I recently wrote a post about a very pretentious traveler whom I met in Guatemala this past March. Lots of you commented, and it would seem that it was a common experience shared by most of you at some point or another. I wanted to follow that post with this one dedicated to a traveler named Martin, who was the antithesis of Miss Fancy Hula-Hoop Pants, but whom I incidentally met on the same day and at the same hostel. A group of us were sitting down to dinner. We were having

Undoubtedly one of the greatest joys of travel is meeting like-minded people along the way. I would even venture to say that whether one’s recollections of a particular place fills you with warm fuzzies or a sense of indifference has more to do with who you spent time with while there than with the location’s inherent merits. For instance, I had an incredible experience trekking through Patagonia because our five-person team gelled so cohesively. I can no longer separate my

Belize is a great place exploring caves. And I had not received enough punishment the day before when I swam instead of tubing through a set of caves the day before. I was ready for the next challenge: Actun Tunichil Muknal, dubbed The “ATM cave” about 45 minutes from San Ignacio. My lovely tour guide actually ended up driving me to San Ignacio, so I thanked him by buying him dinner at a street side BBQ stand. He then dropped me off at the cutest little colonial guesthouse

Belize is known for its abundant limestone caves; formations that are a continuation of the systems also found in Guatemala. One of the methods for exploring these caves that Belize is marketing primarily to cruise ship passengers is floating through them in the safety of an inner tube. Cave Tubing: it’s what all the cool people are doing! Did I want to be one of the cool people? Hells yeah, I did! However, as cool as they are- I did NOT want to share this unique experienc

There are several reefs on Caye Caulker that are just too shallow to dive, so they make great snorkeling spots for a diver like me. Plus I had heard rave reviews of a particular spot known as Shark and Ray Alley in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, where nurse sharks and stingrays congregate everyday around lunchtime because fishermen have been feeding them for years. I’m not sure how I feel about feeding the fish and making them dependent on humans. I also don’t know how I feel

When Madonna sang “Last night, I dreamt of San Pedro” in the late eighties, she was referring to the town of San Pedro on the island of Ambergris Caye off the coast of Northern Belize. After having enjoyed two incredible days of diving on Caye Caulker, I decided to head over to San Pedro, rent a bike, and see just how Bonita La Isla was. I went with my new British Pal Susie who has a very strong head on her shoulders, a wicked sense of humor and an equally vibrant sense of f

If Caye Caulker were any more laid back time would pass in reverse. Streets are made with sand, there are no cars, and locals sit outside their shops and stalls passing the day by chatting with each other and the tourists as they stroll by, grooving to their Garifuna reggae beat. The men seem to enjoy direct and often suggestive comments/questions, undeterred each day by the fact that you’ve ignored them the previous ten times you’ve passed. “Whatcha doin’ girl? D’ya wanna

I had heard mixed reviews from people who had dived The Blue Hole, the dive site made famous by Jacques Cousteau. An ancient cenote that was filled in by ocean that plummets over 450 feet to the ocean floor: a giant hole a quarter of a mile across in the reef, a massive underwater cave. Some said that it was the best dive of their lives. Others said it was nothing special: so dark that you could barely see anything and not much in the way of sea life. And another who descri

I took the bus from Rio Dulce to Flores and opted to make it my base for a visit to the famous Tikal ruins, about an hour and a half away by bus. I had considered camping at Tikal itself, but felt that Flores offered more in terms of setting for activities before and after Tikal. I am glad I made this choice. Flores is a delightful little town on an island facing Lake Petén Itza, with cobbled streets and colorful houses that reminded me of a mini-Antigua. Granted, it is ve

Deciding whether you should stay a night in a place you haven’t seen yet can be difficult. Especially if you’re short on time and you need to come back to the point of origin anyway to get an onwards bus. I knew I would be experiencing lots of Garifuna culture and cuisine in the Cays of Belize, and the only other attraction I was interested in was the Seven Altars: a series of 7 freshwater pools cascading through the jungle into the ocean. I decided that the extra 60 quetza

