The Big Day

Wednesday 28 April

Wednesday morning started just like any other, up for a coffee at Starbucks. I’ll be glad to get back home, well not really but to make a point let’s pretend, so the next Starbuck’s we see will be on the way to the Tango Palace. This time we decided to walk along the beach with the coffees and headed south. Little did we know that our day would bring us back this way for an entirely different reason. It was a beautiful morning and the walk took us much further than normal.

They say that good luck is what results when "preparation meets opportunity". How true. Before heading out, I attached the super zoom lense to the camera to get closeups of the beach before heading home. About half way through the walk we came upon a group of people holding light reflectors, and a hip looking dude with high end camera on a tripod. But most importantly, standing there on the edge of the sand was a latin goddess, and I am not exagerating, unbelieveable, stretching out to the sky with her back arched all decked out in a tiny white bikini. Good luck!! ...Not!! Unfortunately, just before leaving the room, I had changed my mind and put the camera back in the safe. My tears could not console me.

The weather had turned towards the end of our walk, and it looked like we had to find a few indoor actvities to keep entertained, so, we did what all good Norte Americanos do, and headed to Walmart. It was a quick $3 cab ride, and when we walked in doors, I had the same thoughts as I do when hitting Walmart back home; "what the heck did I ever come here for". The walk back was only ten minutes, and with the weather getting worse by the minute, the rest of the day was planned.

Now all week, we had been hit up by hucksters on the street to go visit the new Sandos Resort for dinner, lunch, breakfast, drinks....whatever we wanted as long as we went over. They try all kinds of enticements, and we ignored them all. But, since this was a rain day, our plan was to wrangle a free adventure for our final day, and get a nice meal inside a large resort away from the rains. We would go, get our goodies and tell them no thanks. So after arranging to get a $150 ATV trip for tomorrow, we headed in a prepaid taxi to the Sandals Playcar Resort.

Have to say, the place was impressive. We were greeted by a number of people trying to get a read on whether we might actually be a prospect. We were given the grand tour by Jessica, an extremely pleasant transplanted American from Washington DC. I won't bother with the details, but in the end, we walked away with a two unit, three week vacation ownership that we hope will be the cornerstone of our retirement plans (with more to come if it works like planned). The flexibilty of the plan, the price tag, and the thousands of 5+ star locations available to us world wide, turned me from a skeptic to a believer. Of course, it helps to be prepared to walk away to get the maximum they have to offer. Incredible deal.

After walking away, and going through the usual second thought process, my only regret is that we did not pick up an extra couple of weeks. I will be looking at that in the future.

Radical Move

Up at the crack of dawn again, well not really, we didn't actually get out the door till 8am, heading immediately down to the beach for a walk on the way to coffee. The shore was a hub of activity with boat after boat loading up for snorkling, scuba and fishing trips. None of the hordes of gnats that swarmed the beach last night remained. Nice refreshing stroll, which led us directly to one of Trip Advisor's highest rated restauraunts for the area. It was the Choco Cafe, or something like it, and served high end coffee, croissants and chocolate chip muffins. The place didn't blow us away but it was a nice change from Starbucks.

Walking back to the hotel , we were acosted by the various vendors who recieved my usual response " no gracias", but there was one who said " amigo, amigo, come here, remember me from yesterday". I told him " I sure do, you tried to send me to a time share presentation when I asked for a good breakfast spot, so you're off my list." I doubt he will bother us again.

Back at the hotel getting ready for a day at the beach, all of a sudden a radical thought came over me, and I couldn't resist. Told Mary Lou I'd be right back, popped across the street to get the necessary tools. More on that later, but let's just say, the wife was shocked.

The same spot on the beach was waiting for us, with good food and cheap liquor why not. Today we were in the mood for walking, so headed south to see what lay beyond the ferry terminal. Wow. Great beach, almost rivals Varadero. There were a couple of guys with a GPS survey unit taking cross sections all along the shore. We found out later that that a year ago you couldn't even walk along this section as it was wiped out from the last few hurricanes. The Mexican government did a big sudy of the beaches between Cancun and Playa del Carmen, which resulted in the new beach being constructed. Guess the surveyors were getting data for the computer modeling.

The water was so inviting a swim was in order. Now Mary Lou is by nature a cautious person, but that doesn't apply to swimming in the ocean. No sooner were we in the water than bang, she scoots 200 feet offshore, in a body of water with very strong and fast moving currents. Now both of us are very strong swimmers, but I had to be the voice of reason or we would have been half way to Cozumel. It was a tough (not dangerous) swim back, but little miss timid simply says " good workout".

We are still having difficulty getting motivated to do another excursion, it is so enjoyable sitting at the beach reading and relaxing. Week one was go go go, so we want slow, slow, slow for the last few days. Louie has finished her book "Eat Pray Love" (not far off my vacation mantra Eat, Drink, Think"). Finally started reading the book I brought along "Songwriting". Great book. Lots of information on how to use technology to write and record a song right at home. Having been inspired by my buddies Steve and Blake, think I'll give it a shot.

For dinner we headed out to an Italian restaurant that was the number 2 rated one for the area. Unfortunately, it is closed on Tuesdays. So we wandered down the street again. Decided to try the Manhatten Grill, great ambience and the menu looked good. We started off with an Argentinian merlot that started weak but finished well, salad and calamarie for appetiser, then crepes and caronie salad for main course. The meal was OK but was not worth the $100. No more fancy places in Mexico.

On the walk back there was some sort of street festival going on (code name for more ways to get money out of your pocket). There were artists, artisans, dancers, and so on. I made the mistake of taking a picture of the break dancers and they came running over with the tip jar. Should have known better.

Back to the hotel to watch Lost, then off to bed. Oh, and the radical thought, the pictures below tell the story.

Contentment

Where my head was all day today. Today was, thoroughly unspectacular, and totally enjoyable. No thoughts of what should we be doing, where should we be going, what should we be planning. This would be a do nothing day.

We actually woke up late today, 7:30 am in our pillow topped king size bed, and took longer than usual to get out the door. The only thing we really had to do was get the rental car back before 10:00 am. Not a problem as it was only a five minute drive, so a quick gas up and we were there. We had washed it and cleaned it out yesterday, and the agency said we returned it in perfect condition (reinforces the importance of good hygiene). If they only knew the beating that thing took on the roads we were on..hmmm. OK. I have to say something nice here. When we rented the Chevy Comfort I was regretting not getting the Jeep. But I have to say that cheap little vehicle did yeoman duty, had great pep, met the challenges of every different terrain and road condition, held steadfast in 100 degree weather over 10 hours, and could turn on a dime. Kudos to the car and American Rentals. Excellent service.

