Don't Stop Belizing!

We have reached the tiny island of Caye Caulker in Belize, and are enjoying the abundant sun (maybe not Steve so much as he is seeking cover under any palm trees he can find). There are no cars, and just bicycles and golf carts to get around - or, like us, you can just walk as the whole island is just a few hundred meters. You can only get here by boat.



The seafood here is fresh and delicious (lobster and red snapper are favorites), and tomorrow we are looking forward to our all day snorkeling excursion on a sailboat. Belize has the second largest barrier reef next to Australia, so we hope to see some exciting sea life.

Our last stop in Guatemala at Tikal (the Mayan ruin) was a worthwhile visit, even though our sleeping accommodations (a tent shared with several unidentified types of jungle spiders) left something to be desired.



Still, climbing to the top of Temple IV at 4:30am in the morning to see the sunrise (despite the clouds) and hear the howler monkeys wake up was pretty incredible and made up for spending the night in a hundred degree tent wrapped like mummies in our sleeping sacks. Listen closely to the video below and you can hear them, too:




Plus, getting the park to ourselves at sunset the night before was pretty nice as well (see below).



We're off to the beach!

Tikal Bound

Yesterday afternoon we reached Flores, a small island in a lake about an hour away from Tikal, the famous Mayan ruin site. Soon, we will head there to catch (hopefully) both sunset and sunrise at the park (depending on the rain situation) and maybe see some howler monkeys, too, if we are lucky! Then we have one more night in Guatemala before shuttling over to Belize.

We have been having a great time - even better than we had hoped. Guatemala is truly beautiful. Our internet situation has prevented us from uploading as many photos as we would like but as soon as we can we will show you just what we have been up to!

Steve and I both fell in love with Lago Atitlan, where we stayed at a great hotel built right into the cliffs. La Casa Del Mundo (see below) was such a great surprise and we really got into just hanging out on their balconies, enjoying the cool lake breeze, and meeting the other travelers. Plus, the swimming in their little cove was fantastic. We found out they do destination weddings there, so that gave us some ideas. :)







After leaving La Casa Del Mundo, we spent a final night in Antigua before taking an 8 hour shuttle to El Retiro near Semuc Champey. El Retiro is a pretty little riverside hotel with thatched huts and animals roaming free.



It also featured eco-banos, which trust me you do not want to know about. The best thing about El Retiro was the awesome day tour we took of Semuc Champey and the local caves. Now, parents may want to stop reading now because thanks to the less stringent safety guidelines here, the highlights of that day including jumping off a bridge into the rio and rappeling down and then jumping off a 5 meter waterfall. We also explored a cave by candlelight and played in the beautiful limestone pools. See me very tentatively jumping off a bridge into the river below:



After a very long and hot shuttle ride, we are now in Flores as mentioed and are taking it easy prior spending a night in a hammock in Tikal. We will post back soon!


Steve enjoying his new favorite drink Squiz.

Semuc Champey

Hola all. We arrived in Lanquin last night following an 8 hour bus ride that seemed to take longer. It is much more humid and hotter then in the highlands of Antigua and Lake Atitlan. We really need to pull out the bug spray now! Today, we plan on taking a tour through Semuc Champey, which includes hiking along the river, swimming, and exploring caves. The scenery is supposed to be better than Lake Atitlan, if that is possible.

Unfortunately, internet access has been very sporadic and extremely slow. It seems we are unable to upload our pictures, sign in to facebook, and even check our email. We do have access to Flickr and this blog, so we will try to continue posting and add pictures to Flickr if possible.

And that's all for now!

Lago Atitlan

Well, we made it to Lake Atitlan yesterday afternoon after a wonderful scenic drive from Antigua. We will be here until tomorrow and head on back to Antigua to catch a shuttle to Lanquin/Semuc Champey. We get an internet connection, but it works as well as riding a bike with two flat tires. Once you see our pictures (hopefully tomorrow evening), you will see why we are happy we don't have it!

Can one of Steve's siblings let his Mom know he is alive (no phones and he cannot get into email).

