TravelStream™ news feed for member travel.junkie on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/travel.junkie en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:14:41 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1216152540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1216152540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1216152540/tpod.html Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:14:41 -0400 One Month in Belize

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Caye Caulker, Belize Cayes, Belize

Got up early from San Ignacio and took the 8am bus back to belize city. It was all locals going to work, no tourists, which i love, so it was a fun ride in. I took a taxi to the airport to meet her and horray! she made it in one piece.we went to the water taxi and caught the noon taxi to the caye. Saxon was having some culture shock but seem pretty thrilled with the turquoise waters and palm fringed islands (to be cliche). We arrive 45 minutes later, went to 3 hotels before settling on the tropics. we got a private bungalo with a view of the ocean from our private porch, a bathroom, a fridge, two double beds and a tv with movie channels (for breaks from the unrelenting heat). oh, and a coffee maker. but no coffee? oh - and a clock with three jumping dolphins (sold me, for sure). its yellow and orange and we call it home.now we're just tanning and relaxing and going to be really early. the caye is stunning and we're stoked!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215997020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215997020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215997020/tpod.html Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:04:50 -0400 One Month in Belize

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Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Woke up early to catch my tour to Tikal, the great Mayan city, in Guatemala. There were 5 of us, plus our driver, going: a german couple and an american couple. Yup, i was the loner again but i'm learning to like it. We got to the border quickly, but at the border had to wait an hour for our driver to get across...not sure why. Then we had to switch vans and finally we were on our way. Guatemala is beautiful! we were driving through farmland and small towns, it was all so colourful and green and lush. It was for sure different from belize. Tikal took us 1.5 hours to get to, up into the national park. There our guide took us on a 4 hour tour, but really to see Tikal you need 3 whole days.regardless, 4 hours was good enough. Tikal dates back as far as 1100 BC, and by 700 AD was the largest city in meso-america, with more than 100,000 inhabitants. It's army was a force to be rekoned with, and they had a fully functioning society, with banks and houses, doctors and schools. What took us 4 hours to see was only a 1/5 of the whole site, and the whole site is only 25% of what the believe is still yet to be uncovered! so really, its huge. I won't go into details about all the different temples and structures we saw, but it was realy amazing. the highest one was a towering 150 feet into the sky, and a slighty terrifying climb to get atop. for sure, i clung to the wall the whole time. That was the highlight, but the whole day was spectacular.after lunch we hit the road, and two hours later were back at the border. got home in time for church and now its nighty night!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215905820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215905820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215905820/tpod.html Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:45:33 -0400 One Month in Belize

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San Ignacio, Belize

slept in until 730 today, which was a nice start. Then i went into town with Margaret and Cory, the family i'm staying with, to go to the local market. This wasn't a touristy market, a real locals market, which i liked. there was tons of fresh fruits and veggies, used clothing stalls everywhere, and some sweet belizean cooking going on. there were even some of those crazy mennonites selling cheese and cream in their suspenders and straw hats. I wandered around, bought some stuff for family, but mostly just watched people. Eventually i bought a pair of shorts, as all mine are knee length and i'm getting a sick farmer tan on my legs. (on another note, i got home in my new shorts, and found a tooth in the pocket. now that doesn't happen every day.)After i went home, changed, napped, and then hired a taxi to go to Xunantunich, a mayan ruin close to San Ignacio. My drivers name was Teddy Bear (theodore?) and he was really nice and informative. he took me over the hand cranked ferry that crosses the river and drove me right to the top, and waited while i toured. I got there later in the day, around 2, and it closed at 4, so i was one of the last people in the site. It was really amazing to be there alone, in the silence of the jungle and the shadow of a massive mayan temple. I climbed to the top and the view was just incredible. to the east was Guatemala and the border, and all around was the jungles of belize. to sit there alone was really quite the experience, no kids running around, no loud backpackers taking dumb photos. two hours mostly to myself, and i went back to meet Teddy. He helped me arrange my tour to tikal for tomorrow and then dropped me at home. And now...another long day...goodnight.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215829920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215829920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215829920/tpod.html Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:40:26 -0400 One Month in Belize

