How to Remove a Botfly: A botfly is a parasitic insect, which is common throughout the jungles of Central and South America. It is considered by many to be one of the most disgusting insects in the world. It lays its eggs on a host animal like a mosquito and when the mosquito lands and bites you, the eggs fall off onto your skin and immediately hatch. The larva then crawls into the hole from the mosquito bite, or it burrows under your skin. In its cozy little home under your skin, the larva grows and matures before crawling back out and falling to the ground where it goes through the final process of becoming an adult botfly. You can tell you have a botfly if you notice largish, bumps that look like insect bites, but ... read more

When I originally put together the plans for my trip I wanted to see how feasible it would be to travel around the world over land and sea, without flying. I have stayed true to the plan up to this point, traveling overland from Atlanta, through Mexico and Belize and it has been very rewarding, but I have now decided to make some slight changes to my plan. Realizing that it took me considerably longer to get through Mexico and Belize than I had planned and I still feel like I rushed, I have decided to concentrate on seeing the parts of the world that can’t be seen properly during a short trip from home, otherwise I will be on the road for the next ten years or more (I imagine it will be difficult to ... read more

So there I was, swimming between two large stalactites hanging down from the roof of an overhang one-hundred and thirty feet below the surface of the sea. There was a small ledge below me at about one-hundred and eighty feet and then nothing else between me and the bottom, another two-hundred and seventy feet below me, except the deep, hazy blue of the Caribbean sea. Luckily, my buoyancy control device (BCD) was working properly and it wasn't too difficult to maintain my max-depth. The dive had been eerily devoid of life to that point, but, as the divemaster indicated it was time to begin our slow ascent to the surface, several large grouper appeared out of the deep, dark blue depths. The grouper, some of them as large as me, were swarming around me and the ... read more

The Mayan Route is a well traveled (but not well defined) path that winds its way through Southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, linking together sites of cultural importance, like traditional Mayan villages, with the many archaeological sites that dot the area. While there are several places, such as San Cristobal de Las Casas, Palenque and Tikal, that end up on most peoples' itinerary, the overwhelming number of archaeological sites on the route mean that everyone's journey on La Ruta Maya is different. I spent most of my teenage years studying the Mayan world and dreaming of exploring the hidden depths of the Mayan jungles (I know, I was a nerd) and my time has finally come! My journey on La Ruta Maya started in the highland Chiapas town of San Cristobal de Las Casas. San ... read more

I had two reasons for wanting to venture, seemingly way off of the "gringo trail", to the gulf coast state of Veracruz, the jungle enshrouded ruins of El Tajín and the once mighty fortress of San Juan De Ulúa, but I found so much more than I expected. During the bus ride I watched the scenery change from the parched, desert-like landscape surrounding Mexico City and the pine forests on its fringes to dense tropical vegetation of such a fierce, glowing green that I almost had to shield my eyes from its brilliance - I finally made it to the jungle! The tropical forests of the Veracruz state were a major hardship and obstacle to the early Spanish colonists, bringing with its hot, humid climate, fun diseases like yellow fever and the ever popular malaria. The ... read more