We'll post back soon!

Magic Mountains

Last night, we camped on Volcan Pacaya, an active volcano just over an hour from Antigua. It was truly one of those breathtaking experiences where as you're walking up to the active lava fields you're looking around wonder how anything could be so beautiful. Because we went at night, we hiked up to the volcano for about an hour and a half (with me realizing I am painfully out of shape), set up camp, and then climbed to the active portion of the volcano once the other visitors were leaving. We got to the lava just after dark, and had a truly dazzling (and very warm) sight to behold.

The trek back down was noteworthy as well, with the group of seven of us essentially sliding down volcanic rock for good portions of the way in the dark, accompanied by local stray dogs. We highly recommend OX, the group that organized our tour. Our guide Sophie from Montreal was fantastic. If you're ever heading down to Guatemala, we can't recommend enough spending the night on Pacaya.


We are now back in Antigua, and tomorrow will head up to Lago Atitlan for a couple days.

On another note, have you ever wondered where US schools buses go to rest? Probably not, but the answer is Guatemala, and they are not resting at all, but serving as the main source of public transportation (see below - painted in their wild colors)!


We'll post back soon.

How's The Food?

One of my biggest sources of excitement in heading to a new place is the chance to check out the local food. So far, Guatemala is definitely holding its own in that area. Our first meal was a typical desayuno (for lunch) at Cafe La Escudilla (see above). For less than $10 dollars for both of us, we had eggs, beans, platanos, tortillas, oj, and coffee.

Since then, we've sampled local Guatemalan sweets, fire roasted corn on the cob from a street vendor, a great complimentary breakfast from our hostel (more eggs, beans, etc), and of course, ice cream!

Tonight, we head up to Volcan Pacaya for our overnight camping trip, so I'm looking forward to roasting marshmallows on the open lava (which will probably be less dangerous than our electric shower - see below).




We'll post back soon!

No Sleep til Antigua!

First, congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Hoffman!! Kelly and I attended their wonderful wedding ceremony and we felt honored to be a part of their special day.

Our trip started with a quick tour of some of the Mid-Atlantic states. On Friday, we passed through PA, DE, MD, and VA on our way to Carrie and Patrick's Wedding and did not return to the four star Walls B&B (aka my grandparents' house) until 2:00 a.m. Just in time to double check our bags, take a quick shower (yes, Kelly really did take a quick shower), and grab a cup of coffee before we had to leave at 4:30 a.m. to catch our 6:30 a.m. flight.

Overall, the flight went well. We arrived safely in Guatemala City and immediately took a cab to Antigua. The hour long cab ride cost only $20!!


So far, Antigua is perfect. Our hostel seems to be clean, friendly, and fairly quiet. The town itself is amazing! It is surrounded by 3 volcanos that peak above the clouds (climbing to the top seems intimidating) and the people are very friendly. Tomorrow is our big overnight trek to Volcan Pacaya, so stay tuned.

We just wanted to let our friends and family know that we made it safely, with only a few scary moments of turbulence when landing in Guatemala. We will be adding pictures either tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks all!

Travel Bug Hits - Hopefully Not Carrying Chagas Disease

Well, Kelly and I are off again to Guatemala and Belize for two weeks of cave-diving, mosquitoes, snorkeling, uncomfortable beds, and of course - Kelly's favorite - the local cuisine. We are continuing in the spirit of our first trip; bringing as little as possible. You can find our similar packing list in the August, 2007 post. We are not checking any bags, so liquids must be under 3oz.

There is only 2 major additions to our packing list. Bug spray - so far we have 100% deet, 25% deet, these patches that overdose you with vitamin b (apparently mosquitoes do not like vit. b) and Permethrin aerosol spray that supposedly provides two-week protection.

The other addition is an underwater camera that we hope to put to good use. It does not take nearly as good as pictures as the Nikon, but is pretty good for a point and shoot.

We are also debating whether or not to bring the laptop. So, leave a message in our comment section on what you think!

Hopefully, you will see us swimming with the sharks in Belize!!