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San Ignacio, Belize

got up early and went into town to catch an ATM tour leaving at 830am. ATM is Aktun Tunikel Muknal, an anceint mayan sacrafice site deep in a cave. Yeah, if that doesn't wake you up, what will?So a one hour drive and then a one hour hike and we're at the mouth of the cave. We being the tour i'm with, mainly being two guys from Detriot i befriended, Matt and Justin. They were pretty big jerks, and i'm a big jerk, so we got on well pretty fast. There were four other people there, two couples, one of which was about to get married. Our guide, Renal, suggested he marry them deep in the cave. they said no. i don't understand why.Anyway, it was a huge desent into the cave. Most of it was though waist or neck high water, which was super cold, and then rest was squeezing through impossible rock tunnels and scaling up and down slippery walls. it was pretty much insane all around. We got to the site and removed our shoes and entered.It was so rad. Pottery from 2000 years ago was strewn everywhere, up and down walls, in the ground. Some pots were even stamped with a monkey symbol. These people were nuts man, how'd they know all this stuff? We saw a few good skulls which kind of melted my brain a little, and then a full body skeleton of a sacrificed teenage girl, after which the cave is named. It was unbelievable, just lying there in the dust, so old. What happened to her? it was so eerie.out of the cave and two hours back to town, Matt and Justin and I went out for dinner at Cafe Sol. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. delicious. then we got some drinks and made fun of people for a few hours and i retired at what i thought was 1am, but as i lay my head to rest, realized it was 10:30pm. So it goes.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215742920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215742920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1215742920/tpod.html Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:30:04 -0400 One Month in Belize

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San Ignacio, Belize

The team left and i am now here all on my lonesome. Travelling alone is both thrilling and lonely, but for the most part, its empowering. I am staying with a friend of Vera's, Margaret, and her son, Cory, on the hill above San Ignacio.Vera got me on the bus and Margaret picked me up. The countryside is beautiful, so lush and green and full of mennonites. I got here, lay in my bed and cried a little (don't tell my team, but i really missed them already) and then walked around town. San Ignacio is a nice town, full of hotels and hostels, colourful and warm. Warm as in people are nice, not temperature. Temperature is SMOKIN' hot (scientific term, i believe). While here i'm gonna pamper myself with hot, sweaty, dusty, dirty tours of ancient maya ruins. Some like spas and facials. Apparently i prefer to sweat and stick and be eaten alive by mammoth mosquitos. Each to their own.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1214878560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1214878560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1214878560/tpod.html Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:17:27 -0400 One Month in Belize

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Gales Point, Belize District, Belize

We arrived safely to Gales Point, Belize, with all 9 girls in tow.for the next two weeks, i refer you to the team travel blog:http://www.travelpod.com/members/belize2008it was a truely life changing two weeks!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1214878260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1214878260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1214878260/tpod.html Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:13:58 -0400 One Month in Belize

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Houston, Texas, United States

One groggy flight later, we arrive in texas with 45 minutes until our connecting flight. By the grace of God (literally) we were not only boarding at the same gate, but back onto the same plane (this was announced to us on the plane by the pilot, whom suzi and i met and chatted with in the line up for starbucks in seattle. he was truely impressed with our team and announced it to the whole plane). This afforded us time to get food, use a bathroom, brush our teeth, and take awful photos of each other looking like death. 1 hour later, we were back in the air.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1214795340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1214795340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/4/1214795340/tpod.html Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:11:15 -0400 One Month in Belize

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SeaTac, Washington, United States

Getting a team of 9 girls to seattle wasn't too bad, cause the company sent a brand new luxury bus. Apparently they needed to do test runs to break it in, which was fine by us. It was for sure the nicest bus i've ever seen, with flat screen tv's and a throne of a bathroom. we picked up sophie in Bellingham and hit up SeaTac, only to find our flight delayed almost two hours. At 1am, we finally got on board and headed for texas.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/3/1213832520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/3/1213832520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/3/1213832520/tpod.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:03:24 -0400 52 days in Africa

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Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

