http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Brad of the Jungle/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Brad of the Jungle en-us Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:59:45 BST Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:59:45 BST Although I knew that Hurricane Season officially started on June 1st I did not think it would begin with such punctuality and force. As soon as it hits June these rains and storms unleash their annual pounding of central america without hesitation. We noticed on the weather channel that Hurricane Alma recently started up in Nicaragua and we would be flying over the region the next day. Yowza Fo http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Alajuela/Arenal/blog-291087.html So the reality of the blog is that this wonderful trip is now over by about 2 weeks...but I still have 2 more posts to do So here goesChill out. Relax. Chillax The Official Mom Section of the trip began in Belize City. I arrived early to the airport with my iPod and waited for her arrival. Although a bit late she finally came drudging out of the passenger area and bellows You don't know the H http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Belize-Barrier-Reef/Caye-Caulker/blog-281531.html Hello friendsThis edition of the blog is going to cover quite a bit of time and locations. We tackled the Yucatan peninsula and Belize over the last 10 days or so. We have done alot AFter our caves and volcanoes in Guatamala Dave and I did an epic 16 hour day of bus rides to arrive in the deeply important city of Cancun. We passed through many small villages and beautiful jungles. It was hard t http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Belize-Barrier-Reef/Caye-Caulker/blog-278061.html Nonstop action We endure more sweaty bus rides and miles of loose rocks called roads until we arrive in the far flung communities of Lanquin and Semuc Champey. Dave and I broke off from the ladies for this adventure they went to a big Guatamalen market to shop. The big attraction here are the caves. We arrive late in the afternoon and head directly for the cavernous Lanquin Caves. We are told http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Semuc-Champey/blog-275623.html Holey Moley...the adventure never ends We begin our time in Guatamala by arriving in the strangely clean and comfortable city of Antigua. This is in stark contrast to the raw and difficult landscape that lays outside of the city. Cobble stone streets brightly painted buildings interesting decaying churches and large fountain filled town squares will be our jumping off point to several nearby at http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/Antigua/blog-274615.html Although our stay on mainland Nicaragua was absurdly brief I felt a trip to the corn islands was good for several reasons. First I felt our vacation needed an injection of relaxation. We were regularly getting up at 4am or earlier to catch buses to the next destination. Inevitably our backpacks would end up spewing all of our clothes camera gear wet stuff etc all over the room. Packing and http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Corn-Islands/blog-272916.html BuenasI am titalated that you guys are enjoying our journey. Although I am falling a bit behind with these posts I will not be deterred I am typing this one on my iphone. It feels a little strange hunting down computers to reconnect with the digital world when I am surrounded by such nondigitalness. I have a selfimposed conflict about it actually. Part of me saysswoop into analog and ex http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Dominical/Playa-Dominicalito/blog-271017.html And into the jungle we go Corcovado Park is in the Osa Peninsula on the far southwest of Costa Rica. Not many tourists bother to go to this park as it requires a fair amount of difficult travel. This is good news for hearty explorers like us as it leaves the animals and vistas in pure form. We did take 1 pretty serious shortcut in that we took a small plane into Puerto Jimenez. This allowed us to http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Osa-Peninsula/Puerto-Jimenez/blog-271004.html Ahoy friendsI am filled with joy that you are reading my little blog Last night was a getting to know each other night. We went to a local bar and grill that attempted to approximate a typical USA sports bar. It tasted good but missed on some of the details...like they forgot to fry my country fried steak it was grilled instead. We had our first taste of Imperial Costa Ricas beer and pla http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/San-Jose/blog-269066.html Greetings friendsSo things have gotten off to a great start much better than last years car problems. Scott and I took a 2am flght to San Jose. I really enjoy being in the International terminal of the airport. It feels as though you are already in another country even though you are just a few moving platforms away from flights to Deluth. I attempted my first spanish interaction with a Guatama http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/blog-268746.html Come with meI am on the brink of another adventure in Latin America. It will take me through Costa Rica Nicaragua Honduras El Salvador Guatemala and Belize. Last time many of you kept me company through this blog. I truly appreciated it and I hope you will peek into the trip now and then. I hope to improve Version 2.0 with audio and video. Lucky for me I have real life travel buddies this ti http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Los-Angeles/Venice-Beach/blog-267445.html Hello friendsI finally wrangled this Galapagos video onto the web. This post will conclude my 1st South America trip report only 9 months late. Who wants to join me on the upcoming sequel to this trip httpvideo.google.comvideoplaydocid2181125486606282688 KaBlamo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Galapagos-Islands/blog-233591.html The final leg of the mainland Ecuador trip has just wrapped up tonight. This section was more focused on cultural markets and towns and consequently less adrenaline packed. It was actually nice to relax and take things in at a casual pace. Some of the highlights included going to the Equator at Latitude Longitude measurement of 0 0 0. Strangely enough there are actually 2 monuments for this specia http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Otavalo/blog-148729.html Aloha mis amigos After a rip roaring good time in the jungle we had to depart back to civilization. A shame really cause I could easily spend weeks or months exploring the Amazon. In fact I am reading a book about a guy who kayaked the entire 4500 miles of the river. Pretty amazing. After a long bus trip we landed in a town called banos. It is a hub for adventure activities and fun bars. It is http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Ba%F1os/blog-147318.html hi friends. Please forgive me for this MegaPosthellipbut it is trying to capture 4 rad days of jungle. My journey has carved deeper into the heart of Ecuador. It has been exciting aweinspiring and heart breaking. After a few more bumpy bus rides we arrive in the jungle town of Tena. This is where many of the Amazon families and tours stock up on supplies. Our guide suggested we buy some food http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Tena/blog-145955.html Buenas So I spent the beginning of the next day comparing and bargaining for a sweet Galapagos scuba diving trip for when I return to Quito. After quite a bit of walking and hand gesturing I came across an amazing boat that will hit all of the best dive spots in the galapagos. It will be ridiculous. Later that day I met up with my tour group. I will be spending massive amounts of time with thes http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Quito/blog-145886.html Hola So the journey has begun. After months of exhaustive theoretical adventure speculation and a mere handful of hours of specific ecuador planning I am typing this message in Quito Ecuador. It all started off rather frustating. I was running a tad bit late for my flight in LA when I get to my car and it doesnt start. Doh So a slow traffic cab ride later where the cabbie curiously investigat http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Quito/blog-143567.html Greetings digital onlookers This shall be the hot live feed to my adventures in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. I intend to post my deep cathartic ramblings and stereotype shattering photography on this travel blog. I welcome you all to respond to my posts. It will surely help remind me of your delightful faces. These are some photos of a killer canoe trip I did last weekend on the Colorado R http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Hoover-Dam/blog-143218.html