Looking back: Bonus shots

We had to leave out a lot of things that we wanted to talk about during the trip or else we would've been up until 3 a.m. every night blogging. We took about 500 pictures and have only posted a small number of them, so here are a few more that we'd like to share:

LISA: We saw this fruit at a roadside stand in Tulum. Mom and Dad, if you know what this is, call me.


LISA: I felt like I was in a postcard the first time I saw the beach at Tulum.


LISA: I know it doesn't look like much, but it was really scary to walk on this wooden bridge in San Ignacio during our birdwatching expedition. I felt like Indiana Jones.


LISA: I know my eyes are closed in this picture, but this place (where we saw all the medicinal herbs) was so special and it really re-motivated me to continue learning about natural healing.


GREG: I trimmed my beard as close as I could before we left, but after a week it was getting scraggly, so I stopped at "Larry's New Look Barber Shop" in San Ignacio for a quick trim. It cost one dollar.


GREG: We introduced you to Orvin, a kid we met in San Ignacio, on one of our posts. A couple days later we met his brother and sister, Hector and Kendra. They were born in Honduras and speak four languages: Spanish, English, Garifuna, and Creole. They were really sweet kids and we promised to send them this picture when we got back. We also hope to send them some school supplies and other stuff.


GREG: This was an awesome bakery/sweet shop called "Sweet Ting" that had delicious homemade desserts. Unfortunately we found out about it on our last night in San Ignacio. Dad, you would have spent most of your time here.


LISA: We went to a lot of really great restaurants, especially in San Ignacio. Hanna's was my favorite. It specialized in Belizean, Indian, and Asian cuisine, with lots of vegetarian options -- and many of their fruits and vegetables were organically grown. In the four days we were there, we ate there at least five times. That's me waving, eagerly anticipating the rice and beans with coconut.


GREG: Here's where we got our laundry done in Caye Caulker. I just thought this was a cool shot.


LISA: We kept hearing about mangroves when we got to Tulum. Greg thought they were some kind of fruit, and I thought they were some kind of monkey. This is what they actually are -- trees whose roots help form the land on the coasts of the Yucatan and Belize and provide a home for lots of sea life.


GREG: Los Arcos, the last place we stayed, was a virtual museum. David, the owner, is an avid collector of art and artifacts from around the world, and they are literally everywhere in the house. On our first day there he asked me to go get the ice bucket from our room so he could fill it up. I was about this close to taking him the white object you see on the right in the photo below, which I think is actually a marble tortilla warmer -- in any case, it's a collector's item, not an ice tray.


LISA: This was our last dinner of our honeymoon, at a really nice restaurant in Merida. Greg tasted caviar for the first time. Neither of us was very impressed. But the rest of the meal was great. By the way, yes, I am wearing my wedding dress. When I bought it, I wanted to make sure it was something I could wear again on special occasions and not just have it hanging in a closet.


GREG: While we're on the topic of food, this was part of our final breakfast at Los Arcos B&B -- the best granola/fruit/yogurt mix I've ever had. And the crazy thing was, he bought the granola, which we both thought was painstakingly hand-dipped in honey, at Costco!!


LISA: There were many crystal shops in Merida. This one, Mineralia, had an amazing assortment of crystals and fossils. I could've spent all day there. I bought several crystals for my friends and for the healing/yoga/meditation room I created in our house.


LISA AND GREG: When we were leaving Los Arcos, David lit a candle for us, which he told us is something he does whenever a guest leaves his home. We thought it was really cool. Here's our lit candle (at the top of the photo) in a stand he purchased that used to be in a church in Merida.



That's it for now. We may add some final thoughts tomorrow.

Day 14 - Merida

LISA: Today was the last full day of our trip. We woke up this morning at Los Arcos, a bed and breakfast run by David Reed, a retired business man from Richmond, Virginia. He now spends his time as an artist. We've liked every place we've stayed on our trip but this may be our all time favorite. It is beautiful and we wish we could spend more time exploring it. David, is an avid collector of art from different parts of the world and there are treasures in every corner of the house. There are also a lot of different plants and many lizards. There are only two guest rooms so it is very peaceful and we feel like we are guests at somebody's house (which we are). We were served a delicious breakfast this morning, of orange juice, coffee, fresh fruit with yogurt, huevos a la mexicana and a variety of choices of Mexican sweet bread. The other guests are a veteran teacher and a museum exhibit designer from New Jersey. We had a great time talking to them and shared our hopes that Obama will win and help improve the education system (amongst other things). Here are a couple of pictures from Los Arcos, including the entrance to our room, a spiral staircase inside the main house, and the swimming pool.




