We left our hotel and boarded the 7:45 ADO bus to Merida. The 1st Class tickets cost just over $20 US each. Although a direct route with no stops, the trip took a boring 4 hours. When we arrived at the Merida station, we got directions to our hostel and decided it was better to pay the $3.00 cost of a taxi than to drag our luggage 14 blocks. Arriving at our hostel, Hostal Nomadas, we checked in, paid our bill of fifty some dollars for the 3 nights and deposited our luggage in our room. After getting the lowdown on hammocks (supposedly Merida is THE best place to get one), we headed out. We made the mistake of stopping at a hammock shop before going to the recommended place and had to listen to ... read more

We packed up and caught a boat at 10am to Belize City to reboard our Tucan bus for the trip to Bacalar, Mexico. Crossing the border into Mexico was a bit more involved than usual. It cost $37.50 BZ ($17.25US) each to leave Belize and nothing to enter Mexico. We had to show our own passports, fill out declarations forms, and carry all our luggage across for the entry into Mexico. Our hotel, Hotel Laguna, was only 30 or 40 minutes from the border and just outside Bacalar, right on the lake. The hotel is really cool and should be rated higher than the 2 or 3 stars, but apparently lacks some of the upkeep requirements such as paint, etc. We got a nice room with a balcony overlooking the lake, nicely tiled bath, but ... read more

Sorry for the delay here, but using the internet at Caye Caulker costs 5 or 6 dollars US per hour! We'd booked the snorkelling trip for 10:30am, so we found a couple cups of coffee and chilled til about 10am. Armed with sunscreen, bathing suits, flippers, mask, and snorkel, we boarded Carlos's boat. After a short, bumpy 15 minute ride, we slowed down cause Carlos spotted a manatee. We donned our gear and dropped overboard. Although it was pretty deep, the water was crystal clear. Within minutes, we spotted a manatee and on approaching it, found two more. Such awesome creatures! We swam near them for quite a while, watching them frolic a bit and generally drift about. When two of them wnet to the bottom to "sleep", we got back on the boat to ... read more

Two of the young ladies from our tour and I got in the Atun Tucnil Malakin (sp) van and went into town to the MayaWalk Tour Office. We paid our fees , found satisfactory wet/cave shoes, grabbed our bag lunches and headed out. After about an hour on a decent road, we turned onto the "road from Hell"! After another hour of riding on a road that couldn't have been any worse and still be usable by anything but an ATV, we arrived at the base camp. The guide briefed us on what to take and what to leave. Wear a pair of socks and bring a dry pair. A bathing suit is ok if its tough, otherwise shorts or even pants. We donned our helmets and one light backpack for the 3 of us ... read more

This morning we left paradise, aka Hotel Catamaran, for Flores. After one stretch break and the fruit fly search upon entering Peten department, we reached the little island of Flores. Flores is connected to the mainland by a causeway and has about 2,000 people, most of which probably work for one of the hotels, restaurants, or souvenir shops. A very quaint, laid-back town. After settling in to Hotel Sabana, Lisa gave us a short guided walk around the town, showing us the best restaurants and where we'd find an ATM. After calling home, we checked out some of the souvenir shops and then had lunch at Capitan Tortuga. Manoli had a fruit salad that was awesome. Several types of fresh fruit artisitically cut and arranged to look like 2 fish! I had a plate of ... read more