<i>Pre-Africa Disasters: <i>-no plane tickets until last Thursday ($15 short) <i>- no rent cheques from sublet for my room <i>-emotional fiascos with Pete <i>- cut off the tip of my index finger which is now useless and prone to infection <i>-last minute cavity and emergency drilling <i>-rash <i>-wallet stolen, credit cards used <i>-night before departure found out flight from Zanzibar to Dar Es Salaam was cancelled. <i>-June 17th, 2006 <i>&nbsp; The 24 hours leading up to a flight to Africa are like a bad acid trip. Emotions flee to far corners, only to return with friends and slam you onto your butt with the force of twelve quarterbacks. Heights of elation are met equally by a sheer and un-wavering terror sent to remind you of your possible insanity. Minutes run from you faster than you can catch them, and life is a rapidly speeding blur of clothing being shoved into a backpack, toiletries sealed in bags, checklists sitting under coffee cups growing longer even as more chores get the check mark. That is, until you realize you've been staring at a wall for 27 minutes, having dropped out of reality to avoid having a heart attack so that you can remain alive to get on a series of planes that may or may not crash you to a fiery death, to travel to a part of the world where you may or may not accidentally end up dead. I flew overnight, 11 hours to London. I spent 7 hours in heathrow International. We met as a team at our gate for the first time, and flew overnight another 10 hours to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. We landed and drove 6 hours to the town we worked in. I was in the same haze as when I did the interview. My eyes were foggy as I stared out the bus window, trying to take it in but my mind and body were overloaded. Each time the bus stopped, children came running, selling everything from hard boiled eggs to earrings. Images and colours hung from my shoulders, slowed me down, a yoke I bore. Instead of being overjoyed at new sensations, I longed for something familiar, aside from the Coca Cola stands. Everywhere, red and white: painted on the walls of mud huts, banners hanging from thatches roofs, gigantic blow up Coke bottles. If you used Coke's logo, they paid for your company sign. I longed for my bed, a warm shower, my boyfriend, an episode of Friends, the sensation of mediocre cleanliness, Zesty Doritos, a normal convenience store that doesn't sell machetes. after two back to back flights, and a six hour drive, we arrived in korogwe. we ate, unpacked, and slept. we had to start work tomorrow morning.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/costa_rica--07/1186007940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/costa_rica--07/1186007940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travel.junkie/costa_rica--07/1186007940/tpod.html Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:55:31 -0400 Team Money takes on Central America

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La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Suzi and i spent the whole week in tamarindo because of our sunburns. It was not the plan. the plan was to see the rest of the Nicoya Peninsula, but the pain was too great. The burns on my body bounced back quick (I am the only irishman with an olive skin tone), but my face felt like someone poured wax on it. It was scaley and crisp, but do-able. Suzi, on the other hand, is a pale french-canadian. She blames her pale skin. I blame the quebecois in general. Anyway, she fried right up, red as a lobster's ass. We spent a few days in the shade, but our surf-fevers got the best of us and we were back in the water as quick as possible. Those few days on the beach got me all revved up and when we went back, i stayed in the water for six hours without a break. I made friends with some locals and they pulled me out behind the tourists and made sure i caught some waves. Ah, territorial surfing. It felt fantastic, and i definitely up'd my skill level with some tico coaching. My private team of tico surf coaches, cheering and screaming at anyone dropping in on me. we made lots of friends with people in our hostel and went out for dinner every night with different combinations. We attempted to do some shopping but tamarindo (tama-gringo) is expensive and small. except for $1 beers, those are nice. then, today, our fellow Team Money member flew into Liberia. we woke early and caught the public bus at 9am. it weaved in and out of towns all morning long, filled and emptied, the ebb and flow of tico life coming and going. we passed festivals and schools and farms. it was stunning. Nicole landed at noon and we met up right away. Now, to get to La Fortuna. First we taxi'd into Liberia to the bus stop. Then we decided to take a taxi to a town about an hour away where a connecting bus left earlier than the one here. Okay. Our taxi driver took us up through the hills of the country and the three of us caught up and ate some kind of local food stuffed in a pastry. we got dropped off at a bus stop in somewhere. I couldn't pronounce the name, and called it Tear-na-nog (from a book). We walked around, bought bread and juice, and found a store that sold Volcom for under $10. it was closed. shame. our bus came after an hour and it was luxury, cozy seats and big windows. we took the back and Nicole and Suzi watched SpyGame on my dvd player and i listened to music and looked out the window. one of my favourite hobbies. The ebb and flow of locals continued, and soon enough, the volcano appeared. it loomed on the horizon, calling to us. We loaded up and trekked our bags off the bus. We made our way to Arenal's Backpacker Resort, a 5 star hostel. and 5 star it was. it has a great pool, a swim up bar, a fantastic view of the volcano, huge mattresses and steaming hot showers. It has brand new computers, a restaruant and a bar with great drink specials. They also have a desk for booking tours and they did give really good deals, made it really easy for people like us with not much time. I highly reccomend it. we checked in - and not a minute too late as it was full by dinner - and went in search of food. We passed a few expensive looking places, and found a nice spanish restaurant. We sat, breathed, and ordered fondue (ah the french). Next we had massive burritos and nicole and i downed some local beer and everyone felt relieved. It was a long day, but it was pretty easy and we were all together. Team Money, day one.
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