Like I said. Do nothing day. I didn't even take a picture today, which is something, because I even shoot the lamps at home I love using that camera so much. But the day was sunny, and hot and we were right on the beach. So, not much on the blog today but random thoughts from a hard days thinking, and a few things that amused me.

After taking the car back, we changed and headed for the beach. We met Raul a few steps in, and for 10 US we got two chairs, an umbrella and access to beach service, pool and banos. This is stuff you take for granted at all inclusives, but is a bargain on public beaches.

OK. Whats first. Oh yeah, when we got our chairs and immediately headed to the water we passed what I thought was a tiny slim Mayan girl sunbating topless. Well, I was wrong. On the way out we saw that he was actually a minature version of Fabio striking poses for all who would look. He was being heckled by a number of American bubbas (more about them later) sitting in the chairs beside us. Didn't seem to phase Fabio at all. Good for him.

In and out of the water all day. In between I listened to the ipod continously. Last year I was introduced to a song , that was actually written in the 80's, Hallelaujah. The song had a huge effect on me, even to the point of changing the way I see music. I listened to the different versions and reaffirmed my belief, with all due respect to my good buddy Wayne, that the Jeff Buckley rendition, is not only the best version, but is the song itself. His vocals, just like the lyrics, are both subdued and powerful at the same time. The rest of the artists, including KD Langs olympic version, are excellent covers, but covers they are. I also now feel that his lyrics are some of the greatest ever written. After all that I tried out Metallica for the first time. They are not exactly deep thinkers but sure can play.

The Americans. Good for a laugh. Felt like I was sitting with the boys. Quite different being in the midst of all those intoxicated people, and not being one of them. It is amazing that the things you find hilarious when in the bag, might just be a little stupid when observed from the outside. Also amusing was that female drunks can be just as dumb as their male counterparts. Many laughs for me over the afternoon, but I was laughing at them, not with them.

One of the highlights of the afternoon was getting a beer and a cigar and heading out to the water to enjoy both them and the scenery. But don't worry Shirl, I was wearing a bandanna and lots of sunscreen.

Had another great supper of steak and fish and chips, a walk on the beach and an early retirement.

The Long Road

Sunday was an uneventful day for the most part as 10 hours of it was spent in the car driving from Placentian to Playa del Carmen. The drive through the mountains of Belize was spectacular, kind of like the drive through the White Mountains in New Hampshire, only with palm trees and monkees instead of pines and white tailed deer. No problems at the border in Belieze, other than they fleeced us for another $75 BD. In Mexico, they didn't even look at anything, just waved us on through.

The 4 hour drive in Mexico was uneventful. The one thing of interest was a 40 km stretch where thousands of brightly colored butterflies fluttered all over the highway, dying by the thousands as well. Our car alone took out three dozen or so. We figured there must have been a mass hatching that day, and that was not lost on the birds either, mostly swallows, which were picking these things out of the air one after the other.

We pulled into our hotel, Villa del Mar about 4:00 PM and were shown to our room, a large suite with a huge private balcony, an upgrade from the one we were shown when booking last time through. The hotel itself is an older spanish style building that has been completely renovated. Out back through a series of secluded garden walkways it shares access to a pool and bar area with a connecting hotel. The area is just steps from the pedestrian arcade with all the shops and restaurants. Best of all, it is costing us $49 US per night.

Being hot from our travels we headed out for a quick swim before heading out to find a place for supper. We didn't have to walk far to find something appealing, and we wern't disappointed.
The meal was delicious, and the 2 for 1 Carona was a bonus. We spent a good hour sitting there people watching, looking at couples, some which seemed like a perfect fit, and others you wondered how they ever got together. The night was a bit of a gem as far as I was concerned, making up for the long day on the road. One of those little moments I am determined to enjoy to the fullest. To bed early as usual, and a full nights sleep.

Do Nothing Day

Eyes opened wide at 4:30 am just as the sun was starting to poke its nose through the horizon. Another day in Paradise, and my thoughts turned to, "everything working OK today". The news was good. We popped out of bed, and hit the beach for a walk having even beat the locals out.

Once the rest of the world started stirring we headed to a place called Helen's for some cafe and nourishment. The breakfasts in the Caribbean are quite different than what we are used to back home. Sure you can get your bacon and eggs, and they are quite tastey, but more of the menu is related to burritos, tacos, and stews. Though my stomach is still not 100% and my appetite is half of normal, the stewed curried chicken and refried beans was delicious and hit the spot. Mary Lou, or "Legumes" as I like to call her now, had her own plate of refried beans, a food she wouldn't have touched a couple of months ago.

There is a yoga studio above the restaurant, and they had a great mantra on the chalk board. It reminded me of the advice I gave kids when they were younger. " If you have to chose, follow your heart. Use your head to get you out of any trouble it might get you into". As you may have sensed by now, it was a slow news day, so there was lots of time to think about this and other things, and I still believe that is good advice. Life would be a boring if I listened to common sense. Think I will expand my advice slightly though " Anyone can get inside your head. But only someone who belongs there can get inside your heart."

Today, for the first time in my life, I uttered those three words " it's too hot". Had to be over 100, and it was sticky muggy. This combination zaps all energy and makes even the most basic activity strenuous. Beach, beach, beach today, with most of the time spent in the water or sleeping under the palm trees.

Mary Lou picked up a new buddy who seemed to follow her around wherever she walks. There are many dogs loose in the Town, not malnourished like Cuba and Dominican, but they do not appear to have homes. The owner of the hotel has a young pup that comes over, and I have to tell you, I really miss having a dog. Dogs, even a dog on the street, can wash away any negative thoughts in a single pat. Thank god for Ruby and Lucy.

Even though it was a slow day, it was great to recharge the batteries. One of the many activities I found to stay amused was to swim out into the waves, float on my stomach, and see how long I could hold my breath. Worked up to 84 seconds. Another fun one was walking back to the room, getting another beer, and heading into the water to drink it. That one never got old.

Supper was a real treat, and one of the better ones in a few days. The hummus was homemade, spicy and delicious. Drinks included rum punch and beer. Supper for ML was pasta and red sauce, and I ordered snapper napoleon. Both were excellent.

After supper, stuffed to the gills, we went for a walk down a path Mary Lou had discovered during the day. Voila, there was a part of Palencia that changed our opinion of the place. There were shops, residences, small cafes and cool little bars all the way along. The artisans that were missing lined the walk, and it gave the place an entirely different feeling. Notwithstanding, this will not be the place. All the requirements are here, a medical clinic right in town, an aiport 10 drive, warm warm water, a municipal water system....but...it just doesn't feel r ight. So, go with the gut. Will have to keep looking (just as well, my sister Deb, who has voluntered to be my barwench when I buy a place, would find it too hot here).

