Just a Few thoughts

It’s amazing how many people you meet along your travels and it is definitely one of the BEST parts. I have met so many GREAT people and a few that I really didn’t care for too. I think it hilarious how many people like to sit around and talk about how they hate America. On top of that I can’t tell you how many Americans I have listened to talking to those same people saying they feel the same way. I don’t really care to talk politics but it is funny how ignorant some people are to be rude to an American because? ………….? My country is at war? ………….TV shows?......................? I definitely can say that we have our issues that we could iron out, but listening to a German say how shitty an American is makes me laugh! With that in mind I just say that America has some of the best people in the world and I am proud to grow up with the opportunities that living in America has to offer. I watch people struggle to survive and armed guards in front of EVERY bank and every other store fearing that they could be robbed at any moment. I personally wish that America would focus a little more on America and leave the rest of the world alone, but the first time a nuclear bomb is dropped on anyone’s home country would change their opinion on putting noses in other people's business. For the most part I have enjoyed the great conversations with people from all over and I am glad to have crossed paths with so many awsome people!

Honduras Copan Ruins 6-26

I got out of bed at 3:30 to catch a 4 am shuttle to Copan, Honduras which is the only shuttle that takes you to Copan. Copan is an ancient Mayan site that is 10 minutes from the border of Guatemala and it is walking distance from the town Copan. I find it amazing that when you cross the border you can feel a difference from Guatemala to Honduras. After reading my book on Honduras I haven’t found too much that really interest me and I plan on moving through here fairly quickly. As far as Guatemala I can’t say enough about how much fun I had and I’d recommend it to anyone. My budget situation so far for this trip is ok, but I found that I am really going to need to speed it up if I want to circle the globe. Teresa is planning to catch a flight to Costa Rica on 7-2 so I have some ground to cover if I plan on meeting up with her as promised. Going through the ruins at Copan, although expensive (US $37) was great. So many people looked at the price and decided not to go when others said it was just ok, but if you like history it’s worth seeing.

Antigua and Volcan Pacaya 6-24

Antigua is another beautiful town that is loaded with tourist. Here there are so many places to go and things to see one could spend a month getting through all the old buildings and hiking all the things to go see. This town is extremely old and has a lot of history. They have huge Cathedrals that are almost 500 years old and many were damaged from an earthquake in 1773. Some have been rebuilt and others left alone making you feel like your going back in time. In Antigua the power lines are buried and things seem to be more up to code then most of the other areas I had been so far. Not too far away they have a live volcano that you must see if you go to Guatemala. It’s not much of a hike compared to the other mountains that I had hiked so far, but watching the lava flow out of the mountain was amazing! It was raining and everyone was cold, but as we got close to the lava it was so hot that my poncho was starting to melt. We cooked some marshmallows on the lava and I was amazed that they would guide us right on top of lava. You could see it flowing below you and it was scary if you ask me. If one person would lose their balance they would have fell into the lava and probably died! On the way down the guide informed us that people die on that Volcano all the time.

Volcan San Pedro 6-22

After the worst night of sleep in my life and sore from hiking Volcan Tejumulco two days earlier I decided that I had to get a great view of Lago De Attilan from the top of one of the Volcanos. Getting up early to meet my guide which cost me $10 US I found that I was the only one going up that day. When I met my guide I was thinking, “Is this guy going to even make it up the mountain?” I was also disappointed when we took off when I found that we were going to just walk to the trail head which was about 1.5 hr of walking uphill. Getting on the trail for the first 45 minutes it was up but very enjoyable. For the second 2 hours it was like the world’s largest stair stepper I have ever seen in my life. My ego was severely bruised as I watched my 59 year old guide laugh as he moved so quickly up the mountain as I nearly passed out from exhaustion as I tried to keep up. Like always the view is always worth it and I didn’t realize how many problems they had on this trail until after stopping on the trail 3 times so that he could check for bandits and on the way back down all the other groups had 2 police officers along with a guide. All I have to say about this day is look at the man who kicked my ass up a mountain!
P.S. He hikes it 2 times a week for the last 30 years.

