wandering the markets, sampling local foods (delicious grilled corn, guacamole fritatas, and local chocolate drinks), buying some neat souvenirs, and taking pictures of all the craziness!

07.09.10

The city was small enough to see in a day. So we strapped on those bags again and headed very early to an arbitrary corner along the main road to catch a bus to our new destination of Quetzaltenango (Xela).

Yesterdays minivan was bad enough on all the curves, but today we got thrown into one of the ultra cheap steel coffins the locals speed around in. By the end of the ride, the only thing cushioning our bruises in this behemoth bus were the masses of people stacked on top of us. We didn’t even have room to move and take a picture so just use your imagination.

Picture – Imagination

We arrived at the bus terminal choking on black diesel gas, and quickly grabbed a taxi to high tail it to the city center. Our Couchsurfing host Phil was not expecting us so early, and we weren’t expecting to stay in a cramped, messy room behind his cafe. We’ve stayed in worse, but not usually while couchsurfing! (So often in our travels has the free choice been 10x nicer than the cheap choice!).

Phil seemed nice enough as we chatted about Couchsurfing and travel over some breakfast from their Cafe cooked by his Guatemalan girlfriend Edith. Afterwards we walked to the nearby cemetery to talk some more and wander the eerie pathways.

Phil left and Jessica and I crept through the crumbling crypts snapping shots of the final testaments to buried corpses.

After the graveyard we headed to the city center where we found that there is much less to do in town than we thought. The hot springs we were so excited about had been washed away in the last tropical storm, and the mornings were often too foggy to hike to a vista point and see the active volcano poop ash. So we booked tickets to our next destination early, and headed out to explore the town for the day.

The city center is beautiful, and the people are very friendly. It is very much a town where the people have a sense of community.

Next stop was one of the more odd museums we have seen since the National Museum in the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos. The first series of rooms in Xela’s museum were dedicated to some old war we still can’t figure out. It also contained a bunch of old machines from the 1900′s.

The second section of the museum however is where things turned truly odd. One massive room was dedicated to descriptions and practical uses of a variety of chemicals and minerals, but the next room blew our minds.

The room was seemingly dedicated to the practice of amateur taxidermy and animal fetuses in jars. It was a massive room, and the most prominent fetuses were those containing multiple heads (pig and cow) and multiple arms (goat). A massive cage dominates the center filled with two huge stuffed toys of lions, and in the corner are completely fake stuffed sea creatures that look strikingly like something that would exist on Pandora from Avatar! Probably for good reason, pictures were not allowed, but that didn’t stop us from snapping a few as the ancient guard slept over his desk.

After bizzaro land we wandered around the local market area; always a fun place to get to know what locals are really like, and snap some excellent shots.

The rest of the day was uneventful aside from a ton of rain, a pretty decent traditional Guatemalan meal at a fancy restaurant, and some beers while chatting with Phil at the hostel he works at.

Central America, or central europe? July 15, 2010

07.04.10

We had a few more hours to kill in Coban so we set out exploring. The city proved itself to be even more so a culinary paradise when we stepped into an old colonial palace turned Hotel Posado. It was like a Spanish duke’s dream villa with a lush courtyard and cute, colorful nick knacks and antiques filling the halls. As I said, the breakfast was incredible; gourmet huevos rancheros and tipico comida (which is the very common breakfast here; black bean paste, fried eggs, plantains, cheese, tortillas, and salsa, Mmm). Until this moment I didn’t even like coffee!

Lucky for us, today is market day, so we spend the rest of the morning exploring the street markets and taking pictures of colorful locals with their colorful goods.

Due to low tourist season, the six hour bus ride to Antigua was just the two of us and a very friendly bus driver who spoke not a word of English. It made for some seriously terrific Spanish practice trying to discus the world with him.

We had to pass through Guatemala city on the way there which was a bit scary even though we were perfectly safe. All we have heard were horror stories about Guate; not of tourists getting killed, but local gangs extorting the public bus companies to pay them, and randomly killing bus drivers when they didn’t. Just in the last couple years over 300 drivers have been killed this way; not the safest job.

It doesn’t stop them from having pride in their jobs and decorating their busses with wild colors and decals.

As we drove in, Antigua was not at all like we were expecting. It was as if being teleported directly into Spain. Massive stone cathedrals, black iron, marble, and multi colored colonial homes lined the cobblestoned alleyways. We arrived to our couchsurfing hosts home and were greeted by Lainies terrific 6th grade son Miro. The house was a gorgeous hacienda smelling of delicious old wood; among the cutest places we have ever stayed.

