Bellevue Hotel Belize City

... backyard below the surface. A buck seventy-five and a very close watch on personal items are all that are needed to enter this underground universe aboard a **** smelling MARTA train.<br><br>I traded the bump, bump, bump aboard a low rent train for the hushed quiet of the first class cabin aboard a CRJ 900 right to Belize City. A few hours later I was standing right in the middle of a hot, humid urban maelstrom that lies along the ...

... it as a base for raiding parties on Galleons owned by the much-despised Spanish to stationing a garrison of British troops immediately after Independence to fight off incursions of Guatemalans who thought they could take advantage of the fledgling nation and try to claim it as their own. Fat chance. Sure, there was unrest which brought about the demand for independence in the first place, but they see it as their teenage years, rebelling ...

... One of the tour guides I was talking to explained that the government actually invites people to move over, gives them land and let's them live tax free as long as they hold a job, in turn boosting the economy in some way. He pointed out a large lot where a man from Alaska had moved down from and started building huts/homes that tourists could stay in. It was all very pretty and interesting to consider. Gangs used to run the cities before a law enforcement agency came ...

Driving through Belize was definately an eye opener. I guess there's quite an aids epidemic in some areas of Belize. We'd see lots of signs promoting the use of condoms and even a few different signs like one with a picture of a child and says 'hug me, I have aids'. That's something I have never seen before and I guess I was just a little ...

... it is one of the worlds most dangerous. We confidently made the silly decision of walking to our accommodation as it was only a couple of blocks. We were swiftly latched onto by a 6 foot 5, one toothed shoeless local who insisted on escorting as long as we told him where we were staying and gave him some money. In fairness to ´Jalfly´ it was nice having company through the downtown, even from a crazed drunk, and he was very thankful of his $1 tip ...

... place, found the perfect backpack. After all of that we ended up going to the amusement park which is also inside the mall and massive, bigger than Funderland back in Dublin. After all that excitement we went for food at a place called Famous Daves (we'd never heard of it!). Rob sampled the Buffalo Wings (of course!) and met a waiter there called Wally who recommended that we go to a bar near our hotel called The Dubliner. We've been trying to avoid ...

... than 30 minutes at my house without getting the itch to be out exploring, expanding, laughing and living. for those of you in Seattle, you know this as I am constantly sending out emails, texts and messages attempting to lure you out with me. This journey represents far more than exploring new cultures and places, it's about exploring parts of my soul that I've yet to meet...to get my creative juices flowing: my photography, writing, art; to expand my sense ...

... seeing nonetheless. And so to Las Vegas. Wow. It is an odd place, but a must see. Everything is so big, so grand, so over-sized, so over-the-top, but there is something of fun atmosphere about the place. We spent time strolling up and the down The Strip (deceptively long!) visiting the crazy casinos from the pyramid at Luxor, to New York, New York and of course Venice at the Venetian. Not to mention the dancing fountains of the Bellagio or ...

... the way the flights line up I will go round the world on that jaunt. An RTW! And finally, Adventures in Australia, for Continent Seven. That will set the lights blinking on my TravelPod map! What will I do differently, next time I set out, a grandma traveler in buckle-strap shoes? What have I learned, so far? First, I'll learn at least a smidgen of the language. Every travel writer, travel speaker, travel promoter I've ever heard has promoted ...

... bridge over the noisy freeway. My vertigo protests, but I ignore it. A year ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer, a heavy thing to hear. But that was then. Today I'm footloose! Fancy free! I can go anywhere I choose, do anything I decide to do. There's no better journey than that. Knowing that, is power. The pictures. See for yourself.