Lago De Atitlan 6-21

It is said that this is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. It is definitely beautiful with 3 volcano’s rising upward around the lake located in the highlands of Guatemala. There are many towns that are located in miscellaneous parts around the lake and one can easily hop on a water taxi to the different areas for about $2.50. Two areas that I spent my time in was San Marcos and San Pedro. San Marcos although very small is really nice and has an amazing view of all the volcano's. As far as San Pedro the town is like most towns in Guatemala except it is located on the lake and it sits right next to the volcano San Pedro. As far as the hostels that I stayed at in San Marco I was amazed to how cool this hostel was, and for San Pedro I would of slept better sleeping on the cobblestone roads that run through most towns in Guatemala. If you ever plan on going to Guatemala the lake is definitely worth seeing!

Welcome to the highest point in Central America 6-18

After looking all over town for a tour group that was going to climb the Volcano Tejumulco (Te-who-mull-co) I was lucky that the last place I looked had a group going out in the morning. We got up early and by 6am we were on the road to the trailhead. Our bus was another chicken bus packed to the rim with more people then I ever thought possible. We stoped in this small town to let some people off, our brakes froze up and we were stuck there for 2 hours while our driver beat the brakes with a hammer to free them. Crazy enough he got them to work again and we were off. We got to the trailhead late and it was concerning to me that the Army was patroling the trail and there were about 7 police officers there too. They were very friendly, took our picture and I got one with them too :-). We headed up the trail WAY later then planned and we were lucky enough to all gather under some plastic while we got pounded with about 3" of hail. By the time we got to where we planned to camp we were all wet and extremely cold. Our camp site was about 13K ft and I froze my rear off all night long . We got up at 4:30 to summit the peak and watch the sun rise. Sleeping up that high gave me a terrible headace and all night I was praying for the alarm to go off so we could move again and I could warm up. We were at the top to watch the sun come up and the view made it worth every bit of suffering we indured to get there. On our way back one of the guys in our group had some people try to steal some stuff out of his bag, and although it was a little hetic there was no huge issues and we got back OK!

Quetzaltenango (AKA- Xela) 6-16

Getting up to this town which is considerably like Estes Park has been a relief from the heat! It is about 7400' high and much cooler then anywhere I have been so far. It is a well visited destination, but nothing compared to the track that I have followed going from one popular attraction to the next. I decided to come up here to check the town out and to climb Volcan Tejumulco which is the highest peak in Central America at just short of 14,000 ft. In getting here, the shuttle that I scheduled canceled me saying they were too full after I sat there waiting to catch it for 5 hours. They then told me that I could just catch the Chicken bus to Guatemala City and they have buses that run there 3 times a day. One thing that is really frustrating is the way they work directions is really different, second they don't really have street signs very often, and third when you get on a bus (School) with 100 locals...None who understand ONE BIT OF ENGLISH and really know their own city it is hard to get somewhere! After a few frustrating hours I found my way to the bus station to find out that it was all locals that take this bus too. Lucky for me we didn't have people packed in like in all the school buses they have for shuttles, and it was a regular bus that was just really far out of date. It was amazing to me that if your willing to travel like a local you can get there for 1/4 of the cost. One thing I really got a kick out of was as we go along, there are people that stand on the side of the road with food. When the bus sees them they pick them up and take off again. The people get on and sell food and when they are done they pull over, let them off and they catch a ride back going the other way.......I'm guessing on a different bus. Quetzaltenango is a very quaint town that seems very laid back and has a great scenery. The hostel that I am staying at is decent, and for $7.50 a night it includes the most amazing breakfast EVER!

Lanquine Guatemala 6-13

Arriving in Lanquine I was asonished to believe that I would have so much good to say about Guatemala. It is unbelievable here! We stayed at the El Rotero which was extremely nice and cost me about 7 dollars a night! We took a trip to Semuc Champey and it has now taken place as my favorite thing that I have seen so far! We had a rope swing into the river, swam up water deep inside another cave, and the pools that are above the river that violently flows underneath are as pristine as it gets. Some other fun activities I did was; tubing down the river, a small canopy tour, and relaxed with the best view right outside my front door. I was here for 3 nights and this is definately a place that you could find yourself spending a month or two. It is too good to explain in words and you need to add it to your list of destinations to go!

