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Central America

January - February 2020
A 18-day adventure by Miranda Read more
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  • TravelerCentral America
    Day 2

    Day 1

    January 28, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    Arrived in Cancun and caught the ADO bus to Playa Del Carmen. I sat beside this very eccentric elderly lady from Texas who told me her live story. She was travelling alone and was quite overmeled at the thought of finding her apartment alone, so I gave her a hand. In return, she offered me her half eaten airplane cookie. Too bad I was full lol.

    After arriving at the bus station in Playacar, I walked aimlessly around the downtown area looking for my hostel as the directions weren't very clear. Also, the streets and avenues dont go up in intervals of 1, so that added to my confusion.

    Once I finally arrived at the hostel I checked into my room and met one of my roommates who was also from Canada. We met up with the rest of the tour group at a restaurant fairly close to our hostel then walked around a bit before heading to bed for the night. My other roommate was from Germany and works as a dance teacher. There were a total of 10 of us including people from Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Germany and Switzerland.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral America
    Day 3

    Day 2

    January 29, 2020 in Mexico ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    There were 5 of us that decided to travel to Tulum, which was about 1 hour away from Playacar to see the Mayan Ruins and the beach. The town served as a major gateway for connecting the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico with the Mayan peoples of Honduras and modern-day Central America. We did lots of walking through the ruins then headed to the beach for a well deserved swim. The beach was nice and quiet and the water was super warm!

     We then caught the collectivo and headed back north to Jardin de Eden to see the cenote (pronounced sen-oat). Cenotes are sink holes that resulted from collapsing limestone. It was a smaller body of water with large rocks displaced throughout the water. There were people scuba diving and snorkeling as there was quite a bit of marine life. The water was turquoise and the entire atmosphere was so calming and refreshing. We stayed for a few hours then headed back to Playacar on the collectivo. I guess I should explain what that is... A collectivo is a shuttle bus that travels on the main highway to all of the smaller areas surrounding the big cities. They are typically very inexpensive at about 30-50 pesos per person depending on how far you are travelling. It is definitely the way to go if you do not have a car rental and don't want to get scammed by the taxi drivers.

    Once we arrived back in Playacar it started pouring! Playacar does not have the infrastructure to drain that much water so the streets were all flooded and very slippery. It definitely affects the street vendors as many of them have to close during this time or get minimal walking traffic because of the rain. The 5 of us went for supper this authentic mexican restaurant which was quite tasty! They had very cheap margaritas, so we couldn't complain.

    We grabbed some snacks from the local 711 after supper which was an adventure in itself. The men from the bank had come to take the money out of the ATM which meant that there were 2 gunmen standing in front of the chip aisle. So we grabbed our snacks and got the heck out of dodge. Then back to the hostel so we could rest before our 530 am wake up call!    Read more

  • TravelerCentral America
    Day 4

    Day 3

    January 30, 2020 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Let me tell ya, 530 AM came quick! We packed up our belongings and checked out of the hostel and all 10 of us took a private bus to Belize. Before we left Mexico, we had to cross through the border in Chutemal and pay them $30 US in order to leave.

    Then we drove to customs in Belize, which was thankfully very uneventful. We said goodbye to our very kind Mexican bus driver and headed on a chicken bus to Belize with many locals. Chicken buses are old American school buses that America sells to Belize to transport people... or chickens. They stop every 15 min at each bus stop so the ride was very long, but definitely scenic. Belize is also a very impoverished country, similar to Mexico, so many of the locals live in very small shacks. Their minimum wage is only 3 Belizian dollars which works out to $1.5 USD per hour. It is definitely higher than Mexico, as Mexico's minimum wage is 60 pesos per DAY, which is about $4 USD.

    After about a 4 hour bus ride with the locals, we made it to Belize City and headed to the port where we boarded the Ferry to travsl to Caye Caulker (pronounced Key Cocker). This is a Caye, which is similar to an island but not the same. An island is usually a result of a volcano erupting and comprised of limestone, and a caye is made of sand which develops on top of a coral reef.

    We wandered the island (even though its not an island) and went for dinner at a local seafood restaurant. After dinner we wandered to one of the sports bar for some karaoke and dancing!    Read more

  • TravelerCentral America
    1
    Day 5

    Day 4.

