Delicious Snowballs
He slumped down into a plastic, vacant rail station seat across from me, pausing for a moment as if to contemplate the enormity of the task he was about to undertake. His right hand held a European citrus soda while a package of six snowballs dangled from his right. Go…
Yavin 4 = Tikal
This morning while watching Star Wars, Episode 4, I noticed the skyline of Yavin 4 – the rebel base from which was launched the final attack on the Death Star – was familiar. It is a view from the top of one of the stepped pyramids at Tikal in Guatemala….
Fear begets subjection
In Dune Frank Herbert wrote, “fear is the mind killer.” Humans are designed to fear; it is a good evolutionary trait that kept us alive and away from velociraptors. However, it is reactionary and comes with the cost of loss of prescience. I would go so far at to surmise…
Belize day 8
Today is our last day in San Ignacio and last full day in the country. Sure, there are a few more activities we could have done — such as traveling to the more traditional Souh of the county — but I feel good that we covered enough of the country….
Belize Day 7
The excursion today was to ATM. We travelled the same path through the caves as did the Maya who believed it to be their underworld. Seeing 1300 year old relics and skeletal remains exactly as they were left was quite memorable. I can only imagine the experiences of the Maya…
Belize Day 6
The lesson of the day is: if you have the choice of driving or hiking up hill for one mile in 100% humidity you drive. We visited a smaller ruin today. Compared to Tical it is diminutive. Notably, the main temple had a fully restored frieze which was rather nice…
Belize Day 5
Today we visited Tikal in Guatemala via an all day tour. Our guide handled all of the border crossing details, and that was good because shotgun wielding militia are always intimidating. Generally, travel between Belize and Guatemala is a regular and uneventful affair. This was no always the case however….
Belize Day 5
The half-way point. More excellent food from the Howler Monkey Lodge. This mornings johnny cakes lasted well past just breakfast and became cashew fruit laden snacks a day hence. The Howler Monkey Lodge is part of a cooperative of farmers dedicated to reducing environmental impact and practicing sutainable farming. The…
Belize Day 4
For the most part, I feel this is verily a country in which I could live. Most importantly, there is a general friendliness exuded by the peoples here that seems quite genuine. Secondly, everyone seems quite happy to live in harmony with each other despite any racial, ethnic, or other…
Belize day 3
Today the wind is nonexistent. This makes for bad kite boarding but really good snorkeling. We had a 5 hour guided tour of amazing sea life and the coral reef. Fish, rays, and nurse sharks close enough to touch abounded. The reef itself was like an entirley new world. We…