Tomorrow will be another driving day, then we are staying put for the rest of the vacation in Playa del Carmen. It has been a fantastic week.

The Road to Placencia (and Recovery)

The morning started with a fair amount of trepidation on our part. It wasn’t that we had a five and ½ drive back to Belize, or that we had to recross the borders from hell, rather it was we weren’t sure I could make it 15 minutes down the road without dropping my drawers. In the end it turned out to be a fairly uneventfull day although we: 1. Were heckelled by Guatamalean construction workers 2. flipped my first Belizean bird and 3. saw some interesting road-kill.

We got at the crack of dawn, packed, loaded, bought some sort of Mayan stone carving from the front desk and were on the road by 6:30. Because we left so early, we were able to avoid most of the construction work, however, at one location where they got at it early, we pulled out around a stopped vehicle . The flagman screamed: "Alto Alto Alto" and his ½ dozen workman buddies started to laugh and point. I stuck my head out the window and yelled “Lo Siento”. When they finally waved us through the men all stood up in unison, whistling and hooting and gave us a standing ovation. Stupid gringo. In fact I have heard the term "gringo" twice in conversations by others when I was the subject of discussion.

The surprise of the morning was that it took us 20 minutes less to get to the border than on the way in, and that we were through both borders in about 15 minutes. No one asked us for any money and there were no hassels. We even saw our old buddy Franklin who wished us happy trails. So far, the constitution was holding.

Once through the border we decided to have breakfast at the hotel we stayed the previous night. Good thing. Not only had we forgot one of the camera cases, but we hadn't paid our bill. After taking care of our previous transgression, we had a pleasant breakfast and headed out. On the way out you have to cross the river over a one way bridge. The cars from the other side didn't seem to have any sense of fairness in that they kept right on coming even though they could see someone was waiting their turn on the other side. Finally, when there was an opening, I started across, which didn't seem to impact a truck racing for the bridge on the other side. He kept on coming forcing me to back off the bridge. As he passed by he smiled and gave a thank you wave, I proceeded to give him the finger and yelled.... well, you know what I said. Hey, give me this one, I have been exceeding courteous for the entire week.

Mary Lou took the wheel and drove us all the way into Placentia. Along the route we encountered numerous road kill, including a dog and two monkeys. All along the roads of Belize and Guatemala you have to be on your toes for unmarked speed bumps, tethered animals, streams of school children and a variety of others sharing the asphalt. At one spot a tethered horse was standing right on the road jumping all around with his eyes peeled on one spot on the ditch. Snake.

As we got close to Placentia, we crossed by a new airport with a sign that said " cars, please give the right of way to planes taking off ". The Town itself reminded me of a run down US boardwalk town. That is about to change. There is a huge amount of construction going on: subdivisions of mansions coplete with a lock systems, condominium developments and hotels, and the aforementioned airport. Much of it is Canadian money according to two torontonians we met at supper in the Purple Monkey Cafe.

Still run down, we finished our meal and went right to bed. We decided to have a lazy day Saturday and catch up on our sleep, so it will likely be an uneventful one. Although, every time we think that, something always manages to stir things up.

The Border Crossing From Hell

Today was certainly an experience. Started out pretty much like every other day, and I guess ended up like every other day (with one notable exception), but oh those in betweens. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad that we went through it, and we certainly enjoyed our day on the other side, but if I had of known then what I know now, well, we would likely already be on the coast. Yet, here we are at the La Casa de Don David just outside of Tikal, Guatemala.

With a little bit of advance notice of what to expect, courtesy our friendly hotelier, we headed out for the border around 8:30. Everything went smoothly to start, we pulled up to the parking area and were approached by the “facilitators” who would guide us through the process (in effect they are money exchangers, they help you out and you get your Guatemalan “quesidias” from them (actually called quetzals). About 7:1 to the Belizean dollar, which is 2:1 to the US dollar. So, the exchange is 100 Q is $7.20 US.

Belize Border

Step 1 – exchange the money with the facilitators. Screw up one travelers cheque by signing in the wrong place. They won’t accept it so do another.

Step 2 – fill out a client satisfaction survey talking about the crossing experience when entering Belize. Now what kind of dim wit would you be to say anything that wasn’t wonderful as you still had three stages to go through?

Step 3 – pay the Belizean exit tax of $37.50 BD each to leave the country. “Yes sir, you will have to pay it again when you leave again in three days”.

Step 4 – Go to immigration and get your passport stamped. This was good, no questions, no money, and 30 seconds maybe.

Step 5 – Be told by immigration that I have to go to customs and get my rental car registration straight. Get to customs and have the sweet young thing reviewing your documents look up and say “you only have permission to go as far as Belize City sir, you are not allowed to be here! “ . WT… Calm on the outside but somewhat annoyed on the inside I told her “we told her exactly what we are doing, going to Belize City, then Guatemala, to Placentia then back up the coast to Mexico. I have no idea why she stamped it Belize City”. After staring me down for a minute she said, OK”. Mary Lou and I looked at each other and said in unison. “are we going to have problems getting back across the border.” Don't worry, “I’ll be here”. Somehow that doesn’t give me a warm and fuzzy.

Step 6 – back into the car and we head to the check point feeling pretty good, then the border guard says “they did not stamp you car pass as out of country, you must have that”. Yeah. Again, with my best puppy dog face, explained my last conversation. “ Hmmm, OK. If they say so. Have a nice trip”

So we were across the border. Oh. Crap. Not really. We were just out of Belize. Now we had to get into Guatemala.

Total cost for Belizian border was $37.50 US.

Guatemala Border

Step 1 - Arrive at border and get waved over by young fellow not wearing a uniform. We pay $20 QS for spray as we crossed.

Step 2 – got stopped, then waved through gate by latin version of Joe Bob after we paid fee.

Step 3 – young guy waves us over after moving a bus out of the way. This is when I knew we had a Guatemalan facilitator. Did not mind though as the customs were crowded and we had no clue what to do.

Spotted first guy with short stock shot gun wearing a belt of 12 gauge shells guarding the cashier for the border. On the other end of the terminal were several militia carrying AK 47’s. Gave me that good ole down home feeling.

Step 4 – young guy, lets call him Juan, leads me to the shortest line, guess that is because we were coming in and the rest of the 100 odd people in the other line were leaving. Moved through this and got our passports stamped in a few minutes, and it cost $20 QS each. Oh yeah, forgot to tell you, Juan speaks no English, and I mean NO ENGLISH. Great guy to have as a translator.