And I don’t know why the following picture does not have us with our hosts in it; that was a dumb picture not to take!

We hung out with Miro a bit until we received a very friendly greeting from Lainie. Both got fed up with life in the USA and are traveling the world together, picking new places to live and experience each year. After chatting a bit, Jess and I headed out to the town for exploration before the rain started to fall (inevitable every afternoon).

Our first stop was an old colonial brick and stone cathedral, Iglesia San Francisco, almost completely destroyed by a tremendous earthquake that shattered the city in the early 1700′s (followed by many more earth shattering quakes each century; you’d think they’d stop building with brick and stone…but no). Sometimes great things look even greater when they’ve been obliterated and consumed by nature.

We walked to the city center, noting how incredibly bourgeois the entire place is. International restaurants, pafes, marble fountains, fancy palaces, and horse-drawn carriages clopping down the streets. Not at all what we had expected to experience in Guatemala.

On the other side of town we picked up some ultra cheap, local street food from the much less bourgeois market place. Then we wandered its tiny alleys taking pictures and buying ingredients to make guacamole for later.

The fried Iguana however, we avoided.

We returned to Lainies a bit wet from the heavy rain and pretty quick thereafter headed out to party at a coop. Most of the people we met were living in the city studying Spanish (a very common thing in this city) others were living here working, or volunteering on one project or the other. It was a very informal independence day celebration, but since most of the people were from the USA, and the Guatemalan fixation of setting off fireworks at random times every single day, I guess it sort of counts.

We headed back to Lainies with most of the group and a few others, where Jessica and I prepared a killer guacamole, far cheaper to do here since you can get about six avocados for a dollar! Much of the night was spent conversing and singing to a couple playing the guitar; felt a little hippie kumbayah, but it was a good crowd and a lot of fun!

07.05.10

Early morning we hiked up the base of one volcano to get a terrific view of the city and the many surrounding volcanoes. It was all made even more spectacular with Volcan Fuego shooting bursts of ash every 10 minutes.

The trail to this point is well traveled by tourists, yet three police officers protect it with shotguns in hand due to past muggings. Another reminder that even though this country may seem so peaceful and beautiful, there is a serious dark side. We are smart when we travel, but we’ve heard of others have be too naïve and had a lot of problems.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around, taking tons of pictures of the gorgeous city.

We met a couple again from last night, John and Ameris, and got lost around town with them. Later we met for some truly spectacular coffee, lunch, and chocolate in town.

For dinner we all met at Lainies where Jess and I cooked a massive stir-fry with chicken, rice, pineapple, onions, garlic, tomato, eggplant, green beans, mushrooms….pretty much everything delicious and fresh looking at the market. Dinner was followed by much chatting and a bit of wine.

Antigua was a pretty spectacular city, it is easy to see why so many gringos get stuck here, but there are so many new things to explore. So, we spent our last night in Lainie and Miro’s terrific hacienda.

And as always: Flickr.com/flufflebuns/sets

Paradiso July 9, 2010

07.01.10

First off; HAPPY CANADA DAY! A fact that would have been totally unknown to us without the three Canadians of the group singing the national anthem when it hit midnight last night. Crammed in a tiny collectivo we took the long eight hour journey to Lanquin.

My numb legs about to fall off as we finally exited in the cute, cool mountain town. From there we stood in the back of a pick up truck holding onto metal bars welded in for the 30 minute ride to Semuc Champey. The surrounding scenery is more alpine than imagined for central America; in other words, gorgeous!

We pulled into El Portal; our eco-lodge home for the next couple nights. An eco-lodge is essentially a place that tries to keep a low environmental impact; meaning pretty spartan, but remarkably beautiful!

We shared a room in an open loft overlooking the river with our Canadian friends Shayne and Shandra. Before the sun set, we took a dip in the cool brown river and the most adorable little girl sold us homemade chocolate from the cocoa trees that grow here. The chocolate is a bit bitter and crunchy, but it grew on us, plus how could we say no to her?

Dinner was delicious and for the first time this whole trip we slept underneath blankets, without even needing a fan! Ah, sweet Guatemalan paradiso.

07.02.10

A delicious breakfast of eggs and panqueque’s (I let you guess what those are) and we entered the state park of Semuc Champey. After a twenty minute hike we were met with this!

