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McCall, Idaho, United States

It has been a year since we landed in Panama City, more than six months since our return to McCall, over a month since our blog was featured by travelpod, and now, finally, we are ready to do our final entry. Lists, observations, and mullings on Central American/Mexican travel. We have appreciated the comments and votes we have received, and would love to receive more, if you are reading this. We'd also be happy to answer any specific travel questions you might have on the region.
The stuff we took:
Jacque:
1. a 2200 cubic inch backpack
2. one day sling (for taking on the bus, day trips, essentials at-hand)
3. bottoms: one pair of utility pants, one pair of capris, and one pair of exercise-style stretchy pants, sarong (you MUST take this--blanket + towel + skirt + dress)
4. tops: 3 tee shirts, one tank top, one long sleeve shirt, and one short-sleeve button up shirt.
5. other clothes: 5 prs undies, 3 bras, 5 prs socks, one bathing suit, a light cheap jacket, and a stuffable rain jacket. And a cap I never wore.
6. misc: pack towel, head lamp, safety pins, sewing kit, blank cds for photos (never used em--they have plenty of cheap ones at every internet cafe), sunglasses
7. trail-running shoes and chaco flip flops (bought on clearance)
8. wallet goods: ATM card, credit card, drivers license, passport, copies of all (we also scanned images into our computer at home and emailed them to ourselves for backup)
9. books: a reading book, Lonely Planet Central America, Lonely Planet Mexico, LP Mexican Spanish, some other phrase book (a bad one), and a mini-dictionary

Andrew:
1. a 3200 cubic inch backpack
2. a cotton grocery sack for miscellaneous use and laundry-time (critical item and highly recommended)
3. bottoms: 2 prs lightweight carhartt pants
4. tops: 3 long-sleeve button up shirts (2 wrangler cotton-poly blend, one sunblocker from LL Bean). All in plaid/check fabric. 2 wicking tee shirts, one carhartt t-shirt
5. other clothes: fleece jacket, packable rain jacket, swim trunks, 5 prs socks and skivvies--cotton boxers are recommended, and hard to come by in CA. And a warm hat
6. misc: pack towel, a sheet we lost within 10 days (but would've liked to have kept...), compass (really really useful when you get off the bus at 1 AM in a big city and are trying to find your hostel), travel clock (with calculator), cheapass carabiner watch, high-quality folding pocket knife (learn how to open beer bottles with it--if you want info, email me and I'll tell you how), 6" fixed-blade knife for food prep, clothesline with butterfly clips, bandanna, baseball cap, headlamp, book light, lighter--for dodgy hostel stoves
7. footwear: trail-running shoes (by Montrail--they fell apart)
8. wallet-gear: other debit card, other credit card (we took from separate banks so that if one wallet was stolen, we could put stops on cards and still have access to $$), emergency travelers checks ($500 worth), drivers license, passport, and numerous fake credit cards (from credit card offers). All important goods were kept in a leg-wallet while day-money and fakies were kept in a back-pocket throw-away wallet.
9. a reading book and a nice notebook
10. tiny digital camera, charger, cell phone, cell charger (per Mom's request! It never worked, although I was told we could buy a country-specific chip to make it do so). A note on digital cameras: don't take a large flashy camera and whip it out all the time. Our camera fits into an altoids can, and takes great photos to boot. It also conveniently fit into an empty cigarette pack.
11. A handline for fishing (basically a large spool of 40 lb. test line with weights and a hook)
12. toiletries and first aid: take along all the sunscreen you can fit--it is expensive and of dubious quality and expiration date in most of CA. LOTS of alcohol-based hand sanitizer (don't be too anal about it, but we DID eat with our hands a lot....), a roll of TP (always useful!), contacts and solution, shampoo and leave-in spray-in conditioner (a must in cold showers on cold days!), chloroquinine (anti-malarial), cipro (antibiotic--good for both gut-busting and UTIs), loperamide (anti-pooing), ibuprofen, steri-strips (for fixing up gashes when you can't get to a doc--we never used 'em, thankfully!), alcohol swabs for cuts and cleaning kitchen utensils, chapstick, can't think of other stuff, but there was definitely more in the kit...most didn't really get used. And you can buy all sorts of wonderful goods over the counter at pharmacies (as long as they've got it, they'll give it to you). Oh, and we did take water purification tabs, but thankfully never had to use them. Bottled water is cheap and readily available. Clip on sunglasses, neck pillow (inflatable, for bus rides). I'm 6'5" (Abt 2mtrs). Busses are fucking uncomfortable for me, especially at 3-4 per seat.

Things we acquired along the way:
1. Flip-flops--Andrew forgot his in Idaho. It is hard to try to find US 12 men's flip flops in CA--try to bring yours along if you go.
2. A camera card reader--our camera required special software to download pics onto CD or to this blog, so this made things easier. We picked one up in Esteli, Nicaragua, but they're cheaper here at home.
3. Legend of Zelda t-shirt for Andrew. Eighties vintage and overpriced to boot--$15 in Nicaragua is pretty outrageous for any piece of clothing!
4. 3 prs boxer shorts. All in all uncomfortable, chafing, and unsatisfactory. Sweaty to boot. Made of nasty t-shirt material. Good for bunchies. Bring all the undies you could possibly need--they won't take up space.
5. two wrap-skirts, hand woven. Nice for travel and souvenir purposes.
6. Two spoons and two rubbermaid plastic containers. Great for protecting electronics on the road and food in the hostel. Write your name on them with marker. In two places. We got cylindrical one, but square or rectangular would've fit in the bag better Roughly 8"x2"x12" would've been perfect.
7. A strainer for stovetop coffee. 3" diameter fine mesh with handle. And you'll never have to drink insty again.
8. two more bandannas. Andrew sweats.
9. A GAP sleeveless shirt, at a rag reseller in Guatemala for a buck. Ugly and functional.

Things we wished we had brought:
1. an umbrella--a tiny one for rainstorms
2. small waterproof duffel bags to put our backpacks in--especially in Guat, they throw them on the roof of the bus rain or shine.
3. needlenose pliers. For fixing, juryrigging, and fishing purposes.