Step 4 – Juan leads us over to another line, which I knew was for the car. At this point, another facilitator named Franklin(he likes to say he was named after Franklin Rooselvelt), who was watching came over and said Juan did not know what he was doing (Heard Roosevelt calling me a gringo to Juan). We had to get photo copies of license, passport, registration, rental agreement before they will serve us. “ You can stand there for ten minutes to wait and hear from the border guard what I am telling you, or you can come with me now”. I asked him to tell Juan that.

Step 5 – around the corner we go to get photocopies. This takes five more minutes, and costs $3.50 QS.

Step 6 – we give my passport (as I am the driver) the rental agreement, and all the copies to the guard. They were required, thank you Franklin. After saying we don’t have this, or we don’t have that, and Franklin saying yes you do, he handed us the papers and said in Spanish, go to the cashier. AK 47 guy followed us to the bank line. Another $20 QS for the car.

It is at this point it dawns on me there is a battle going on between Juan and Franklin, and we would have to shell out two tips. Mary Lou and I decided we would give them one and they could duke it out for a split. Great plan.

Step 7 – pay the cashier the car fee and he says, "welcome to Guatemala". Ah, done. Wrong again.

Step 8 – back to the guard that gave us the car permit, who looked at the receipt, then gave us two pieces of paper and muttered a long set of instructions in Spanish. Thank god for Franklin. Summary...don’t lose the two papers or you will be here all day on the way back.

Step 9 – I give Juan $20 QS and said to Franklin that you guys work out the split. Juan bolted out of there and I turned to Franklin and said “ he’s not giving you any of that is he”. So I handed Franklin $10 QS , shook his hand and said thanks and so long.

Step 10 – Let out of the gate by AK 47 toting guard, and immediately was hit for $ 30 QSD toll.

Finally we were on our way. After being a bit ticked about being fleeced, I did the math and figured with all fees and tips in, the crossing in Guatemala only cost $ 8.57 USD and took about 45 minutes. The money I spent on Juan and Franklin was well worth it. So all in all, we drove on happy.


There are only two paved roads in Guatemala, according to the guide book a few years old. We were on one of them, well mostly. The first ten km were dirt road, and quite rutted in many places. Just about when we figured that little Chevy was going to fall apart, we hit the new pavement construction. They were doing a good job, however, let’s say that their onsite safety leaves a bit to be desired. At one point we had to get right over the shoulder and were within inches of dropping to the ditch when two graders in tandem took the entire road and would not budge. The rest of the way we weaved and bobbed between lanes and construction equipment, but made it safely.

Once we were on the paved sections things went quickly, with the exception of the two herds of cattle that stopped us dead in the water. The 80 km drive to Tikal took an hour and half.

We were very happy seeing the hotel and it turned out to be a funky little spot set on a large lake. The room was large, clean with two double beds and the standard two geckos which seem to come with every room, and cost only $53 including breakfast. We checked in, got the bags to the room and immediately headed to the lake as it was 100 degrees and humid. A quick dip off the end of the wharf then we were ready for the drive to Flores.

We had been told by several people that Guatemala was a much poorer country then Belize, however, we didn’t see that. On the drive to Flores, even in the shanty type towns the school children we passed on the road were all immaculately dressed and groomed, with no old or worn clothing like Belize. A very handsome people all in all. One noticeable difference was the cost of things. Guatemala is a fraction of the price, and seems to be the place to shop between the three countries so far.

OK. Thats it for now, more tonight. I am sitting eating dry toast for breakfast back in Belize recovering from a duel with Montezuma last night. Hit hard as I was writing this and could not finish. On the plus side, pretty sure I achieved my weight loss goals for the entire trip in a single sleepless night.

We got to our hotel in Tikal, quickly checked in and went for a dip in the lake, as it was stifling hot, then headed out to Flores. About half an hour we came into the City and were surprised that it looked like any other North American city: shopping mall development, Pizza Hut, Texaco, etc. The village of Flores was on an island accessible on a one lane bridge. It reminded me of a European city, cobble stone streets, concrete buildings, bright and colorful walls.

We stopped st a few small shops selling a variety of items run by a couple of Mayan women, one of whom had to be the tinyest person I had seen. Maybe 4' 6" and 70 lbs. She talked constantly in flawless, continuous and monotonistic voice " Pretty blouse for the lady...presents for your family...what is your name...I do a good deal just for you...you very handsome man (just kidding with that last one)." We ended up buying some trinkets for Mary Lou's staff, and a couple of pairs of beach pants for me (dirt cheap). After a meal on the waterfront we headed back to Tikal, and another swim.

When we got back to the hotel, Mary was approached by two young locals selling more trinkets. I watched with great amusement as she brow beat them down to about half what they originally wanted.


After another swim we had an average supper of rice, chicken and carrots then headed back to the room for what turned out to be a heated battle with Montezuma.

I was down for the count 15 minutes after this picture.

Awesome Day - Part Deux

A man could get used to this. Stretched out on a hammock on the porch of a cabana at 5:30 in the morning, laptop in lap, listening to the gecko chirp (yes, they chirp), a multitude of birds singing (some beautifully and some a little off key), nuts falling onto the tin roof next door, the air already warm; like I said, a man could get used to this.

Yesterday (cause I am writing this first thing in the morning) was another great day. Back to back awesomes. We started out having breakfast with our new friends Robin and Amy, and two women, one from Arkansas and the other North Carolina. Great omlette, coffee and conversation then off to our next big adventure. Saying good bye, and with no time to spare the car raced to meet the tour group. Fifty five miles to cover in fifty minutes (remember the speed bumps).

We drove west along the Western Highway for about an hour to the meeting point, parked our rental, and headed down what is best described as a cattle path (and not a well kept one at that) for about 15 minutes. The van passed a mahogany tree farm which looked like one of Irvings tree farms back home. There was a base camp where we were outfitted with a helment, box lunch and a few basic instructions. We then headed out on a 40 minute hike through the jungle that included three stream crossings. On the way there were ants, ants, ants. You know, the kind we seen on the nature shows where they walk in 1" wide colums, carrying the fruits of their labour one way, and returning another. Just like in the shows you could see the workers carrying the leaves and the sentries both providing protection and keeping things moving.

OK. Sideabar. Speaking of critters. When we checked in last night, for the third straight night Mary Lou screamed Oh..Oh..Oh..Mitch..Mitch...come here...quick. Must be time to kill some critter (so you know, I don't really like killing anything). There on the toilet paper was a large green striped tree frog. and there was no way I was killing that. In trying to herd it out the thing jumped over my head onto the wall. It took another few minutes of corralling, but it finally hopped out the door. I brought that up here as the ant discussion reminded me of all the different things that are found in rooms in Belize. For us it has been spiders, both large and small, geckos, june bugs, centipedes, and now a frog. One of the other people on the tour, a pharmaceutical researcher from Worchester Mass., found a scorpion in a dresser. So far, no snakes.