An absolutely gorgeous sight of crystalline blue pools formed by the river diverting to an underground cave. Only the trickling water from the surrounding hills filling the pools.

The hike back down was met with some insane looking creatures, particularly this guy.

We hit bottom and spent the next couple hours diving off the tiny waterfalls from pool to pool. Sitting still in the water, dozens of tiny fish would charge in to peck pieces of our peeling skin off; don’t spas charge for treatments like this?

Hundreds of yellow butterflies flapped overhead as we floated on smooth, cool waters staring up at the bright blue sky; life doesn’t get much better!

Eventually hunger set in, but not before going to check out the most amazing part of the Semuc Champey phenomenon. As I mentioned before, the torrent of brown water upriver diverts into a cave, but what that really means is that the pools we have been relaxing in are literally just a stone bridge over a huge flowing river.

After lunch one of the hostel workers took a break from his job to float with us on inner tubes down the muddy river; rough life! The scenery was gorgeous, we saw toucans, lizards, and tons of other little beasties through the forest.

On the way back we took turns leaping from the 30ft high bridge; exciting.

We hung out the rest of the day around the hostel, going back to the pools for a bit as well. Then in the evening, being Shayne’s birthday, we finished off a bottle of rum between the four of us. Perhaps a bit too much…

07.03.10

After breakfast with lots of water, and some relaxing by the river to cure my hangover, we headed across the river to the Lanquin caves.

Each of us four were given a candle and rugged man speaking little English took us into the wet, black hole. The flickering flames set the mood of the beautiful brown, slimy, stalactite ridden walls and ceiling. The adventure was managing to keep your candle lit while swimming through pitch black water, and dodging low overhangs while going deeper and deeper into the abyss.

Ladders pieced together by wet rope and strong plastic pipes helped you climb over tight spots, and literally up underground waterfalls. At the very end, our guide motioned a spot where you could climb up fifteen feet and leap into a black abyss. Me, complete with hangover, was the only one who mustered the courage for this terrifying venture.

Candle smoke filled our nostrils and our hearts beat a couple pumps quicker as we journeyed back to the light of day. Obviously a camera would have been utterly destroyed, so we will have to remember the epic journey solely with our brains.

We said goodbye to the canucks and headed back on a pickup truck to Lanquin where we caught a bus for the four hour ride back to the large city of Coban. It started getting dark, so we spent a little more for a nicer hotel than usual, conveniently in the city center and dropped off our bags.

The next goal was to fill our bellies. Around the corner was a nice hole-in-the-wall 3 for 10 tacos (that’s three tacos for ten quetazles, or $1.25). Perhaps it was only the Jalepeno based hot sauce, but the tacos were so delicious, it nearly brought a tear to my eyes. Seriously, I know I speak in hyperboles, but even Jessica will agree these were probably the greatest tacos we have ever consumed. Incredibly spiced meats, homemade tortillas, pickled veggies for topping, and a killer hot sauce!

Out on the street we tried even more local goodies, guacamole empanadas, and other unnameable street foods. Coban may not have much else to offer other than being a stopover city, but holy crap is the street food incredible!

As always, more pics on our Flickr site!

Lobsterfest gets cancelled! July 1, 2010

06.24.10

Cute baby howler monkey still fresh in our minds we packed up our things and headed to the bus terminal. We said our farewell to Orange Walk and boarded the “chicken bus,” so called because it is cheap, crowded, and people bring chickens on it, towards Belize City. Many had commented on the “dangers” of Belize city, but it felt no more so than many cities we have traveled. In any case we were only passing through to get to the boat terminal (with a quick pit stop for some BBQ chicken!)

Soon we were on a boat crammed with people and bags heading to two different islands off the Belize coast; San Pedro and Caye Caulker. A pleasant ride headed us right for the Caye where we unloaded, found a nice, cheap hostel, Loraine’s, with our own bungalow on stilts and fan for $18 per night, and set our bags down.

Already the island mood sets in; without a worry in the world we wander through town. Picturesque is a start to describing this place, but it is far more than that. Local Creole Rastafarai mingle with American ex-patriots, Hispanics, tourists, and the cutest, friendliest street dogs anywhere. Everyone rides around on bikes or golf carts through the sandy “streets.”

At the other end of the island is the only true beach area, where a hurricane in the 60′s split the island in two. The beach, complete with underwater stools and benches (not intentional), and a Rastafarian bar blasting reggae, is aptly named “the split.” We hung out with a couple beers watching all the different people mingle and relax under the sun.