Tips:
1. learn a few knots (square knot, bowline, and trucker hitch, as well as two half-hitches are good ones)
2. relax. Another bus will show up. So will another ferry. Or someone will let you hitch along with them.
3. if you think you've stepped in something, don't look at the bottom of your shoe.
4 . Don't look in the restaurant kitchen. This is why street food is great--they can't hide a thing.
5. Avoid monkeys when you are carrying food.
6. Don't touch plumbing or wiring when showering.
7. Don't touch the cashew fruit. See photos from Leon and Esteli
8. Don't look up when something drips on you while walking down the street.
9. Don't taste or smell said drip.
10. Walk quickly away from any Israeli offering lentils and rice. Or cocos.
11. Street dogs and cats and farm animals have diseases and parasites. Not cute. Not at all.
12. Learn a few words of Quiche Mayan if around Xela, or other Mayan languages if elsewhere. You'll stun the market ladies. And they may give you a better deal.

Bad places (As we hit them):
1. Bocas del Toro, Panama--filthy, nasty, expensive, overcrowded, and really not worth your time.
2. Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. Can anyone tell us WHY luxury cruises land here? Pickpocket and filth central. Good only for an ATM. Locale of the third worst hotel of the trip.
3. Finca Magdalena, Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua. Overrun with naive hippies, bad food, dirty dirty dirty accomodations. Yuck Yuck Yuck.
4. Hotel La Clinica in Leon, Nicaragua. Unless you really want to be part of the family with the nosy, overbearing, bossy mama.
5. Comayagua Honduras. Really, nothing worth seeing. Even the clock can't be enough to drag you here. Avoid. Location of the second worst hotel of our trip.
6. Omoa, Honduras. High points: stepping in a water-soaked dirty diaper. In the middle of the street. Bonuses: Dirty beaches, crowds, bad and overpriced food, and Rollie, the angriest, most disgruntled hostel owner in all of Central America.
7. Hotel Nieves Blancas in Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras. The worst hotel of our trip, we had to eat the money and go somewhere else. Bugs, damp bed, mold covered walls. The "alternate" room reeked of urine. Yummy.
8. Quetzaltrekkers trip to Volcan Tajumulco, outside Quetzaltenango, Guat. (Xela). Serious environmental and safety issues, too many to mention. While they are enthusiastic and well-intentioned, they are ill-equipped, ill-prepared, and are contributing to serious environmental degradation of the mountain.
9. LA

Favorite Places (from beginning of trip to end)
1. Cafe Boulevard Balboa, Panama City, Panama. Straight back to the 50s. We were wary of the tap water....but drank it anyway. I guess it really is safe in Panama. Great sandwiches and licuados.
2. Hotelito Nombu, Boquete Panama. Probably not even there any more, but our Swiss and Costa-Rican hosts were the best, and we had a great time.
3. Cafe Ruiz, Boquete, Panama. Best coffee of the trip (maybe outdone by San Pedro de la Laguna in Lago Atitlan, Guat, but a close call....)
4. Miss Ediths, Cahuita,Costa Rica. Whole jerked red snapper and garlic potatoes. Worth every penny.
5. Bread and Chocolate, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. Just what you need after a trek through the hippie heart of darkness. Homemade truffles! Real bread! Blow hits away....
6. Hostel Pangea. San Jose, Costa Rica. City within a city, safe and fun place to meet people. Rooms are spartan at best, but the free internet and a free 10-min call home every night make up for anything lacking. Also decent food, cheap drinks, and a pool.
7. Pollo a la Lena, fairly close to Hostel Pangea--ask directions. Whole chickens roasted over a wood fire for pennies.
8. Vigoron in Granada, Nicaragua. Pork rinds with coleslaw and baked yuca. Served in the central square. Tasty.
9. Edwards Nica Buffet, Granada, Nicaragua. Talking with Edward may be the best part. Oh, and it isn't a buffet. Evidently calling your restaurant, no matter what the type, a buffet is a good thing in Nicaragua.
10. Pizzeria Don Luca. Stromboli to die for. A must after tons of CA food. Good antipasto too.
11. Chanco con yuca, Leon, Nicaragua. The same thing as vigoron, but with highly-seasoned pork roast instead of pork rinds.
12. Bigfoot Hostel, Leon, Nicaragua. Just don't touch the cashew tree in the back. Rooms are noisy, but atmosphere is good, and drinks cheap.
13. Public Hospital, Esteli, Nicaragua. English-speaking doctor, free treatment and medication. No questions asked, except "solo tocar?" In the 2nd-poorest country in the western hemisphere. In the US this would've cost over $500.
14. The D&D B&B&B near Pena Blanca, Honduras. Read the entry on this one--too much good to mention: great food, accomodations, fellow travelers, stories, and THE BEST BEER IN CENTRAL AMERICA. Don't miss.
15. Tutys in Tela, Honduras. Donuts and licuados. Say no more....
16. The ruins of Copan, Honduras. Simply amazing.
17. Juayua, El Salvador. Beautiful mountain town with bitching weekend food fair. Worth the hassle of getting there.
18. La Casa Amarilla, Antigua Guatemala. Best place to stay of the entire trip. With breakfast to die for, great fellow travelers, free internet, and daily!?! maid service. Not too expensive, though definitely more than the dive-flops.
19. Volcan Pacaya. Nothing can really beat poking flowing lava with a stick. For $6 per person or thereabouts. Would've been worth it at five times the price.
20. Tajumulco. Loved it and hated it. See above. Don't skip, but don't go with Quetzaltrekkers. Unless you like food poisoning and such, of course. And guides that get altitude sickness.
21. San Pedro de la Laguna, Guat. Hippie Oasis. Welcome respite from Xela dining. Actually from any dining in Guatemala. Excellent food, and home of the possibly best coffee of the trip. We stayed in the most expensive room listed in our guide book, at $10 per night. Nothing spectacular--there are PLENTY of rooming choices. And Restaurante TinTin had passable gado gado.
22. Sailing. In retrospect, we would've gone with "That Boat" instead of Las Sirenas, but a nice relaxing few days. When in Rio Dulce, you must eat at Sun Dog. Cookies! The people that run Sun Dog also have "That Boat".
23. Tikal. Hands down the single most awe-inspiring day of the trip. Amazing ruins, and wildlife out the wazoo. Parrots and toucans flying overhead. Very interesting fellow travelers. Think, Mindwalk (the movie).
24. Fishing off the private docks, Caye Caulker Belize. Supposedly, property of the queen, not really private, but they still post PRIVATE. Just ignore.....We only survived monetarily in Caye Caulke because Andrew fed us both on free fishies. Also on the cheap in Caye Caulker, the $.25 cinnamon rolls at Glendas. Also, rum is often cheaper than beer in Belize.
25. Mexico: the food the food the food. Thank god for Mexican food. No more foul CA tortillas. Nor more plantains. Wretched plantains. Andrew nearly died of ecstasy at his first taco plate, minutes inside the border.
26. Palenque. Hottest, most miserable place on earth. Gorgeous, too.
27. Oaxaca. Always a fave. Unique food, interesting political scene (to say the least!) In a way, it felt like coming home
28. Pachuca. Officially our new random food capital. Don't miss the pasties (I have no idea why else you might go there!). Research pasties before you go for full appreciation.
29. Las Posadas, Xilitla, Mexico. Jungle acid trip formed in concrete. Friendly town, too. Don't miss the zacahuitle.
30. DF. Mexico City. Don't be afraid of the big 'ol city. Treasures abound: great Korean, great public transport, awesome museums and cultural spots. We're not big city people at all, but we had a damned good time.
31. Sayulita, Mexico. Familiar, relaxing, no mega-resorts, good beaches, nice surf. Heaven?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1150823520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1150823520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1150823520/tpod.html Tue, 20 Jun 2006 14:09:16 -0400 Central America and Mexico 2006

