Noor Hotel Chetumal

... spending tonight waiting to cross the border to Belize tomorrow. I am quite concerned as cannot get to a bank to pay the departure tax as it is Sunday tomorrow and they are closed! Wish me luck!

Mexico was brilliant - it was never a top destination on my list and was added at the last minute as an afterthought - but i am really impressed by the place and have had a great experience! Onwards Christian Soldier! x

Heute stand die Besichtigung der grossartigen Maya-Stätte von Palenque auf dem Programm. Seine Blüte erreichte Palenque, ähnlich wie die Stätte in Monte Alban zwischen 600 - 800 n.Chr. Doch es gilt als gesichert, dass Palenque schon in der Vorklassik 300 v.Chr. - 300. n.Chr. existierte. Wie alle anderen Maya Städte wurde auch Palenque im 9. Jh. verlassen. Die Gründe dafür liegen bis ...

... is located one block from our cabana. On the first night that we were here, we noticed that a performance was taking place in a tiny ampitheatre located next to fort. We stopped in and thoroughly enjoyed the folkloric traditional dances that were being performed by very young children as well as very old people wearing beautiful traditional clothing. The next morning, we went to visit a large local cenote called ...

... more outrageous looking inside. The taste reminded me of kiwi. I was thinking about Mexico as a whole today when I was making my way here. One of the things I love about these people is their resourcefulness. If they need a way to make something work, they figure out a way to do it. Aesthetics aside, they know how to keep the wheels moving. I also love that OSHA (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) has zero influence here. It is a free for ...

... departed beyond capacity of the bus forcing myself and James to find out the many uses of a bus spare tire. So we rode away from roaring creek , Belmopan , Belize and embraced the site of the Mexican border looming in the distance. Belize dollars now changed to many pesos we embarked on a shopping experience that would be like any other before or after, for this day starting out in the typical way a series of events in a domino fashion that would change our lives ...

... all, you could see you were entering an already richer country!) and reached finally the Belizean border: easy going check, I had to get used to speak English again and not Spanish. And what English do they speak! Wow man, it does take time to understand them. I then stepped onto an old US School bus, where the poor (very tall) Dutch couple I talked to at the border had to bend and sit for like 2H trip...happy I'm not that tall after all. Now direction Belize City and Caye Caulker!

... you got to climb all the way up to the top of El Castillo which was pretty cool. Unfortunately I don't have any photos as I didn't take my camera because there have been quite a few muggings on the 2km road between the river and the ruins. Better safe than sorry! So that was Belize, a great country that has a lot to offer! Definitely will be interesting to see how it is in the next 5 to 10 years. Next on our list of countries is Guatemala. I can't wait!

... we believe that the country of Belize is probably smaller that the province of Alberta. No wonder the distance was a shock to the poor DJ. Today was a very special day because we were able to get our iPod fixed. We explained to the guy at the internet café that we had put tons of music on the iPod, but it was not showing up nor playing them. He hit a few buttons and connected it to his computer to further check it out. "Ah-ha!" he ...

... catching a ferry to San Pedro and then on the the more relaxed less touristy Caye Caulker to chill for a few days. We'll see. Anyhow, we LOVE Belize, but are on more of a time frame because they stamped Kate's passport for less time than mine. We'll take it as a sign to keep moving. We are alive and well and getting cooler passports by the second! We will update again soon, we'll see how the internet is on the Islands because we hear it's pricey. Love Kirsten and Kate

... the Caribbean is not a bad one. I really enjoy the great folks at the office, and they think it's funny that I'm starting to complain about how cold it is all the time. (Of course, the air conditioning is on in the office no matter the temperature outside, so it really is cold.) They are also slowly trying to educate me about food. (See below.) WEIRD WEATHER Just after our last update touting the glorious "winter" weather, we were hit with a torential out-of-season storm ...