GREG: We spent most of the day today walking around Merida, doing some shopping, and swimming in the pool (twice) because it was SO HOT. Here's me calling my mom and dad from one of the Casetas Telefonicas that are really popular in Mexico. They're basically little storefronts where you can use a booth to call long distance to other parts of Mexico or other countries and they charge you by the minute. It's much more convenient than trying to use a phone card, but as you can see, the booths are pretty tiny. Still, it's more room than I had on the school bus yesterday.


LISA AND GREG: One final shot from Caye Caulker that we forgot to include yesterday -- sunrise on our last day there. Lisa shot this as she did her morning meditation out on the beach.

Days 12 & 13 - Caye Caulker/Bus to Merida

LISA: Our last day in Caye Caulker was another relaxing day. When we were planning our honeymoon we set it up so the last days would be calm and rejuvenating. So this has been good for us. In the morning we went to a restaurant/store/spa place called Coco Plum. It's on a very secluded part of the island surrounded by palm trees and other tropical plants. Here is a picture of the path leading to it:



The place was very interesting. The food was delicious and the space was beautiful -- unfortunately the owner also made some comments that were pretty biased and offensive toward Belizeans. It's late (for me, not Greg, who loves to stay up) and I don't have the energy to give details, but I will share at another time. I might even write an article about it. We also saw more of the island and its people but I'll let Greg tell you more about that.

GREG: Caye Caulker is a tiny island -- the inhabited part is only a mile long, and it's only wide enough for four streets: Front Street, Middle Street, Back Street, and Back Back Street. Most of the guest houses, restaurants, and tour operators are on Front Street, but if you venture to the other side of the island you get more of a view of how life is lived by those who call this place home. Belize has an interesting mix of cultural groups (descendants of Africans, Mayans, English, and various mixtures of those three, plus large communities of East Indians, Chinese, and Mennonites), and most of them are present here on Caye Caulker. Since there are no cars, bikes and golf carts (mostly bikes) are the vehicles of choice, though you can walk anywhere on the island in about 15-20 minutes.




We spent a good chunk of Monday afternoon reading on the porch of our guest house. It faces east, so by 1:00 it's in full shade for the rest of the day (really nice when it's 95 outside). Lisa just finished reading The Soul of Money, and I'm trying to finish Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope, which I started months ago but have never found the time to finish. Lisa reads about four times faster than I do, so seeing her start and finish books in the time it takes me to read a few chapters can get quite annoying.


GREG: Yesterday (Tuesday) was another long travel day. First we took a water taxi from Caye Caulker to Belize City, then a bus from there to Chetumal, Mexico, and then another bus from Chetumal to Merida. We were on the road (or the water) from 6:30 am until about 7:30 pm. The most interesting leg of the trip was the bus from Belize City to Chetumal. We took a "second-class" bus because it left 90 minutes earlier than the "first-class" bus, so we thought it might get us there quicker. It's also a little cheaper. The downside is that it is an uncomfortable bus , and it stops about every hundred yards to pick somebody up or drop somebody off. So what would've been a 2 1/2 hour drive took about 4 1/2 hours. It was like driving from Chicago to St. Louis on a school bus route. The upside was that we got to see a lot of the Belizean countryside, and it was interesting to see all the different people who used the bus as their means of getting where they need to go.

We arrived in Merida late -- only had time for dinner (after a lunch of hot cereal and chocolate chip cookies). But the place we're staying here is really beautiful. We'll have some pictures of it for our next post.

Day 11 - Caye Caulker

LISA & GREG: Today was, by design, a pretty uneventful day. Our plan was to just take it easy without any activities or excursions -- really for the first time since our trip began. We thought maybe we'd just take a walk and then relax and perhaps watch a movie in our air-conditioned room. But right as the hottest part of the day was beginning, the power went out on half of the island -- our half. The thought of staying in a hot room wasn't very appealing, so we decided to take a walk -- a very long, sweaty, unshaded walk. The power was still out when we got back so we walked up to "the split" (where Caye Caulker is literally split in two by the ocean) and swam a little, but mostly watched a group of small kids play in the water. It was cool to see the many different shades of kids -- black, Creole, Latino, Chinese -- playing together and having a ball. (Sorry, no camera to capture this moment.) The power was finally restored about 5 hours later, and we are sitting here writing this in a nice, cool room. Here's a shot of us on the dock right outside where we're staying.


GREG: Mike Baer, here's a shot just for you. Thought you'd appreciate this full-length basketball court on Caye Caulker just a few feet from the ocean. Two interesting things about this serious pick-up game we watched: one, most of the kids were playing bare-footed, and two, it was a co-ed game, which is pretty rare for kids this age, at least in Chicago.