We booked a snorkel tour for tomorrow through Ragamuffin tours run by an Australian lady and her Belizian husband, then wandered around town for a place to eat. After a lobster burger and our first time trying grilled conch, we headed to bed. The night was filled with exceedingly long, loud booms of thunder, preceded by massive flashes of lightning .

06.25.10

Pastries for breakfast, then loaded onto a sailboat with the name Ragga Lady with two dreadlocked Rastas and a bunch of American travelers. The day was not ideal for snorkeling, with gray clouds in the sky, and a drizzle of rain, but the forecast is worse for the next two days, and with our great luck, the sun will come out for us. Well it did later, and it was gorgeous.

Our destination Hol Chan is a protected reef with a multitude of very unique fishies, but first we would hop in the water to swim with two very friendly manatees!!! Our guide Kevin dove to the bottom and got one manatee to do spirals around him, pretty awesome. The snorkeling in the area was terrific, some truly stunning fish; lionfish, puffers, and a tiny dark blue one that looked like it was spotted with galaxies. Why we don’t have an underwater camera by now? Good question.

Next stop was Shark alley, where within seconds of anchoring, a multitude of harmless nurse sharks, large yellowtails, and sting rays, swam right up to the boat looking for grub. We hopped right in for a closer look. Kevin dove down and grabbed under the front of a massive stingray to pull it up for everyone to touch; it seemed perfectly content with this.

The third spot, Hol Chan, was terrific. Right when we got into the water Kevin had a massive Morey Eel putting its mouth up to his hands as it swam through his fingers. We always thought they were terribly dangerous… Eagle rays, eels, brain coral, and tons of colorful fish swam under us. The great barrier reef in Australia may have been more diverse, but some very unique species excited us here as well.

The sailing back was complete with hand made ceviche (raw shrimp “cooked” only using lime juice), fish sandwiches, fresh fruit, and 2 gallons of particularly strong rum punch. Complete with two full body sunburns, our $80 (for both) journey was worth every penny.

I may have not mentioned it yet, but starting today is an annual event on the islands called Lobsterfest, where tourists and locals flood to the islands to celebrate the beginning of lobster season by eating tons of lobster. We dreamed of fresh grilled lobster as we basted our burns with Aloe Vera, when as luck should have it, the rain started pouring down.

The poor girls in the Lobsterfest beauty pageant got dumped on by a short burst of a storm, after which we headed to Joe Habanero’s for some pina coladas and a lobster po’ boy. There we met a massive group of British military just back from six months serving in Afghanistan. One member of the group not snorting habanero sauce in his nose chatted with us about some truly extraordinary aspects of the war; how the Afghans hire Russian and E. European military specialists to fight with them, how sophisticated the military is with the little equipment they have, and some harrowing near death stories.

After that, sleep to more rain.

06.26.10

Today is the first real day of Lobsterfest. Our goals; to sleep in then explore the island while eating delicious lobsters prepared at the fest. We started to have a bad feeling when, as we walked to town in very strong wind, people were nailing big wooden planks across their windows. We came across a guy from Pensylvania from the tour yesterday who terrified us with news of an incoming tropical storm, and the government issuing an emergency disaster warning… That was mingled with the local rastas saying ‘don’ be runnin, jes a bit a’ rain.”

Lobsterfest had officially been canceled, and the chance of not being able to leave the island tomorrow made us buy tickets to take the last boat to mainland at 3pm. We relaxed to a lobster themed breakfast while watching developments of the massive incoming storm on the news. Then packed our bags at the bungalow and headed back into town to use internet awhile in a bar where everyone was watching the US vs. Ghana futbol game.

Black clouds on the horizen we boarded our boat and were soon unloading under a torrent of rain in Belize City. The bus station was packed with locals carrying all their belongings to head inland to escape. Complete with bright blinking lights atop the busses, scratchy radio broadcasts on the storm, and crowds of people with frightened energy, it felt like escaping a battlefield.

Flooding rivers to both sides of the road, our bus brought us deeper inland. The trip was mostly uneventful as we chatted with our Canadian friends. Aside from a few scary flooded road crossings, we made it safe and sound to the higher grounds of San Ignacio within two hours. There we found a great hostel, grabbed some crappy Chinese food, and went to bed.

In the end, the tropical storm was, as the Rastas preditcted “jes a bit o’ rain.”