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Los Angeles, California, United States

After leaving Sayulita, it was about eight hours by bus to Mazatlan. We arrived in Mazatlan about 10 pm, and had to leave the next morning for the airport at 5:30 am, so we decided to just crash at one of the hotels surrounding the bus station. We lucked into a cheapie with a/c, but also with the added bonus of the a/c unit above us dripping water onto the metal casing of our unit. Andrew decided to put a pillow out there, but I objected, so we compromised with one of our towels. It muffled the incessant pinging quite nicely. We thought that the bathroom smelled a bit funny, but wrote it off to sewer gas (they never put p-traps in the showers). However, after we woke the next morning and went to grab a taxi, we discovered that this was just the smell of Mazatlan. Think dead fishies and poo.

From Mazatlan, we flew to Mexico City and had a spectacular time waiting eight hours for our next flight. Boring boring boring, and they charged over $3 for a beer. We perused endless selections of identical merchandise at a plethora of duty-free shops. Yech.

We got into LAX, rode a bus over to the international terminal, and were through in the time it took to stamp our papers. We could easily taken a backpack of weed through customs for all they cared. After repeated cell-phone consultations, J.W. and Julianna finally found us amid the bedlam that is LAX.

J.W. lives nowhere near LA. It doesn't look that far on the map, but it sucks. Basically, any time we wanted to go on an outing, we had to drive for over an hour to get anywhere. It would suck to live down here. Big time. At least they have a/c in their vehicles.

We spent a day at Venice beach watching the freakies, wandering around, and taking in street shows (ie a juggler on a high ladder and a group of break dancers). After the calm of the beach in Sayulita, Venice beach was insane. It doesn't seem like a relaxing time to sit around with so many other people.

We dined at Pink's hot dogs, a LA institution since 1939. They have about 40 varieties of hot dogs and sausages. Tasty. J.W. had the chili cheese dog, while Andrew had the Chicago and New York dogs. Julianna and I had Polish sausages. Cheap meal.

Sunday we attempted to go to dim sum in Chinatown. We got there a bit late in the day, and they were closed until dinner. (Closed from 2:30 to 5:00) We wasted about 1.5 hours wandering Chinatown and drinking bubble tea (which J.W. and Julianna both hated--they said it gave them stomachaches), then went back. Julianna was a bit sketched out that the restaurant got a "B" rating by the health department, but we decided to brave it. Then we discovered that they were only serving a special (read: expensive) Father's Day menu, and that there was no dim sum. We left, disappointed. Instead, we ended up going down the block to a chinese place, Yang Chow, that specializes in "slippery shrimp". Basically, deep-fried, breaded shrimp in a spicy sweet and sour sauce. Yum. The restaurant was packed and there was a line, so we figured it would be a good bet. Nobody got sick.

Other than that, didn't really accomplish much, other than a lot of time spent looking out the car window. We went and saw both Nacho Libre and The Break-Up. Nacho wasn't as good as Napolean Dynamite, but still funny.

We're flying back to Boise tonight, then on to McCall tomorrow. See you there if you live there! Oh, and we still haven't written the Lists Entry, but we will get to it...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1150303500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1150303500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1150303500/tpod.html Wed, 14 Jun 2006 13:31:56 -0400 Central America and Mexico 2006

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Sayulita, Mexico

Ohhhh, so sad....we are flying out of Mazatlan tomorrow morning, so this will be our last post from Mexico. We will, however, be posting from LA on both LA and our general thoughts as well as interesting lists from our trip.

After Mexico City, we rode a very nice Primera Plus bus for 5 hours to Guanajuato. The Primera Plus company provides you with a snack bag with drink, cookie, coffee powder (they have hot water in the back of the bus), and an irradiated sandwich. At least, we hope it was irradiated....it was a sealed up sandwich with a small bit of ham, cheese, a bit of mayo/mustard spread, and one tiny jalapeño slice. It was all sealed up in packaging, no refrigeration necessary, and had a few days on the eat-by date. Frightening, but not as bad tasting as you might suspect. Quite edible, really.

So, Guanajuato. It is a fairly large town crammed into a series of gullys and valleys. The valleys are connected by series of tunnels. We're talking tunnels EVERYWHERE. You can go down one block and come up three blocks later. The tunnels are really rough, just blown out of the rock with no shoring or bolting. Some of the streets are so narrow (callejons) that the balconies of opposing houses almost touch. There isn't one straight street in town. Guanajuato is an old silver mining town, and now houses one of Mexico's better universities. It is very attractive, and has a nice young vibe. We were only able to stay one night, but we hope to come back some other time. Andrew ate a very good torta there, and he is still dreaming of it. He says it was the best torta ever.

After Guanajuato, we took a 4 hour bus to Guadalajara, then switched to a bus to Tepic, another 4 hours. We ended up getting into Tepic about midnight. Tepic is nice because it isn't on the tourist track at all....most people were quite curious about why we were there, including our taxi driver and the men Andrew met at the cantina. We visited there two and a half years ago, on our last Mexico trip. It was nice to be back and see that it hadn't changed much. Tranquil and polite. Drivers actually stop to let you cross the street!