GREG: Last item for today: Just wanted to say that I think Lisa set a new world's record in packing for this trip. I was determined (Lisa might say obsessed) that we would travel light for this vacation -- carry-ons only, no checked baggage. Considering that we'd be gone for 14 days, that's not such an easy task. Here are the bags we took -- Lisa's is the red one, mine is the grey one.


I thought I had done well to fit everything I needed (minus a couple items that went in a small backpack) in my bag -- a total of 32 items. But when I watched Lisa unpack her bag the first time, I couldn't believe how much she pulled out of there. It was like a magic trick or something -- the clothes just kept coming. She somehow managed to fit 65 items into her bag, including 21 blouses or t-shirts, 4 long skirts, 3 summer dresses, 4 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of long pants, 2 bathing suits, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of sandals, and a whole lot more. So if you ever need advice on how to pack light and still take a lot with you, call Lisa.

Day 10 - Caye Caulker - snorkeling

LISA AND GREG: First thing this morning we headed out to choose a snorkeling tour for the day. Our first stop was Carlos Tours, which was strongly recommended by our travel guide. However, when we got there a sign informed us that they were already booked for the day. Luckily Carlos drove up on his golf cart (there are no cars on Caye Caulker) and told us he'd add us on to the day's tour if we wanted to go. It was a full-day tour and initially we had planned to only do a half-day, but it sounded so cool that we decided to go for it.

Carlos (along with his partner) took the ten of us on his motor boat to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve which encompasses part of the world's second longest barrier reef--180 miles. The ride took about 15 minutes. There he anchored the boat and after putting on our snorkeling gear we jumped in the water. At first we only saw sea grass but soon he led us to different areas where we saw many different types of coral, fish and other sea life. Obviously we couldn't take our camera under water but fortunately for us (and for him since he charges for the pictures) he brought along a great underwater camera and took some amazing pictures. Here is some of what we saw:





We stopped at another island, San Pedro, for lunch and then continued on to 2 more snorkeling spots.

LISA: We saw tons of marine life, but for me the two most magical ones where the sea turtles and manatees. I've wanted to see a turtle for so long and I knew it was a possibility today. I have been praying for this a very long time. So there we were in the water and since I am not a very strong swimmer I was always way behind the others (except for Greg who was always trying to keep on eye on me). Then there it came, a sea turtle. It swam so close to me. I was completely overwhelmed with its grace and beauty. I learned that it's very hard to feel so moved when you are trying to keep a breathing tube in your mouth. It took a lot of self control not to follow the turtle and follow our group instead. I know that I will never forget this moment.



LISA: Although I never really thought much about manatees, it was awesome to see them in the water. It's pretty rare to actually see them on a snorkeling tour, but there we were swimming when a manatee came by. We got a really close look at it and I felt like I could just reach out and hug it. Again, I was struck by its beauty and when I saw it, I realized that I had found another favorite animal. Throughout the snorkeling tour, but especially when I saw the turtles and manatees, all I could do was marvel at all the beauty God has created and be grateful for it.


GREG: But that wasn't it. We still had one more eye-popping experience to go. Carlos said it would be highly unlikely to see this creature in the Caribbean, because it usually is found in more northerly climates. But we got lucky again, and got an up-close look at the Squintidium dorcidus, better known, of course, as the Squinty-eyed North Carolina Dorkfish. Here's Lisa with one:


LISA AND GREG: We've now seen and done everything we'd hoped to see and do (and more) on this trip, so from here on, it's just icing on the cake -- speaking of which, it's dinner time.

Day 9 - San Ignacio to Caye Caulker

LISA AND GREG: We thought today was going to be a pretty uneventful travel day, and we planned to share some of our reflections about our time in San Ignacio. But things didn't work out that way. Our favorite cab driver, Mitch, picked us up at 9:20 to take us to the "bus station" in nearby Santa Elena. Here's Mitch:


Our bus, which was supposed to pick us up at 10:00, didn't end up arriving until noon, so we spent a couple hours talking with Gina, who is in charge of the "station" (really just a bare office with two chairs out front), and her husband, Elias. They were great and were able to educate us on various aspects of Belizean life, including education, the health care system, and race relations. (We'll share more about this later.) Here's Lisa waiting for the bus.


LISA: While we waited we observed many people pass by, a vast majority of whom Elias and Gina knew. One of these was Leopoldo, a renowned Mayan healer. Elias introduced us to him and I spent some time listening to part of his amazing story. He explained that he had recently worked with researchers from the University of Connecticut and The New York Botanical Gardens, sharing his knowledge of medicinal plants. I was very excited and grateful to have met him and I hope that I can return to San Ignacio to learn from him. Here is a picture of us with "Polo" as he is known.