After our treck through the jungle, we arrived at the mouth of the cave. As we would be in there for over three hours our guide suggested to eat part of the lunch, and head to the woods for a system purge. Everwhere you could see was a washroom. Once business was taken care of we donned our helmets, put the cameras in the wet bag, and jumped into the stream at the entrance to the cave. The water was cool, but not cold.

Inside the cave was like nothing you could have expected. Unbelievable. As gifted as man (and I mean that in the species sense) is, as wonderful the works of art we create, as amazing the things we build, we don't come close to mother nature. The many varied formations of the stalagtites and stalagmites, the colors of the rocks, the natural bridges and walkways, expansive ceilings that seem a mile high: well you just forget where you are. At times there were ceilings so high it felt like being outside looking up at the sky, and other times there were crevices so small one wonders how anyone could fit through (moi in particular came to mind).

Now, I have to say it was extremely surprising how nimble, yes nimble, I was in the cave. My concern over size being a problem was unfounded, and was actually an advantage. Where some of the smaller people had to lower themselves carefully in many areas, my longer legs allowed me to reach the footholds. When many were clinging to the rocks, I simply swam around not being afraid of the water, and (yes, I am bragging here) my upperbody strength allowed me to maneuver through tight spaces and up and down drops without having to use my legs. Very manly.

Anyway, we moved in for about an hour and a half, in water all the way ranging from ankle deep to over our head, over a distance the guide says was just under a mile. The caves went on for a total of approximately 3 miles, and it takes a full day by cave explorers to traverse the length. At the end of our trek in, we started climbing. It is surprising that with all the moisture and polished rock, it was not slippery. When we reached the pinnacle, we were in the middle of a living museum (that is, if fourteen people who have been dead for over a thousand years count as living). While the caves had been mapped, a decision had been made to leave everything undisturbed. So the ceramic pots were perfectly preserved over a thousand years . There were also five skeletal remains for viewing, all well preserved, including one of a young women " The Crystal Maiden", whose position looked to me like she had been sexually assulted and left to die. There was a hole in the skull that clearly made by a sharp object.

Our guide provided an explaination of the brutality of the era, and the belief that those sacrificed were given a special place in the afterlife, but how could it be anything but terrifying to know you would die, and painfully at that. I would have taken a few with me on the way, that is for sure.




Oh right. Forgot about the coincidence. The guide told us about an archaeological professor from Trent University who had spent seven years mapping the cave system. He held the prof in high esteem, as apparently did the Belizian government. I'm guessing about 15 minutes after the discussion, on our hike in, who was making his way out, but the good professor, giving his own tour to two other colleagues, one from Australia, the other from France. The doc was a good looking guy in his fifties, a little Indiana Jonesish. Couldn't help thinking that if "chicks dig archaeologists", he does alright for himself.

A moment of self discovery. We forgot to pack deoderant for the trip. Since we are spending much of the time in water somewhere, didn't figure it mattered. Well, I figured wrong. You remember those commercials of the women in the subway, checking their armpits to see if they smelled. Well, when you are lowering yourself down a crevice, and your pits are at nose level, that is the point you realize deoderant does matter. Last nights activities included purchase of some Right Guard.

The trek out was about half the time of that in, and the dreaded climb down was no problem at all. I was a bit, not a lot, but a bit proud of myself for the two days in the caves. My two phobias(heights and claustrophia) were not a problem, and when they did show themselves, I stared them down, and laughed in their faces. I actually have a third phobia, fear of running out of beer, but not sure what the official name is.

The rain came as we got back to our car, which suited us fine, quite refreshing in fact after the return jungle walk. There is a big difference in the scenery in this area of the country, as the rains bring the green with it. Our drive to St Ignacio was enjoyable and the hotel that Robin booked for us, the Midas Lodge, was neat. Great setting, and we had our own Cabana, probably our favourite room of the trip so far.

For supper we drove into town (3 minutes) and ate at an open air cafe called Hannah's. The food was fantastic, and when Mary Lou got her two plates (finally the ellusive rice and beans) there was enough to feed a trucker. She had no trouble finishing. Mine was the largest beef burrito I have seen, which I gobbled up as well. Great food, great and quick service. All of the customers were Expats, mostly Americans from listening to the conversations (did I say snooping). The local beer Bellekin, was not bad, not the greatest, but they do have great billboard advertisements.

After dinner, back to the cabana, fired up the netbook, and immediately fell asleep with it on my chest. It was 7:30. Dreamed sweet dreams.

We just finished our breakfast, outdoors again. Today is the trip to Gutemala. We are supposed to go to the Mayan ruins of Tikal, but think I'd rather just go and get down with the locals in Flores. Haven't shaved in a week and am starting to look like Jeramiah Johnson.

Thats it.

An Awesome Day - Just Awesome

Today was the mother of all vacation days. It started out totaly unexpected, and finished as planned. What a day. Informative, fun, active and very interesting. We got up for our breakfast, expecting to dine alone, but were joined by a British expat couple, Robin and Amy, who not only told us the story of the Lodge we are staying in, but had an interesting one of their own.

Jason and Catherine, the owners of the eco lodge, are from Taiwan originally. They came here on vacation 14 or so years ago, and Jason decided they would stay. Apparently Catherine was not too impressed at the time, but ebentually came around and now loves her adopted home. They bought 40 odd acres of land 30 minutes from Belize City, built an eco friendly home for themselves, and started building homes from imported kits, selling them mostly to Taiwanese expats. To help make the transition easier for these families, they built a school for the children, and other Taiwanese expats in the area. Now that China is on somewhat more favorable terms with Taiwan, and there is a strong business relationship between the two countries, many of the Tiwanes expats moved back. So two years ago as the need for the school dwindled, they converted it into a lodge, with an eco theme to suit the land.

Also two years back, Robin and Amy, looking to retire somewhere in the Caribbean from London, came over on a 28 day Belize familiarization stay at the lodge shortly after it opened. While here, they developed a close relationship with Jason and Katherine. There was a need for someone to help the Lodge develop, particularly someone with good english skills and computer savy ( websites, ebilling, etc). They worked a deal to stay rent free at the lodge, in return they provided the much needed support. After a year, Robin and Amy had decided to stay in Belize, and purchased one of the homes in the development.

It was such an interesting breakfast, we decided to go for a tour of their home. What a great place to live. It is a two storey, three bedroom home, with a large sundeck (and there is lots of sun) and a small tower on top for Robin's new high powered telescope. He says the stars light up the sky because there is so little light polution.