From Tepic, it was a three hour 2nd class bus ride to Sayulita, a nice beach town on the Nayarit coast. We had been to Sayulita on our last trip too, and liked it a lot, so it seemed like a good place to end up. We stayed at the same hotel, Las Gaviotas, and when we were checking in, the owner asked if we had been there before. We said yes, and she said she thought she recognized Andrew by the earrings gracing his ears. She seemed happy to see us, and we were happy that we could still get a room for about $23 only 1.5 blocks from the beach. It isn't anything fancy, but it is clean and friendly and the location can't be beat. Oh, and they remodeled the bathrooms since our last visit, and they're sparkling, though we can't figure out why in the world you would grout your toilet to the floor, rather than bolting it....hope they don't have to do any maintenance on it!

Sayulita was perfect for ending the vacation in Mexico.....beautiful clean beaches, cold drinks, lots of lazing about. We saw lots of good things on the beach....one guy surfing in a Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) mask, and a surfer dog that stayed on the board longer than his owner. The owner fell off about 50 yards from the beach, while the dog rode it all the way in, turning around nonchalantly, looking for his food guy. We rented beach chairs and an umbrella, and yesterday we were treated to a woman trying to camp out next to us without paying. She told the owner that she was a Mexican (so was the owner), dammit, and this was her beach. He pulled the umbrella out from beside her and took it away. His job seemed like a bummer....always having to tell people that yes, you had to pay to sit in the chairs, no they weren't free. We also got to listen to a drunk American prattling on, annoying the Canadians seated next to him. The final straw for them was when the American told the British Columbians that Mexican weed was better than BC weed. Ha.

A lot of Sayulita is the same, but quite a bit has changed. There are a lot more restaurants, a lot more souvenir stands, and a LOT more internet cafes, though the prices are still a bit exorbitant here (we are used to paying less than $1 per hour, not $3 or $4). The churro man isn't here anymore, though that may only be because it is slow season. Also, there are fewer street food stands. Only one taco stand, in fact. Also could be due to slow season here. It is still a laid back, friendly place though. We could easily imagine coming back every year.

And now we have to stop, as we need to get packed up and off to Mazatlan....it'll be 3 hours to Tepic, then 5 more to Mazatlan. Not looking forward to our last bus day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1149902280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1149902280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1149902280/tpod.html Sat, 10 Jun 2006 14:05:49 -0400 Central America and Mexico 2006

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Mexico City, Mexico

After leaving Xilitla, it was a slow second-class bus ride to Mexico City. Well, not really slow at first, but then there was the little blow-out incident. Our first near-disaster on a bus (not bad for travelling over 4 months). I was sleeping on Andrew's lap, and awoke to a loud BOOM, and then the bus swerving and shaking. I thought we had blown a tire, and frantically and fruitlessly groped for the nonexistent seatbelt. The bus driver got us pulled over, and half the men on the bus proceeded to get off to examine the problem. Andrew, of course, decided to join them. It was not a blown tire, but rather a blown air brake line. This caused the left rear tire to attempt to lock up because of the loss of pressure, and resulting in the bucking and shuddering. Fortunately, this occurred AFTER we had gotten out of the six or so hours of windy mountain roads with no guardrails and steep grades. The bus driver and his ayudante used copious amounts of electrical tape in an attempt to fix the hole. We were then treated to a 20-mile per hour limp through the desert for the next few hours. There aren't many towns in the desert. We finally got to a sizeable town and switched busses, and in the end we made it to the D.F. only about 3 or 4 hours later than we had hoped.

On Mexico City: we had, of course, been terrified of the city, being that all the guides and all the news is DANGER DANGER DANGER. We had decided, though, that it would be worth it to go for the anthropology museum alone, and so planned to spend 2 nights.

We ended up spending five.

Mexico City is GREAT (no! I'm not kidding!). We got a great hotel only a few blocks from the Zocalo (Hotel Montecarlo). According to our guide, DH Lawrence once stayed there. It has a great double spiral stairway all in cracked up marble (there are a lot of sagging and swaying buildings in Mexico City due to earthquakes, spongy soil, and building on top of Aztec pyramids--some of these buildings are shockingly and obviously crooked to the casual observer, yet are still in use). As a bonus, our hotel was really cheap--180 pesos per night. Most of the hostels in Mexico City charge 300 or more for a double room. Our room was small and narrow, but with high ceilings, a good bathroom, and scorching hot water. It had elaborate, old, and scuffed up furniture and really old crazy carpet. It was a bit worn, but immaculately clean.

Our first full day in Mexico City we did the Walk-n-Gawk, staring at all the amazing architecture. We conquered the Metro--the 3rd busiest, and the cheapest subway in the world. At 2 pesos for a ride anywhere in the city, including as many transfers as you please, it was too good a deal to pass up. And it is EASY, as well as reasonably clean and well lit (ignoring the gum on one of the grab-bars, of course). Of course, our guides warned of rampant pickpocketings as well as armed robbery and assault on the subway, but we encountered no problems at all, even travelling at peak hours when the car is packed. Fellow travellers, do not fear the metro! Metro is your friend!

We ate well in Mexico City, though not really what you might expect. By far the best meal we had was at a hole-in-the-wall Korean restaurant in Zona Rosa. The sign outside was only in Korean. It was run by a Korean family, but our waiter was the Mexican boyfriend of one of the daughters. He had lived in Maryland for awhile, and greeted us with "hey man, how can I help you". We were a bit relieved, as the menu was in Korean with strange Spanish translations. The food was killer, with buckets of homemade kimchee and other garnishes covering our whole table. Our other major dining experience was at Restaurante Chon, a LP guide-recommended Pre-Hispanic restaurant. This means little or no Euro influence, and a focus on game meat, and grubs. Andrew had really been looking forward to it (he had read about the restaurant before in other sources), but they served our drinks in dirty glasses and microwaved his maguey worms--bummer. He was happy he got to try them, at least.

We went to the Engineering University Museum and saw an exhibit on Torture and Capital Punishment. It was pretty horrifying, and we both sort of regret going. There were thumb screws, head screws, racks, wheels, and an iron maiden, and more. Most of these were originals, from private collections, leading us to wonder why the "!·$! you would want to have this stuff as your own. The descriptions accompanying the instruments (in English and Spanish) were a bit too gleeful.