Rio Dulce Guatemala 6-12

The Boat ride up the river into Rio Dulce was awesome. As we got there we found they have a waterfall (Finca Paraiso) that is hot water so we decided to go and check it out. We got on the most disgusting bus I’ve ever seen in my life for a 45 minute ride to go swimming. Because the bus was leaving in 10 minutes we decided to grab a quick bite from a vendor and for about a dollar, I enjoyed a tasty little lunch. After swimming in the waterfall we were informed that there was a cave that is hidden up around the bend. For 10 dollars we hired a tour guy in the middle of the jungle to show us where this cave was. I had not planned on hiking and although it was a very poor choice trekking through extremely steep jungle in my flip flops we took off. My flip flops were making it too dangerous to walk so I was hiking bare foot to go see some cave with some guy who didn’t speak English. Half of our group had cut themselves along the way and when we got there I couldn’t believe what I saw. The river that we were swimming led right in a huge cave and came strait out of the mountain. As far as we could understand he said to swim up the river into the cave? It was shaped very narrow with high walls and as we got in the water we found that we could not touch the bottom. We put on our head lamps and started to swim in with another couple that we met. It was definitely the coolest thing I have done so far! Traveling is getting easier and more exciting by the day...... I am having a blast. On our way back from the waterfall we missed the bus and we had to hitch-hike but all was well. Tomorrow we are taking a bus for a 5 hour trip to Lanquine which is supposed to be a really fun place.

Livingston Guatemala 6-11

It’s good to be out of Belize and into a country that is WAY cheaper. My cost of traveling has now been cut in half compared to Belize. When I arrive in Livingston I was surprised to how nice this little town was that is not connected to the world by road, but only by boat. I stayed in my first Hostel there although I was traveling with Matt, Nick and myself. In the morning we are going to take a 1 hr boat ride up the Rio Dulce to the Town.

Rating the food and accommodations .....excellent!

Placencia Belize 6-10

Getting off the boat from Caye Caulker Belize, I decided to take it easy for a few days in Placencia. It is a small little town but has a great feel to it. I spent time hanging out with new friends that I met on the Raggamuffin Tour from Caye Caulker. I had my first roommate (Vrad) from Austin and surprising enough after 2 days I still have all my stuff! I guess that means he’s a good guy? Anyone looking for a quite/small town with a semi-nice beach would enjoy Placencia. In the morning I plan to head towards Rio Dulce Guatemala with a stop along the way in Livingston. Two of the guys that were on the same boat trip are going in the same direction so we are heading out together. I have been battling with a minor case of stomach issues, but I am getting by. I am just scared to be on a bus too long and not be able to use a bathroom. I took some medicine for my stomach and when I woke up my tongue was completely black. It was a mystery to me but lucky for me it went away after a day or so. So far I'm having a great time and things are going good!

Cheers,

Lucas

Sailing from Caye Caulker to Placencia, Belize

Everything in Belize is so expensive and I was thinking that my money was not going to make it very far at this rate. I decided that outside of my snorkeling trip, I would go do one fun activity that was expensive. In reading my guide book, it recommended that the sailing trip from Belize to Placencia was one of the top rated things to do and it got me to where I wanted to go. For US $275 it was a 3 day boat trip stopping along the way to fish, snorkel, and explore the islands along the way. A week ago I was asking myself if I would ever get on another sailboat, and here I go again. I decided that I had conquered sea sickness and I was not going to take any motion sickness pills. Although other people got a little sea sick, it didn't bother me.......YEAH!! Getting out on the sailboat I got to snorkel 8 times, did a little spear fishing, and met a great group of people. Everyone on the boat was very laid back and we had a great time exploring our way to Placencia. On our first night we camped out on an island that was so small I could walk around it in about a minute. On the island, Rendezvous Caye we pitched tents, had a campfire, and enjoyed the best coconut curry I've ever had. Along the way we stopped on a little island with a light house and ended up spending the evening on Tobacco Caye. This island had about 20 houses, 1 bar, and a restaurant. After snorkeling the reef for the last 3 days and being on a boat with 11 people, I was ready to get a place for the night to clean up and get some good rest. I had a blast getting to know everyone and I hope to run into a lot of you along the way, or in the future.

Caye Caulker, Belize

I arrived into Belize City on Wednesday 6-4 and directly headed over to Caye Caulker which is an island just off the coast off Belize City. Getting off the plane in a developing country and knowing that I left the United States on my own was definitely a feeling I will never forget. The first few days I had very mixed feelings about what I was doing and really questioned whether or not this was for me. On my first day here I took a boat out, went snorkeling and had a blast! Met a great group of people from all over and even enjoyed a great dinner with them too! Caye Caulker seems to be a fun place, but on the other hand as I talked to everyone, I found that it's really expensive. As I read further I decided that a lot of the activities that I wanted to do I could do outside of Belize for a lot less money. After 2 days in Caye Caulker I have decided to take a highly recommended trip on a sailing adventure to Placencia.