They also have a fantastic movie collection, and a library that makes mine look like a side table. We have very similar tastes in literature (and movies for that matter Sopranos, Lost,etc). I told Robin he was a man after my own heart. Living in the tropics, retired with lots to do, great books, great entertainment system, and he even has two guitars with an amp. They both sing in a choir that travels around Belize, and love their new life in the colonies. They have as well adopted two stray dogs. Now any one that would do that, two thumbs up from me.

Finally, Robin was full of ideas for the rest of the stay in Belize. In fact, he booked our hotels in three different cities (including one in Guatemala), contacted the tour operator for our cave walk tomorrow, compiled directions, AND, typed it all out in an itinerary. All this for someone you met an hour before. Top shelf people. We will see them again for breakfast tomorrow.

After all this, we headed 20 minutes down the Western Highway to something called Jajuar Run. Two big activities. The first being zip lining.

Had to work to get Louie convinced to try it, but she was a trooper. The cost of $ 45 US per person is a little steep but worth every penny. Four of us climbed the stairs, Mary Lou and I, and a guide for the front and rear. High quality equipment, strict safety procedures and knowledgeable guides. I did not have even one doubt over the entire run, and I am not partial to heights (too manly to say afraid of heights). The course is circutious, consisting of eight runs, varying in length from 100-250 feet, with the highest I'm guessing 100 feet. The longer runs really built up speed. The brake is your hand via a glove that has a saddle in the palm. I took my camera into the trees, and told the guides, if they could only save one thing, save the camera. If you ever get a chance, do it.

Next up was cave tubing. This was also a hoot. The first part consisted of a half hour walk through the jungle "broad leaf forest" as our guide called it. This was an interesting and informative walk. The reason this was not officially a rain forest is that it was previously cut, and had not had enough time to regrow to full height. When was it cut last, and by whom... the Maya almost four hundred years ago. Yep. It takes almost a thousand years for a rain forest to reach maturity.

At the end of the walk we hopped into a "refreshing" (code name for cold) stream that entered directly into a cave system. We floated on the tubes, with our miners headlights attached, for about an hour and a half.

The picture to the right was shot about three hundred feet into the cave back towards the opening. It does not do justice to the awe inspiring view as the colours could not be captured from that far away, but you look through a dark cave into a brilliant green foilage in full sunlight.

This particular section of cave was used by the Mayan's for religious ceremonies, and possibly sacrifices. There are hundreds of stalagtites and stalagmites that took the shape of everything from a jaguars head, to the smoke monster in Lost. Whatever is in your imagination can be seen in the caves. It is not hard to understand how some of the older civilizations could see gods, and omens and even stages of afterlife in these caves. Heck, some of our current beliefs don't sound a whole lot different when you think about it.

The stream had a steady current through the full length, but did get a little shallow for those of us with tubes that might not be big enough for their frame. I had to get up and walk a few times. You could also see many bats and their nests for the full length of the caves. There was one section part way through where the cave had colapsed hundreds of years ago, and the outside world made it into the underground. This particular spot was used in one scene from Mosquito Coast, starring Harrison Ford.

At the cave exit, we continued floating for another 20 minutes in the bright sunlight ending back at our starting point. Another circuitous route, another thoroughly enjoyable activity.

One thing that has struck me, is the lack of mosquitos in the jungle. I had always thought you couldn't hide from the little buggers, but they were next to non existance. Our guide says that during the rainy season there are a few, but because the area is well drained, with no swamps or stagnent water, there really are't a problem. He said in Beize City where there are many swamps, they can get bad. He was surprised when I told him that it was next to impossible to sit outside on your deck some nights back where I came from because of the number of biting insects.

We had to laugh at their perception of Canada. They all thought that it was sub zero year round, and constant three foot snow falls. I assured them that while it felt like that at times, we have a varied climate and in fact it reached the 90's in summer. They were duly impressed.

Any way. As I said, great day. We took a quick trip into Belize City to get some money. I was not impressed. Don't think we will take any time to explore that.

We did finish off the night watching this weeks episode of Lost. Only four more episodes left of the best series in TV history.

Tomorrow is another big day. We are doing something called ATK, the meaning which we will learn tomorrow, which consists of walking for 3.5 hours through another cave system in water that ranges fron ankle to chest deep. This one is special because there are hundreds of pieces of intact ancient pottery, and even a dozen or so crystalized bodies. They believe the bodies were from sacrifices to the sun goddess during an extended period of drought.

Time for bed. Going to be a long day. Don't know if I'll get a blog in tomorrow or not. Stay tuned.

Second Thoughts

Today was a travel day, from Mexico to Belize. All in all, not a bad drive, though there were a few incidents on the way, and it took a couple of hours longer than planned. But, we are here, at the Orchid Garden Eco - Village Hotel in Hattieville, Belize.

Up and on the road by 7:30, quick stop on way to the car for a Starbucks, a little cinamon to flavour the coffee (as we find their joe a little burnt tasting), with knapsacks strapped on we took the short walk up the hill to the car park. I must say, the much maligned Mexican highways were excellent (again with the exception of speedbumps). There are so many speedbumps, there is no need for traffic enforcement. The road from Playa del Carmen to Belize has been (still is) under construction, and they have incorporated a number of design elements that would be useful back home. Now some of the older sections have tight curves, and they do not use spirals (engineering speak for sharp turns), but the new sections are A1.

We stopped about two hours south, at the Mexican equivalent of a greasy spoon, and had a traditional breakfast of pork and fish tacos. Again, it was fun trying to converse in Spanish, and we seem to be doing all right. Now, I am an easy going, live and let live type of guy, but there are two things in life that I hate with a passion. The Montreal Canadians and onions. The world would be a better place without either. So, when ordering the Tacos I said "cebollas por mes esposa" "no cebollas para mi por favor". He looked at me, smiled and nodded his head in understanding. However, when he served the tacos, they were all full of onions. He watched closely as I picked them out, smiled and said "no like cebollas". After lunch, we took a chance on road side food (against all guide book advice) and picked up some deliciously sweet pineapple.

We managed to take the wrong turn, rather we missed our turnoff , when we saw Belice not Belize on the interchange sign (yes, I know, dumb ass) and ended up going all the way into Chetumal. After finally realizing what happened, as the prison we were passing looked identical to the one from half an hour before, backtracking was in order. Not a fan of backtracking, or prisons for that matter.