We also, of course went to the Anthro Museum. It was great and fantastic, but oh my....we barely saw half of it. There is such an amazing amount of stuff there, your eyes eventually just glaze over. It was awesome. Outside the museum, we watched a demonstration of Voladores swinging upside down around and around an 80 foot pole, a reenactment of an indigenous vanilla harvest ritual.

We were so busy in Mexico City....lets see...what else did we do.....

Went to a movie (X-Men 3, with Spanish subtitles)
Found another place that sells Potro beer
Went to a few markets, ate street food and market birria
Went to the oldest cantina in Mexico, drank expensive beers there
Explored the Zona Rosa, (where the Korean restaurant is), the gay district of Mexico City
Explored the cathedral....it is sinking unevenly and cracking up. Don't build on Aztec temples, FYI.

Now we are in Guanajuato for the night, going on to Sayulita tomorrow night. We fly back to LA on June 15, and are trying to pack a lot into our last few days. Keep checking the blog; in LA we will try for a few culinary adventures, and put up a lot of Lists of Interesting Things. (ie best tee-shirt: "hand-job car wash")

See you soon!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1149437520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1149437520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1149437520/tpod.html Mon, 05 Jun 2006 12:51:43 -0400 Central America and Mexico 2006

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Xilitla, Mexico

So we left off talking about food, so we might as well start up there again. We took what (on the map) looked to be a short journey from Pachuca to the small and grimy mountain town of Tazamunchale.....this took about seven hours through a road so windy it makes the Oaxaca-Pacific Coast road look tame. The scenery was incredible though--very lush mountains, a bit reminiscent of the Oregon Coast, but with banana trees and huge cliffs. From Tazamunchale it was a two hour bus ride and a 45 minute van ride to our real destination, Xilitla (he-LEET-la), another grubby town, this time clinging to the sides of the mountain. There, we discovered Zacahuitl, a giant (4' long, 16" in diameter) breakfast tamale, served with bad coffee so sweet Andrew could barely swallow it. You simply order how many pesos worth of tamale you would like, and choose between chicken or pork meat, which are both steamed in the same tamale, but separate from each other. 20 pesos of tamale is a very big breakfast.

The reason we came to Xilitla, however, was not the food. Instead, we were there to see Las Posas de Edward James, a huge garden on the mountainside created by Edward James, an English lunatic, said to be the illegitimate grandson of King Edward VII. Edward was a big fan of the surrealists. Dalí said of him "Edward James is crazier than all the surrealists put together. They pretend, but he is the real thing." We heartily agree. Edward came to Mexico in the 1940s to escape WWII, and came to Xilitla in 1945 to cultivate orchids. In 1962, a freak freeze destroyed his orchids, and he decided to cultivate a more....lasting garden. He and a local friend, Plutarco Gastelum, created a surrealists' dream (or nightmare) mostly in concrete. It is impossible to depict with words or pictures the scale or grandeur of the thing, but we will try to give you a sense of it. The complex covers acres and acres of valley and mountainside. It has a stream running through one side of it, and every nook and cranny of the jungle reveals a new absurdity cast in concrete. There are 3' hands coming out of the earth, an airplane, lots of concrete bamboo, spiral staircases to nowhere, flying buttresses supporting cliff sides, the impression of a reclining human upon an altar, and all sorts of crazy half-finished platforms and dwellings. You can easily see traces of Roman, Italian, Morroccan, Indonesian, Japanese, and other influences, all jumbled together and twisted by Mr. James' mind. He died in 1984, leaving no provisions for upkeep of the place. It is now a popular weekend swimming hole for locals, and the concrete creations are slowly moldering back into the jungle. It is, to say the least, fascinating. It is definitely one of the strangest places we have seen on this trip, and well worth the hellish bus rides to get there.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1149177840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1149177840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1149177840/tpod.html Thu, 01 Jun 2006 13:26:19 -0400 Central America and Mexico 2006

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Pachuca, Mexico

We left Puerto Escondido the day before a rather large named storm hit the Pacific Coast (yes, it was centered up by Acapulco, but maybe it was still.....EXTREME in Puerto Escondido). The small and previously dry drainage ditch next to our hotel reached kayak-able levels the day before we left, in about 3 minutes time. It was a good time to get off the coast. Besides, what fun is the beach in the rain?

From PE, we took the LOOOOOOOOONG way back to Oaxaca--about 12 hours on the bus, versus 5.5. We did this because, well, to call the 5.5 hour trip winding would be kind. Leslie was not a fan. The bus back was tiresome, but it gave Leslie a chance to experience another form of Mexican transport (for the record--she took taxis, a van, a first class bus, second class busses, and a tuk-tuk, which a 3-wheeled motorized thingie based on the front end of a motorcycle).

We had 2 days in Oaxaca before Leslie's plane left, and we spent them gathering souvenirs, going to rug towns, and the long hassle of getting things mailed back to the US. In Teotitlan de Valle, we visited one rug shop where they showed us cochineal bugs (used to make red dye). They live on cacti. The weaver's son gave one to Andrew and then told him to smash it. It popped like a ripe berry, with a surprising amount of shockingly red guts, I guess. The addition of lime juice turns the red dye to a bright, almost neon orange.

In our absence, the teacher's protest turned....large. They set up tent cities ranging about 3 blocks in every direction from the zocalo. There were hundreds of tarps shading the streets, usually about 5' high. People and their belongings were strewn everywhere, and getting anywhere in that area was not unlike negotiating an obstacle course. Andrew caught one (black, at night) string between his eyebrows and the top of his glasses, cutting the bridge of his nose enough to bleed and sending his glasses flying off into the street. In addition to setting up their tent city, the teachers from time to time took over government owned enterprises and shut them down, namely gas stations and the airport. All the taxi drivers seemed really annoyed.

Yesterday Leslie got on her plane (we hope--we haven't heard from her yet) and we got outta Oaxaca. The bus ride to Mexico City was stunning, and a lot more green than our last visit a few years ago (in December 2003). From the DF, it was a short but smelly bus ride to Pachuca, the capital of Hidalgo state.

Why are we here, you might ask. To answer your question, we will have to give you a short history of the pastie. No, you sicko not that sort of pastie. It is pronounced "pass-tee", not "paste-e".