I had planned to only spend a day in Rio Dulce doing what seemed to be the one major excursion that everyone had come to do: a boat trip up the Rio Dulce river to Livingston. So I was quite happily surprised when I learned about another natural attraction that begged for me to add another day to my itinerary. Finca Paraiso is a series of hot, yes, hot waterfalls cascading into a cold tributary of the Rio Dulce in a deep part of the jungle about an hour’s micro ride outside

As backpackers, we’re mostly prepared for the harmless little lies we are told by tour operators,travel agents, and hoteliers that we book with. “Yes, the shuttle will take you directly to the ferry terminal”, when you have to take a taxi, or, “You should arrive by 2pm”, when you know you’d have to break the sound barrier to achieve this, and “Yes, we have hot showers”, when the water is tepid at best. We brace ourselves, smile, and reason that especially in developing coun

After the horrendously long and arduous journey back to Antigua, the efforts to get back on the Saturday night became altogether worth it when we learned that there would be a pre-Semana Santa procession in Antigua on the Sunday afternoon. Strangely enough, I was in Antigua on this very day two years ago, and knew just how ornate, and involved the processions during the period of lent could be. Since this was Francesco's last day in Guatemala, I was especially happy for him

By the third day our bruised and smelly bodies, cat-scratched faces, and shivers were not aided by breakfast. Boiled broccoli in a broth with-you guessed it!-more tortillas. Again we said our thank-yous and miserably dug into broccoli at 6:30 in the morning, which just felt wrong on so many levels until we considered that this is what the family ate each day. It broke my heart as the children kept coming in and out of the room just to watch us eat, their sun-burnt dirty fac

Day two was by far my favorite. As we climbed higher we passed even more villages, and got the opportunity to really observe families washing their clothes, children playing with puppies and baby piglets, men at work in the fields, women carrying water in giant jugs balanced miraculously on their heads, and of course, families asking for photos and then running away when we took them. Soon enough we were deeper into the mountains and there were fewer settlements. Climbing o

After having read this wonderful post by the Globetrotter Girls, I was further intrigued when I discovered the availability of a three day trek through the remote Western Highlands of Guatemala from Nebaj to Todos Santos, staying with local indigenous families along the way to eat and sleep. After a much needed day of rest in Antigua after saying farewell to Arnaud, I headed out to Nebaj via three chicken buses and a six hour journey to meet up with Nico, the Swiss traveler

Lake Atitlan, at 1573 meters/5238 feet, is a volcano fringed high altitude lake that is dotted around its shores with a series of villages that contain largely indigenous populations. Arnaud and I were very fortunate to have great weather on the morning we awoke at Gran Sueno, and we decided to forgoe the extremely expensive guided bike tours (at $55 a person) and just rent a few bikes and make our way along the northern “road” towards San Marcos where we planned to stop for

Wanting to cram as much as possible into the short week that Arnaud was traveling with me in Guatemala, we decided to try and get from Lanquin all the way to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan in one day. It’s a long journey. Though it was one that made me reconsider my earlier opinions about shuttle buses! They are not necessarily faster or more comfortable than chicken buses. But more importantly, they are far less entertaining! I was happy to note that we didn’t even have one c

Our long and arduous journey to Lanquin turned out to be completely worth it. Semuc Champey and the surrounding area is simply beautiful and we couldn’t have a had a more invigorating and relaxing time here, staying at the El Retiro Lodge. The day in Semuc Champey itself started with a visit to the K’anba Caves. This area is primarily limestone and is a cavers paradise with thousands of unmapped miles of cave to explore: it just so happens that two main caves are open to th

Traveling in Central America is generally performed by bus. Pullman buses are comfortable and plush affairs, relatively speaking, and the so-called “Chicken Buses” are decidedly less comfortable, unless you are nine years old because that’s who the seats were designed to accommodate. The alternative to the public bus system is the Shuttle, or privately-run minivan. They do get you to your desired destination a little faster, however, they can still be quite cramped and t