At the Mexican side of the border, we were in the wrong line when the customs officer smacked the window and waved us over. No issue there, just five more minutes. Now the Belizian border, that was another storey. When you go through with a car rental, you have to buy special insurance. The large building on the right is the main insurance office. We were quickly out of there, and headed to the car spray (again required for all vehicles coming from Mexico). It was 80 pesos and we had to scrounge all the loose Mexican change in the car. Then came a knock on my window, some guy on a bike bringing me the drivers liscence which I had left at the insurer (scam? or more stupidity on my part?). He wanted a tip so I gave him my only US dollar, which left me one dollar short of the car spray fee. We offered them Canadian money to make up the difference, and you should have seen the look of disgust on their faces. They waved us through and said give me a $10.00 US tip on the way back (fat chance). With $500 US travellers cheques in my pocket, we had to stiff them for 10 pesos. This would come back to haunt us again at the toll bridge an hour south where once again they declined payment in Canadian dollars, letting us go through for free. So, our money is worth less than nothing. I got the last laugh at the ATM machine later and found 80 pesos in my other pocket.

OK. Now to customs. As we were getting out of the car, a guy in a red shirt (red flag for tip hunter) came over to offer his assistance, but soon left when informed we were cleaned out at the border. The customs agent, asked how long we were staying, and was not pleased when the time was longer than the paper from the car rental company authorizing us to take the car to Belize. You will be fined she said, if you are not out by the 25th. I resisted the urge to ask "How much?"

OK. Off we went following the Belieze map purchased at the Worlds Biggest Bookstore. Unfortunately, there were a number of shall we say, inconsistencies, and we ended up: 1) in endless sugar cane fields 2) going in the wrong direction and 3) lost. They will recieve an email on this .

The main highway is chip sealed and remind me of the road to the Lake back home (like Muskoka for my Upper Canadian friends). They do eventually get you there. I am fairly sure that Mexican contractors sneak across the borders at night randomly installing speedbumps on the Belizian roads, not telling anyone, and not marking their location.

Eventually we arrived at the White Orchid Eco Lodge after the better part of eight hours on the road. As usual, a couple of hours longer than planned. It is set pretty close to the road, but is completely secluded from it, and the surrounding homes. The owner informed us that the other guests had left for a couple of days, and would not be back till Wednesday. We liked the sound of having things to ourselves. Unfortunately, they were going to give their staff the day off, till they got my email at 7:00 am this morning. Not to worry she said, they had a day off a month ago.

One of the unique features of the resort is a natural swimming pool, that was enhanced to help protect it's longevity. The pool is about 30 feet wide, and a hundred long, protected on the bottom by a mesh. There is a dock along one side and an area to dive at the far end. And there are fish in the pond. The water is warm, bordering on hot, which pleased Mary Lou to no end. Now in keeping with the natural theme of the lodge, the fact that there were no other guests around, the water was warm and the fish were small, one of us chose to swim "a la booff".





There are a variety of plants around the site, some of it well goomed, some of it running out of control; there are even mushrooms growing directly in the main walking paths. It does look like something right out of a movie. There is a pond made specifically for iguanas. We saw a few around but they were not nearly as impressive as the ones in Isla Maujeres.

For dinner we were seated in at large dining room table that could of held another 20 people. I felt like British royalty sitting at opposite ends with each having their own server. The meal was simply delicious, consisting of a creamed vegetable puree, bean sprouts in a light vinegar dressing, a rice and vegetable medly and talapia, a mild tasting white fish (for the uninformed). Desert was a chocolate cake with cantelope, and a few beer when I got back to the room.

But lest you think the night was over, wrong you would be, as we waited for an 8:30 night walk in the jungle. Lots of different wildlife to see. Had to dress in long pants and long sleeves because of the mosquitos, but in the end they were not that bad. The walk took about an hour and we saw: a tarantula, bats, moths, all kinds of green glowing eyes; and heard a bunch more. We could hear something follow us up the stream, and at one point, I could hear a low growl. Not a spectacular success in seeing things, but the experience of walking through the jungle at night in humid stifiling heat was fantastic. Was worth the $40.

So, here I sit finishing the blog. For the first time since leaving last Friday, I miss my guitars. I have two of them, the first one over 30 years. It has a lot of sentimental value. But I think I would rather have the newer one. The second one is much more colourful, has a deeper and richer sound and fits perfectly in my arms. I have played that almost exclusively the past two years. It would be wonderful to lie back here in the hammock, with it on my lap, serenading the mosquitoes, igunas and the stars.

Oh. Second thoughts. Nothing to do with the drive. It is Mary Lou thinking about staying two nights in a room where I had to kill two spiders about three inches long and there are two gekos on the wall.

OK. Good night. Busy day zip lining and cave tubing tomorrow.

All Daya to Playa

On the Road

Today ended up being a series of little laughs, some at our own expense. It started off first thing this morning. After waking up early, and needing to perfom a series of exercises required of a man who made the foolish mistake of going for a checkup. I put on my ipod and did the obligatory stretching routine. Now I have about 10,000 songs on the ipod, playing on shuffle. The first song was I Would Give Everything I Own by David Gates, and the second was The Other Side of Town by John Prine. You will have to look up the lyrics, but you couldn't find any more diametrically opposite views on the same subject. I found the randomness of the situation to be quite funny, and that set the tone for the day.

Mary Lou finally woke up, with a shriek. She had managed to sprain her finger getting out of bed. It would be the first of her injuries today. I had to pack her knapsack and lift it on her shoulders. We said a quick good bye to Kate and Safari. They are two very nice people running a very nice hotel. I will do a full review of the Hotel Las Palmas when we are back in Toronto. Highly recommended.



The trip over on the catamaran was great, with sunny warm weather. The cab ride to the rental car location was cheap and fast. Unfortunately, we found that the Continental Car Rental had sent someone to pick us up. Great service all around. Small problem in that we had not told them in our reservation that Belize was in the picture, so a different car had to be brought in from the airport. We had some time to waste.


To kill the half hour we stopped next door for a burrito breakfast, at a family owned restaurant where no english was spoken. Fortunately my 11 years of trying to learn Spanish paid off and I was able to come up with such phrases as " dos cafe, pocito lache, por favor", "mui bien" and " donde este la bano". Fantastic meal, fantastic family. Soon after we were on the way with our little Chevy rental.

The trip to Playa del Carmen was quick, and not much different than any expressway anywhere else (that is if you ignore the Mexican love affair with speed bumps). Smooth sailing, though we did go through one check point where 7 men in army fatigues and carrying semi automatic assault rifles were waving us through. I think it was a practice exercise as they did not stop anybody.