The pastie we speak of is a durable pastry shell filled, traditionally, with a mixture of beef, potatoes, cabbage, and gravy. It originated in Cornwall, in the UK, as a convenient lunch pail item for hungry miners. These Cornish miners eventually went to work in mines around the world, bringing their pasties with them. Today, in the US, pasties can be found in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and in Butte Montana (also in Anaconda and one store in Missoula, and there is a company in Montana that sells them frozen). They are also found in mountainous British Columbia, notably in Nelson, and in Australia. We have been aware of all this for some time, and Andrew has become quite enamored of the pastie. Imagine our surprise to learn that pasties could be had in Mexico. Pachuca is an old silver mining town, and the Cornish brought their tradition here, as well.

Ha! but the tradition has been perverted, or has evolved if you would rather. We have eaten pasties filled with mole verde, mole rojo, pasties hawaiiano (with sausage and pineapple and cheese), pasties filled with chicken and pepper strips, "traditional" beef and potato pasties so spicy it makes you sweat, and even pastie filled with rice pudding. (big-time yum) Today, we will try the chorizo and bean pasties, flan pasties, and whatever other strange variations we can find. Thousands of Cornish housewives are turning in their graves.

The thing is, though, pasties are FLOURISHING here, whereas you can only find them in a handful of places in Butte or in Nelson (we haven't been to the Upper Peninsula--yet). Here, there is at least one pastie shop (they spell it pastes) on every block in the center, and there is heated debate about which is best. It is really interesting, perhaps fodder for an article.

The other strange thing is how much Pachuca resembles Butte (okay, Cement block houses on the hill don't much look like Victorians on the hill). But, both towns are built on the hills they mined, and their downtowns are a strange mix of beautiful old, cut stone buildings and "modern" 70s and 80s schlock. Oh, and while Butte has a giant sculpture of the virgin Mary up on the mountain above it, Pachuca has Jesus.

If we can escape our pastie delirium, we'll be off this afternoon in search of a concrete orchid garden. Time is running short in Mexico, and we're moving fast.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1148659260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1148659260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1148659260/tpod.html Fri, 26 May 2006 13:07:03 -0400 Central America and Mexico 2006

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Puerto Escondido, Mexico

Since we last wrote, we have travelled to Oaxaca City and from there to Puerto Escondido on the Oaxaca Coast.

We took the night bus to Oaxaca City from San Cristobal on May 13, arriving in Oaxaca City to surprise Andrew's mother, Leslie, for Mother's Day. We had planned on meeting her between the 15th and the 18th, so she was not expecting us. Her ATM card would not work (and was later eaten by a Scotiabank machine, and the bank would not give it back), and she was not feeling well, so it was really not the best start to her vacation. Luckily, we were able to have money transferred into our account from hers (Sterling Savings is the best!), so money worries were quickly quelled, and we went about exploring Oaxaca. It is a great old city, with a big art scene and a lot of craft/crap stores. Andrew and I had spent time there two and a half years ago, and it was nice to go back.

We went to Monte Alban again, but unfortunately a bug bit Leslie and gave here an ankle infection, so she had to keep her leg elevated for a few days, which meant that we were unable to go to some of the outlying villages and explore the rug-making scene. Definitely having a rough time.

At first, we were a bit discouraged with Oaxaca as hotel prices seem to have jumped quite a bit in the last few years. A hostel listed in Lonely Planet for $17-19 for a private double was asking 300 pesos for the same room (about $27.50). We ended up spending our first night at Hostel Santa Isabel, which was terrible--rough planks for floors, no curtains (on windows that opened to the corridor), no toilet seats, no hot water, and lots of smelly hippies. Oh, and the room had 2 twin beds with mattresses so hard we might as well have slept on the plank floor. All for the not-so-low price of 160 pesos. Our second day in Oaxaca, Andrew spent some time running around, and we were able to find a pretty okay room at the Hotel Lupita for 150 pesos. It had shared baths, but the showers were big with hot water and the toilets had seats (hallelujah!)

Evidently, every May in Oaxaca is official teacher's strike month. The first week we were there, the teachers marched one day (thousands and thousands of teachers), blocking all traffic into downtown Oaxaca. The next week, they reemerged on the day we were leaving for Puerto Escondido. They appeared to have set up camp on the zocalo, and it took us 45 minutes in the taxi to go 12 blocks!

From Oaxaca it was a 6-hour 18-passenger van ride (with only 6 passengers) across the mountains to Pochutla, then a taxi to Puerto Escondido. Andrew and I were both quite happy with the van ride, as it took the Highway 175 route, and was far superior to the Highway 131 route we took a few years ago. Leslie didn't like it one bit, and appeared to be half-ill most of the time due to the windiness and vertiginous drop-offs.

In Puerto Escondido, we found the most interesting toilet situation yet--half a seat (the side half, not the back, in an internet cafe).

We spent our first 3 nights in PE staying at the Hotel Tower Bridge, run by an ADHD afflicted Brit named Steve. We'll refer to him from here on as ADHD. Steve has abandoned England and has a nice place (albeit a bit out of the way) with 5 bungalows and his house. Two of the bungalows have their own kitchen, and the other three share a particularly well-stocked one. There is also a pool and nice trees and ADHD has a friendly lab, Blackie (how imaginative!). For 200 pesos, the room at ADHD's was by far the most luxurious one we've had in Mexico--living room with separate bedroom with California-king bed. Unfortunately, it was a bit hot in the room during the day (not too much ventilation). But sitting in the pool was good.

The closest beach to ADHD's is a small cove set below a cliff (with steps down it). It is beautiful and calm, good for swimming. The highlights of our afternoon there included the girl with HUGE fake breasts sitting next to us (I wanted to poke them), and the girl covered in tattoos running around topless. She had so many tattoos that when Andrew saw her from a distance, he thought she had sand stuck all over 1/2 of her body.

After 3 nights at ADHD's, we decided to switch to a hotel closer to the main parts of town. Also, Leslie's room at ADHD's was sort of a dark little hole (but the only one with a/c). We are now staying at Le P'tit Hotel, run by a sweaty, jeri-curl mulletted, fat fat, harley-riding Frenchie named Michel. It is clean and Leslie's room has freezing a/c (Andrew and I have fans). Unfortunately, it is trying to rain today...

