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Ed of the Americas - Ed Smith

My time at the University of Durham has ended, following a handshake with Bill Bryson in Durham Cathedral last week and I have three months until my time at Redbridge Borough Council in North East London begins. I may never have the chance to bugger off to somewhere poor for a few months again so despite the lack of a travel buddy, I have decided to traverse the Americas. Not all of them of course, I couldn't do that in three months, but I will be moving from Canada, through the USA, Mexico and Belize to Guatemala, from where I might take in the sights and sounds of Honduras and El Salvador as well. If you are interested in what I'm up to check back here now and again or subscribe to receive an email everytime I update.

Have a great summer.

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Joined on: July 3rd 2007
Last Login: August 6th 2008

Blog Entries: 38
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Ed-of-the-Americas, order by Date newest first.

By Ed of the Americas
September 25th 2007

The end

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Surrey

17/9/07 Today I ate a lot of tacos and went to lots of air conditioned places. I had twelve tortillas stuffed with chicken, onion and hot sauce in Belize City after taking the 7.30 boat. For lunch I went to a comidor opposite the bus station in the Mexican Border town of Chetumal (where I spent a miserable afternoon a couple of months ago). I had three pork tacos, proper spicy mexican ones. For dinner I had four beef and cheese tacos at a stall where a couple of blokes tried to persuade me to get a prostitute. Tasty. The air [View Full Entry]

By Ed of the Americas
September 16th 2007

The split is a channel with a strong current between the two halfs of the island cut by Hurricane Hatti in 1961.

Central America Caribbean » Belize » Belize Barrier Reef » Caye Caulker

Blue Crab!
Mine were even bluer than this.

One more country Travel Blogged! 14/9/07 This morning my favourite blue crab had been usurped from his hole. I was up before six and hoped to see the bad boy out and about but much to my horror there was a pinky-beige coloured crab in his hole instead. Bastard. So I left without saying goodbye to the crab. I was also without my trusty 'Not For Politics Just For Students T-Shirt', which by this time was stained and misshaped, my jeans, breakfast and a shower as the water had run out again. I had already got my immigration stamp two days [View Full Entry]

By Ed of the Americas
September 13th 2007

On the way back the sea was pork choppy. That's like normal choppy but a bit meatier

Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Livingston

Sevan Altars
I tried to steal a photo of a bikini clad woman but it wouldn\'t let me rip it straight from the webpage.

On this day I at last did a tour. Not the informative one I had wanted but still a good one. After saving my limited money and buying bread for breakfast, we set of on a boat for the seven alters. These are yet another set of waterfalls and pools and the last of many seen on this trip, from Niagra Falls onwards. Despite having seen so many I still enjoyed it. At one place there was about a four metre drop into a pool that I jumped several times. We only stayed there about an hour then jetted off in [View Full Entry]

By Ed of the Americas
September 12th 2007

In the greater week the religious activities have [relevancia] since you/he/she/it take place from a particular form like the [dramatizacion] of the [viacrucis]

Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Livingston

A street in Livingston
A street in Livingston

I saw the big blue crabs; some of them were living in the hollowed buttress-like rounded trunk thing that a certain type of palm tree grows out of. They don't scuttle far from their hole so I can't really get close and take a good photo but believe me they are cool. The small ones don't really stray far from their holes either and there are so many near each other I don't know how they eat. Perhaps they go further at night. I got up to do The Jungle Tour but it was cancelled. The guys said they were improving [View Full Entry]

Map of Guatemala with Livingston and Puerto Barrios marked.

By Ed of the Americas
September 12th 2007

There are a lot of black people

Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Livingston

The next full day in Antigua, the ninth of september, was presidential election day, the day to which the whole country has been nuilding up to for the whole time I´ve been here. I wont keep you in suspense, UNE (whose leader is Colom, a centre left candidate who is running for the third time and who features on my UNE t-shirt won with a kiss - have I told that story before) and Partido Patriotica (led by a former General who Colom claims will return Guatemala to a military dictatorship) each got through to the next round which will be [View Full Entry]

By Ed of the Americas
September 12th 2007

I got closer to the slowly moving stream of lava until I was a couple of metres away

Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Antigua » Antigua

This next installment is coming in three bits, mainly because I want to add an entry from Honduras, a new country that I popped into briefly t´other day. I´m sure Pakaya is an Indian food of some kind, perhaps those little fried pastry like packages with veg or meat inside - Tom, Lucy do you remember what Pakaya was? It is also the name of the Volcano I climbed. Talking of food, I had a Burger King for lunch before I went. Inside, a small colonial courtyard had been retained and from the outside you could hardly tell what it was, [View Full Entry]

By Ed of the Americas
September 12th 2007

Copan Ruinas, huge parrots, misery and the United Fruit Company

Central America Caribbean » Honduras » Copan Ruins

Copan Ruinas are about ten kilometers over the border into Honduras. I paid my bribes at the border and arrived in the little tourist town at about ten in the morning. It was hot already so I grabbed a bunk, got my jeans off, had a shower, washed the stinking sandles that had been wet in my bag for a week and then set of for las Ruinas. It cost $15 to get in which was pretty steep. Once again I didn´t really care that I was there, I wanted to be at home. The stelae, for which copan is fmaous, [View Full Entry]

By Ed of the Americas
September 6th 2007

Illness, active volcano, the legendary Quetzal, hippies.

Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Antigua » Antigua

I went from Coban to the Biotopo de Quetzal. This was set up after some bloke called Mario Dary campaigned fro such a cloudforest reserve to protect the endangered bird. He was murdered in in 1981 after upsetting powerful timber interests. The quetzal itself is one of Guatemala´s symbols featuring prominently on its flag. It lends it´s name to the currecny, perhaps because the bird was sacred to the Maya and their feathers were used as currency. Killing one was a capital offence and they were the spitritual protectors of Mayan Chiefs. Jake decided to tag along as well. After a [View Full Entry]

By Ed of the Americas
September 3rd 2007

More photos of a ´spoilt English prick´

Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Antigua » Antigua

There are plenty of photos of me and the places I´ve visited on facebook now and there are a load more at http://picasaweb.google.com/larryhennessymeister I´m in Antigua now. Very rich, full of gringos and expensive. It´s a nice place to rest for a few days though - I got sick again and now I´m tired. Loveage Ed [View Full Entry]

By Ed of the Americas
August 31st 2007

literally tens of thousands of bats flew out of the cave and into the night.

Central America Caribbean » Guatemala » Coban

After the cathedral we headed towards the market for some ´Kaq´ik´, a loal turkey soup speciality. Unfortunately it was too late in the day for it (which I found highly frustrating after much searching) so we atea little beef things with tortillas, rice and salad in a comedor and it was pretty good. The second church we went to I may have already mentioned, it was Catholic but with pagan traditions and there were alcoves for small sacrifices all the way up the long steps to it. The three wooden crosses inside had been plastered with feathers and stuff. By the [View Full Entry]

TravelBlog » Ed of the Americas