I had booked a place on hotel.com the night before called Hotel Villa del Mar, or so I thought. Got great reviews on Trip Advisor. Since the reservations were made on my net book, there was no printout , and I had to fire up the computer to get the confirmation number when we arrived. Unfortunately, it was the wrong hotel. So the owner sent us off with directions, we wrote down the reservation number, but we should have written down the hotel name as well, because by the time we got there, yep, forgot the name. Sooo.. into the nearest hotel to ask them if we had reservations there, and ask them if we could use their wireless key to get the hotel name again. They graciously consented, though not before trying to book us on a timeshare presentation, and we found the right spot, the Kimbe. Quaint setup, kind of Robinson Crusoeish. The room is as big as a tree house as well. Just enough space for the two of us and our knapsacks.

The weather was beautiful, low 30's, so it was a perfect beach afternoon. Just before our first dip, we watched an extremely buxom young lady (she was actually 30 something but they are all young to me at my age) fuss for about five minutes trying to get her top back on after her suntanning session, and she was finally successful in tiying it tight. I laughed out loud that after all that fussing, she dove in and her bottoms came clean off. The top , however, held it's ground, so to speak. To the left of this was an older woman siting waist deep in water, applying a mud pack to her face. Another big contrast, another big laugh.

After several hours of sun, we cleaned up and walked along 10th avenue, a pedestrian mall about a km long with shops, restaurants, bars,etc. Alot of stores were selling brightly colored scarfs and funky colored dresses. There was a place selling cowboy boots at half the price we pay at home. We will be doing a bit of shopping on our way back through towards the end of the trip. We picked up a few head bands for Mary Lou and a hand rolled cigar por moi.

After a full scouting of the street we settled at a place called Frida's. You may have seen the movie starring Selmah Hayek. In her never ending search for rice and beans, Mary Lou had a chicken burrito, and I settled on grouper for the third time on the trip. We were both disappointed. The only meal so far we have not enjoyed. So she goes.

We finished the night out with a moolit walk on the beach. Lots of bars along the strip, with live music in many of them.

Tomorrow morning we step outside the box and head for inland Belize. We are both excited about this part of the trip. The morning will see about a five hour drive, then who knows how far we'll go.


Well, time to go. I will finish things off with my brand new stogie. Night all.

Thrice Around the Horn
After a great night sleep, voila, sun when we opened the curtains. I had told Kate last night, the owner, that we always bring the good weather. That's what clean living and pure thoughts do for ya.

We hopped quickly out of bed and headed for the roof with a fresh cup of coffee from the community pot. What a difference a little sun makes. Even at 7 in the morning you can feel the heat. The water had already turned turquoise, and everything that had been rained on for two straight days had already dried out.

Next up was the morning walk along the beach. There wasn't as many people out as we expected and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. It was nice to feel the salt water between the toes. We just kept on walking until a restaurant called our name. The tables were set directly in the sand, with a nice view of the docks and Cancun in the distance. Breakfast consisted of avocado salad and mexican egg and ham. Tasty. They even give you mini tortillas to mix all the pieces as you see fit. I had a chuckle at the difference in condiments from what we get at home. No Heinz in sight. You have chillie hot sauce, chipotle hot sauce, habanero hot sauce and some other kind of hot sauce that burned your skin just touching it. All good.

We had decided to rent mopeds for an hour before it got hot, but since the price was $250 MD (translation approximately $22 canadian) for the full day, we said what the heck, and took two of them. As usual, it would be a blast and in the end we rounded the island three times.

In our first trip around, we got all decked out in our bathing suits as we figured the water would beckon at some point before the return. It took Mary Lou no time to get her scooter legs on and the rubber hit the road in minutes. The scooters have what the guys call " a place to store your skirt", a bit of a derogatory term as scooters are not very "manly", but neverless, we filled it with a towel, first aid kit, water bottle, etc. Enough to keep us alive for a week if we got lost.

Our first stop was at something called "Tortugranja". Now, you wouldn't believe my surprise when after paying my 300 pesos, I walked in and there were hundreds of turtles. Jeeze, I thought the place was going to be full of whips, chains, racks, washboards, and so on. But since we were in there, might as well enjoy. Quite an interesting little site actually. They have turtles in all stages: from buried eggs through to a seaside pen used for the final release from captivity. The largest ones we saw were around five feet long. One of the pictures showed a man stealing eggs as they were being laid by a turtle twice the size of a human.


The next big stop was at the tip of the island, which is advertised as the eastern most point of Mexico. There is a small Mayan ruin there, which I believe was used to pay homage to a sun god of some kind. There is a fairly grotesque statue of a half naked busty sungoddess giving birth standing up. Yes, that's what I said. The most interesting part of this stop, other than the breathtaking views of a sparkling turquoise Caribbean, was the dozens of iguanas. Really neat. They are completely still basking in the sun, I believe thinking we can't see them because of the natural camouflage. The pic to the right was taken with my NIKON 70-200 mm zoom.


Now, that Mary Lou is a devil behind the handle bars. Once you get her going it's hard to keep up. A real speed demon.


Along the east coast there are a number of beautiful villas set high above the water. They are all concrete construction set far enough above the storm surge of even the strongest hurricane. Many family names on the gates were english.

In between our drives, we headed to the main beach by our hotel. We had seen a sign called Tarzan's the day before. As we approaced the beach , this guy, well Tarzan, asked us if we wanted to rent a chair. We then new why the place was called Tarzan's, cause he looked just like him, albeit an old version. We paid 100 pesos for two chairs and an umbrella, then swam and slept for a couple of hours.

The rains came late afternoon. This was the first time in 11 years we had been rained on in the Caribbean, at least during the day. Back to the hotel for some socializing and we met some more interesting people. Two sisters flew in today, one from PEI and the other from Halifax. One of sisters, Dorothy was an engineer with a son named Mitch. A year ago she had enough of the executive world, quit her job and opened up a yoga studio. Kudos to you Dorthy. She was bored with her job, so she did something about it. In fact, she also wrote a chapter of a book, one of 16 by different women called, Sekmet Rising. "It is about the recognition and celebration of a womans journey into her own power". Got that from Amazon, and you can get the book there. Sekmet was an Egyptian goddess (I've seen a few of those myself). You meet the most interesting people on the road.

Everyone we have talked to thinks the winging it in Belize trip is a great idea. We have also been told that crossing into Guatemela is a must. Right now, we have booked a car for Sunday and will drive to Playa del Carmen to stay for a night, then have reservations at the Orchid Bay Garden Eco Village in the jungles of Belize. Zip lining, tubing through caves and a jungle hike are on the menu over three days. After that, who knows.

Read another great quote today, an old Turkish probverb " No matter how far down the wrong road you have travelled, turn back." Love it. Now, the trick is how do you know you are on the wrong road.

OK. That's it for tonight.