We have purchased tickets home from Mazatlan, and are sad that this trip is slowly coming to an end. Although it will be stretched by staying with my brother in LA for a few days, then going back to my parents' ranch for awhile, perhaps with a Hell's Canyon trip somewhere in there.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1147465560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1147465560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1147465560/tpod.html Fri, 12 May 2006 17:24:00 -0400 Central America and Mexico 2006

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San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico

We are currently in San Cristobal de las Casas, in Chiapas. It is an interesting time to be here. Last week, there was a protest over the expulsion of flower vendors in a town near Mexico City, Atenco. The Zapatista (leader? spokesman?) Subcommandante Marcos was in town for a rally for the Zapatista "Other Campaign" which denounces all the current Mexican presidential candidates and their parties as corrupt and unsustainable. Evidently some of the Zapatistas were involved in the fray that resulted from the protest, and police got involved. Everything appears murky from there, but the outcome was dozens of arrests and at least one death. Mexican President Fox has blamed Marcos and the Zapatistas, and because of this Marcos put out a "red alert", which basically means that all the Zapatistas in Chiapas are lying low, except for several hundred that marched through San Cristobal last night. There have been daily rallies on the central square, and the police and military presence here appears to be heightened, even during the short time we have been in town.

Otherwise, San Cristobal is great. The town is really old, with some stunning colonial architecture, including at least two "lions" above a doorway that look to be rats. We have a good hostel, albeit with a few resident drug casualties (One guy sits in his doorway day and night messing with his computer, his pupils dilated and his mouth agape. Another tries to feed us his sorry lentils and rice and runs around accusing people of taking his coco(nut)). We have spent most of our time here just wandering around, looking at amber (mined locally), lots of crafts, and eating some great food. There is a falafel stand here that we have grown especially fond of--we´ve had lunch there the last three days. Everything in San Cristobal is incredibly cheap, more akin to Guatemala prices than Mexico prices. A big falafel sandwich and a banana licuado (shake) runs about $2.75.

Sadly, we must report the death of a former friend. Andrew's running shoe decided to kick the bucket yesterday, its sole splitting in half. We have tried to email Montrail to express our displeasure, but their email system does not work.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1147216800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1147216800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1147216800/tpod.html Tue, 09 May 2006 20:43:04 -0400 Central America and Mexico 2006

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Palenque, Mexico

Since we last wrote, we crossed into Mexico and had a whirlwind tour of Mayan ruins.

From Caye Caulker, it was a short water taxi to Belize City, then an international bus to Chetumal, Mexico. Also aboard the bus was a Swiss/Italian woman and her 3-year old that had stayed with us in Caye Caulker, and a tour group of about 20-odd people who were travelling together for 3 weeks. What was shocking was that most people on the tour were pretty young--usually the age group you associate with backpackers, not tour groups.

Anyway, all was fine and dandy until we got to the border. The tour group had all been in Mexico before, so they just flashed their tourist cards and were waved through. We, along with the Swiss woman and her kid, were delayed as we filled out our paperwork and waited for a large Mennonite family to get through the customs dude (there are a LOT of Mennonites in Belize). Then the border dude refused to give us more than a 30-day tourist card, when we are really eligible for up to 180 days. This means that we will have to pay the tourist card fee ($20USD), then go through the hassle of getting an extension, and then pay for ANOTHER tourist card fee....doubling the price. Yuck.

Needless to say, we were irritated as we left the customs area. We had been told that the bus would have to park a bit away from the border area, so along with the Swiss woman and child, we set out to find it. Unfortunately, the cherry on the shake was that the bus had abandoned us. We had to pay $10 (split with the Swiss woman) for a taxi to the Chetumal bus station....where we ran into the tour group. Now, we had been chatting with several members of the group throughout the bus ride, but evidently none of them had seen fit to inform the bus driver that we were not aboard. At the bus station, Andrew asked one if they had noticed us missing (come on--that Swiss kid was LOUD, and the only child in sight!) but they looked at us blankly, like they had never talked to us before. We began to understand why they had joined a tour group (they were stupid).

From there, it was on to Merida on the blessed Mexican bus system (yay for reclining seats, movies (sometimes in English, but hey, I really got the point of King Kong without understanding the dialogue!), and air-conditioning so cold it makes your toes numb.

Merida was great. It is hot there, but not so bad as we had been lead to believe. As long as you stayed in the shade, anything was bearable. Merida is the Mexican center for hammocks and Panama hats, and everywhere you turn, someone is trying to sell you one or the other (or they try to sell you Cuban cigars or try to get you to go to their restaurant or souvenir shop). Their favorite opening line with Andrew was "hey, man, you're really tall!" As if he hadn't noticed that before. After hearing that about 10 times a day, it began to wear.

Nonetheless, we did pick up some great hammocks, and a deal at under $14 apiece. Andrew considered many fine Panama hats, but in the end couldn't decide whether he really wanted to drag one around Mexico for a few months. Perhaps on another trip...

The food in Merida is squarely Yucatecan. We had lots of new foods, including sopa de limas, which features a perfume-y sort of lime only found in the Yucatan. We also had panuches, which are sort of tostadas with beans, hot lettuce (mmmmmm!) and turkey (sort of turkey jerky, really, but good). Also had some old favorites, tacos al pastor, although the al pastor in the Yucatan is considerably brighter than elsewhere--there's a lot of achiote (ground annatto) involved.

We had great plans for excursions from Merida, but we were sidetracked by a varied and entertaining cast of characters at the hostel. We even met a friend of Greg Weber's from Antarctica. So, instead of hitting numerous Mayan sites, we only made it to Chichen Itza.

Chichen Itza was impressive and interesting, but it was hot as Hades and there were nasty tour groups everywhere. There were also people selling shit everywhere you turned. We saw a sign (in English) on our way out asking that you not buy goods from these people, as they were in the park illegally. While reading it, a child approached Andrew with some sort of statue. Andrew pointed at the sign and pointed out that it was illegal to buy things from the boy. Andrew then asked the boy if he was a bandido. The boy, realizing that the transaction was not moving along, decided to change course and pulled a different statue out of his pocket to offer Andrew.

Joining us at Chichen Itza was a Brit named Simon. The best thing about Simon was his deep hatred of naïve hippie travellers. He dreamed of dousing them with a super-soaker filled with soap. At Chichen Itza, he approached some poor woman saying "hey have you got any crap for sale. Oh, yeah, yeah. You do. No I don't want that". In English--hopefully she was oblivious. He´s well into his second year of an around-the-world trip, and we wondered how often he has been pummeled.