LISA AND GREG: When our bus finally came, it was full -- no seats. Apparently buying an advanced ticket does not guarantee you a seat. So we had to wait some more. Finally, another bus came and we took the last two seats, in front of a family of Mennonites from Canada. About 40 minutes later, we stopped at a small village and there were about 15 college-aged backpackers from Belgium and other European countries waiting by the side of the road. Their bus had broken down, so even though we had no seats on ours, they had to cram on because ours was the last bus of the day. Most of them sat on the floor. It was crowded, but everybody seemed happy to be getting closer to Belize City, where we would take a water taxi to our destination, Caye Caulker.

About 20 minutes later, we heard a big crash. Lisa saw the front window of the bus shatter and a lot of the glass landed on several of the passengers in front. What happened was that a big rock from a passing pick-up truck had flown out and crashed into our windshield. The bus driver pulled over and we all had to get off in the middle of nowhere to apply first aid to those who needed it.


For a couple minutes we weren't sure how, or if, we were going to continue to Belize City, but when Lisa asked the bus driver, he informed her that there would be no other buses coming, and no national rescue squad dispatched, so we had to clean up as much as we could of the glass and then keep going, at a reduced speed, minus one windshield. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. It could have been a lot worse than it was.

We got to Belize City and luckily caught a water taxi right away for the 45-minute ride to Caye Caulker. The door to the suite we're staying in literally opens right onto the Caribbean -- we're only a few feet from the water's edge. Here's the place and the view from our front porch.




LISA AND GREG: We haven't done much exploring yet, but we're looking forward to tomorrow. A full moon tonight provided a beautiful backdrop for a walk on the beach. Here's Lisa's moon salutation.

Day 8 - San Ignacio

GREG: This morning we took a cab down the Western Highway to a "jungle lodge" called Chaa Creek. I'd ever heard of a jungle lodge until I started researching our trip, but there are a bunch of them in Belize and all over Central America. Basically they are pretty pricey getaways in the middle of the jungle with many of the amenities those who can afford to go there would expect (the "cabanas" at Chaa Creek are about $300-$400 a night, and some lodges are even more). It seems to me that it gives guests the experience of being on a safari and being pampered at the same time. OK, so that's my one-sided view. The owners of Chaa Creek have also done a lot to preserve the surrounding ecosystem, and were one of the first of the "ecotourism" movement.

Anyway, Chaa Creek also has lots of activities that the peons from other places can enjoy (for a price), so that's where we went this morning. The cab ride was fun because our cabbie narrated his take on Belizean culture and politics the whole time: "See that house?" he said as we passed a lavish mansion. "The toilet paper man lives there. That's his business. Toilet paper. Pretty good business." He was full of insight and local trivia.

LISA: One reason I really wanted to go was because they have a medicinal trail created by Dr. Rosita Arvigo. I hadn't heard about her until we began reading about Belize but I was immediately interested in her work. About 20 years ago she became an apprentice to a Mayan healer, a "curandero" who lived very close to San Ignacio, He healed with different plants found in the Belizean jungle. I'm currently reading her biography and it is fascinating. Growing up my parents had (and still do) a lot of faith in natural healing, especially in using herbs to heal different ailments. I vividly remember my mom giving me various teas to treat my cough, colds, stomach cramps. So it's always felt natural to me to turn to the plant world to find remedies. Even though we were hot, sticky and being bitten by mosquitoes, walking the medicinal trail was amazing. It was so cool to see the different plants and read about their many uses. Western science is finally paying attention and there is currently a lot of research on the healing properties of many of these plants.




























GREG: While at Chaa Creek we also visited their Blue Morpho Butterfly Farm, which is dedicated to preserving the presence of the Blue Morpho in this region. It's a stunning butterfly, with wings that look electric blue when the sun hits them.


While we were in the butterfly house two Blue Morphos landed on my head and stayed there the whole time. I tried to summon one to land on my finger, but it didn't work.



LISA: We decided to canoe the 7 miles back to San Ignacio instead of taking a cab. We were going with the current so that helped but it was still definitely a work out. However, it was totally worth it.




The Macal River was beautiful and peaceful and we saw some pretty birds that we hadn't seen yesterday. When we were almost at San Ignacio we even saw a river otter! It was so exciting (but the camera was unreachable so we missed getting a picture). We were starving when we finally got back and we had another one of our great Belizean meals.

GREG: We leave early tomorrow on a bus to Belize City and then a water taxi to Caye Caulker, a tiny island off the coast. We'll spend the next four nights on the island.