island paradise...and composting toilets

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Another big entry..haven't been around computers for a while and have been busy busy busy...

after merida we hit the road again and arrived in playa del carmen...which was a bit of a culture shock as it is a big tourist resort on the caribbean coast....completely different from anywhere i have stayed so far...basically it was america but in mexico...and it cost a lot more than anywhere else!...but saying that it did have some great bars...right on the beach, with the dance floor over the sea, cocktails by the yard and a lot of english speakers!...

whilst there took a day trip to tulum...some more mayan ruins...but these mayas had the excellant idea of building their town on the edge of the caribbean sea so you could wander round the ruins and then head to the beach...white sands and turquoise waters..lovely!...and also it was bloody hot...

playa del carmen was also where one of my best friends from home joined me on the tour...so it was good to see a familiar face again...espcially since she brought a supply of marks and sparks underwear for me...most of mine having been destroyed by various laundries along the way!...she also brought me a bar of dairy mlik chocolate which i highly enjoyed!...

after a few more days in playa...swimming, sunbathing etc we crossed the border into belize....belize is a very cool country...it was a british colony rather than a spanish one like the rest of the countries which i have visted...and so it has a very different feel to it...most importantly they speak english here...which has made a nice break from having to translate all the time....and it feels and looks a lot like the caribbean...

we headed out to caye caulker which is basically an island paradise...our room was right on the beach, and again we spent the evenings drinking cocktails, and eating freshly caught and bbq'd barracuda and lobster...

we also headed out for a day of snorkelling....got to see turtles, sting rays, sharks and a whole variety of tropical fish...and also got to have rum punch all day...

unfortunately we had to leave caye caulker....and i am currently just outside of a town called san ignacio...am staying in an eco lodge...composting toilets, rainwater showers that kind of thing...but its great...

yesterday we had the best day as we went caving in a cave known as the atm cave....after about 45m trek thru the jungle we entered the cave...by swimming..and then spent 4 hours going thru the system...which was really fun, sometimes the water was up to our ankles and sometimes up to our chins...and also had to negotiate a fair few narrow bits and climb up a few rocks etc....after a couple of hours we climbed into the dry part of the system which the mayans had used as a ceremonial/sacrificial place...and it is still full of ceramics, and the bones of the sacrificial victims...so it was really interesting to see it....

this morning was spent with a lazy game of frisbee golf...and in about an hour we are heading over the guatamalan border...back to the spanish speaking world!...so ime for some more passport stamps..

belize has def. been one of my favourite countries so far...which is good as it was the one country that i was most looking forward to visiting....altho it is the country in which i have had my first car crash (which in itself is a minor miracle given the driving i have experienced over the past couple of months)...luckily no-one on our bus was hurt, and from what we could tell the other cars passengers didnt come off too badly either...altho did have to go to hospital...and the car was a total write off....but it did add a bit of excitement to an otherwise dull journey...and strangely one member of our group took the opportunity to become a traffic warden and direct the rest of the traffic around us...all quite odd

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