We scored doubly on bus rides to and from Chichen Itza--a puker each way. Simon had the dubious pleasure of sitting beside the first puker, and right behind the instant-messaging bus driver. The second puker, a girl about 13 years old with her hair in those god-awful braids you get in Cancun or any other nasty beach resort for that matter, waited until the bus had just come to a complete stop at the station before filling the aisle with her stomach contents. We had to jump over it to exit. Simon, luckily, was sitting ahead of it, and exited when he saw her head go down. At least the first puker had a bag.

From Merida, it was an overnight bus ride to Palenque. It is nice to take an overnight bus because you save on the hotel room and you don't waste travel days, but then again you don't really sleep either...

If we thought Merida was Hell, Palenque was child-molester Hell. In addition to the heat, Palenque seems to pride itself on 200% humidity. At one point, we were sitting in a restaurant waiting for our food. I felt a bug crawling on my leg, but when I went to swat it, it was only a river of sweat emanating from my knee. We arrived at our hotel at 7:00 am, took a quick nap, and headed to the Palenque ruins.

The ruins at Palenque are awesome, with a stunning setting hacked out of the jungle-covered hillside. Most of the major structures are pretty totally reconstructed, and you get to climb most of the temples (unlike Chichen Itza, where you can only climb El Caracol--and not all the way to the top). However, it was too hot for us to climb everything, although Andrew made a more valiant effort that I. We did make a point to climb the temple that one of the original researchers, Count de Waldeck, lived on for a few years (1831-33)--it was nice and cool within the temple, and a good view to boot.

We stayed outside of Palenque town at an area called El Panchan, run by the extended family of one of the Palenque archaeologists. It is a winding jungle complex of cabinas and a few restaurants. While our hotel room was killer--cheap, clean, and a view of howler monkeys in the morning, the restaurant we visited had mediocre food and awful service--they couldn´t keep any order straight. Unfortunately, we didn't have the option of not tipping them--they added it on to the tab.

We only got to stay in Palenque one night, as we were excited to go to San Cristobal, and need to get to Oaxaca soon, where Andrew's mother, Leslie, will be joining us for a few weeks.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1146581700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1146581700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andrewandjacque/central_america/1146581700/tpod.html Fri, 05 May 2006 16:05:40 -0400 Central America and Mexico 2006

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Caye Caulker, Belize

Since we posted our last entry, it has been a time of reunions with other travellers. First, we went to a bar in Flores after writing the last entry. There, we saw Francis, missed-the-boat Mark's former travel companion. We first met her on a bus at the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border, and last saw her in Leon, Nicaragua. She got to see a Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) match in San Salvador, and met a white-boy American who competes there six months out of the year. She had pictures of the matches--one of them was "Black Man vs. Nazi". She hasn't seen Mark since Nicaragua, either...

The next day (last Thursday), we took a bus from Flores to Belize City. It was a bit of a shock to speak in English again, to say the least. A money changer asked if I wanted to change some dollars, and I automatically said "no, gracias", then slapped myself. Andrew didn't give the guy at customs the right answers, and so he only got 18 days on his stamp, instead of the typical 30 (he told the guy he didn't know where he was going, then said he was going to Belize City. When the customs agent asked how long he would be there, Andrew answered "oh, a couple of hours". The custom agent sighed and shook his head)

From Belize City, it was a 45 minute boat ride to Caye Caulker on a boat with three 200 hp outboard engines. One engine wasn't working properly, so the crew spliced the gas line from another engine to bypass a faulty fuel filter as we powered through the ocean.

Our first evening here, we ran into Josh and Kat, who we first met at Lago de Yojoa, Honduras. We hadn't seen them since Santa Ana, El Salvador. It was their last night in Central America, and we all went out to one of the local places--Rasta Pasta. They serve more pasta than you can eat, and 4-lb burritos. The tortilla itself was about 18" across. We ordered a conch fritter and crab rangoon appetizer, and enjoyed it a lot. The obviously-stoned busboy took our plates away, then a few minutes later showed up with another tray of appetizers. We told him that we had already had ours, but if they were going to throw the food away, we'd gladly eat it. The waiter (who was also pretty stoned) said that he screwed up and put in the order twice, so he let us have it. The stoned bus boy was hanging out by our table, trying to figure out what to do and where to go, so we asked if he wanted some fritters. He said "No, I'd better....well, yeah maybe one". He subsequently came back for two more, and dip to go along with it. It was fine with us, since we had way too much food, anyway.

The next day, we decided to switch hotels--our first one was only $15 USD but didn't have a kitchen or hang out area, and the bathroom was outside (and filled with cockroaches at 4 am) so we decided to move to Tina's Guesthouse. Tina's is not the most sparkly-clean place we've stayed, and at $20 per night the most expensive place since San Jose, Costa Rica, but it is about 30 feet from the ocean, has a kitchen, and a nice palm-tree shaded garden with hammocks and tables. We were only planning to stay a few nights in Belize, but now it has been nearly a week....

At Tina's, we ran into Pernilla, a Swedish girl that we had been with on the Guatemalan sailing trip. She managed to get about 10 shades darker in the few days she was on Caye Caulker. We hung out with her for the day, but she had to leave to get back to Guatemala City to fly home to Stockholm.

We went snorkeling at the reef one day (at only $20 USD for a half day, not a bad deal). It was beautiful, with tons of fish and really pretty coral, including some strange blue coral. We also saw urchins, sea cucumbers, mule conch, queen conch, etc. The highlight, though, was an area they call "Shark/Ray Alley". There, the boatman chums with sardines and within a few minutes, the boat is surrounded by nurse sharks and stingrays. The biggest nurse shark must have been 8 feet long. The largest ray was about 3.5 feet across and 5 feet long. It was creepy to get in the water with them swimming all around you.

After snorkeling, I scored a righteous sunburn on my back (from snorkeling), but no blisters, so I guess it could've been worse. We have spent our days hanging out and sometimes swimming from the small "beach" (most of the island is surrounded by sea grass). Andrew has been fishing every day, catching a smattering of assorted fish, some of which we have had for dinner. It is much cheaper to cook for yourself here--most restaurants average about $10 USD a plate for food, a bit of a shock after the rest of Central America!

We met our second Idahoan of the trip here, a girl from Aberdeen. Poor girl.

Tomorrow, we will leave for Merida Mexico. Internet is really expensive in Caye Caulker ($6 per hour), so we will post the pictures from Mexico.
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