    January 31, 2020 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We began the day by grabbing some breakfast then got sized for our snorkel gear. The snorkel tour company was called Raggamuffin Tours and was quite popular on the island. We jumped on the boat and drove for about an hour before making our first snorkel stop. The guides were very knowledgeable about the marine life that was in the area. We saw many stingrays, tropical fish (including Dory!), turtles and even a few sharks! No worries though, the sharks that were in the area, called Caribbean reef sharks, have very small teeth and do not typically attack humans. There were a total of three snorkelling stops – two within the actual reserve itself (the Hol Chan Channel and the Shark and Ray Alley) and our third Coral Gardens and an additional 2 further sightseeing stops – Tarpon View (which is a kind of endangered fish) and watching for manatees.

    We had lunch on the boat which included rice, beans, coleslaw and a choice of chicken or chickpeas. The most common foods on the island are coconut rice, beans and seafood.

    We returned back to the island around 4 and relaxed by the beach and watched the sunset while sitting in our hammocks. It was a very busy day so everyone headed to bed fairly early after visiting the local shops.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral America
    Day 6

    Day 5.

    February 1, 2020 in Belize ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    We embraced the motto of the island "go slow" today and did lots of relaxing. We visited the smaller shops and enjoyed the beautiful weather. All of the locals and tourists travel by golf carts as all of the land is covered in sand and it gets quite muddy when it rains. We went for fresh seafood again for supper and might stop by one of the street shops for some dessert.

    Tomorrow we leave for San Ignacio, Guatemala at 8 am. We travel by ferry back to Belize City then by chicken bus to Guatemala. It was wonderful experiencing the Creole culture within Belize and trying their delicious food. Creole food usually tomato based and they use lots of rice, beans and seafood.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral America
    Day 7

    Day 6.

    February 2, 2020 in Belize ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today we travelled by the water taxi from Caye Caulker to Belize City then took another chicken bus to San Ignacio, Belize. We arrived at our hostel around 1 PM then took a taxi to the ancient Mayan ruins in Xunantunich. We had to cross a river on the car ferry before walking to the ruins. They cannot build a permanent bridge for cars and walking traffic as the tide fluctuates quite drastically throughout the rainy season. The ruins were absolutely breath taking as the area has been very well maintained for centuries.

    For supper, we travelled to a small town outside of San Ignacio to visit the Women's Pottery Co-op that G Adventures helps sponsor through the Planterra Project. The project helped to fund a space for the pottery workshop and provides job opportunities for women in the community. The pottery techniques are those used by the ancient Mayans that has been passed down through generations. A few of the other members of my group also tried their hand at pottery which was very entertaining for the locals! The community also served us a traditional Belizian dinner that is also funded through the project.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral America
    Day 8

    Day 7. San Ignacio

    February 3, 2020 in Belize ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    Today was a full day of caving! We travelled to a smaller town to visit the ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) caves. We walked through multiple rivers then strapped on our helmets and headlamps to explore the ancient Mayan ruin artifacts and beautiful crystals and stelectides. After a full day in the caves we had lunch then headed back to the hostel. Unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures in the caves as past tourists damaged the artifacts with their cameras (probably Americans lol)Read more

  • TravelerCentral America
    Day 9

    Day 8. San Ignacio and Tikal, Guatemala

    February 4, 2020 in Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    Today we woke up bright and early and drove from San Ignacio to the National Park in Tikal, Guatemala. We went on a guided tour through the rainforest and saw lots of spider monkeys! We also climbed the ruins, including the ruin that was featured in episode 4 of Star Wars.

    We continued on our journey to Flores for the night. The town is on a little island and is very beautiful. And I also go to see tuk tuks for the first time!!    Read more

  • TravelerCentral America
    Day 10

    Day 9 - Rio Dulce

    February 5, 2020 in Guatemala ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Today we traveled from Flores to our hotel in Rio Dulce which is a small city. Our hotel is actually located on a small island that is a couple minute boat ride from the city. The hotel is in the middle of the jungle and the hotel rooms are cabin style. After settling in, we took a boat to another small village that had natural hot springs. We relaxed in the hot springs and ate coconuts from the locals!

    We also found a little kitten that lives on the island that looks just like Willow! We decided to name her Dumpling as we had had a previous discussion on which foods could be considered dumplings, haha.    Read more

  • TravelerCentral America
    Day 11

    Day 10 - Rio Dulce

    February 6, 2020 in Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    I started the day by waking up early and kayaking next to the sunrise to visit the howler monkeys. Howler monkeys are a bit larger than spider monkeys and make a very loud howling/barking noise.

    After the kayak, we had breakfast then went for a walk through the rainforest to visit the nearby rubber plantation. The rest of the day was meant for relaxing by the pool!    Read more

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