Playa del Carmen

Good Catch!

Want to taste termites? Feed bananas to howler monkeys? Meet a shaman trapped in a young man's body? Then come spend the day with Shane, the Rasta who runs the Bermudian Landing Baboon Sanctuary in Belize!

On Wednesday, we took the boat to Belize City (1 hr), waited 45 mins for the bus to Bermuda Landing (1 hr) and met Shane at the bus stop [his grandmother was on the bus with us, and we helped her carry out her groceries-- she bought them after winning the lottery last week!] Shane first pointed out some giant iguanas and a very rare bird, the Montezuma Oropendo, which has a strange, remarkable call. [See video] Then he pointed out a termite nest and ate a few of the termites (they taste like carrots! and were once used to treat venereal disease!). He encouraged us to try them (nope).

Our first acquaintance in the jungle was a giant, furry tarantula. After that, we met the family of howler monkeys that Shane has befriended. Happy, one of the younger monkeys, came down and ate the banana out of Shane's hand, but he got a little freaked that we were so close. We still got to see Happy's little brother, who is a really cute 3-month old howler monkey.

Shane concluded the tour by telling us a couple of secrets:

1. He is a shaman reincarnated in a young man's body and his mission is ecolution (ecology + revolution)

2. He uses howler monkey feces to fertilize his "jungle plants"

On Thursday, we went swimming with the fishes & sharks. Oliver and Karl took us out to Hoi Chan Marine Reserve, where we swam with eagle rays, nurse sharks, and a bunch of giant fish (including parrot fish). Karl likes to hug the sharks and rub their bellies, and really it's pretty clear that they're a bit tame (we rubbed their backs, which felt like sand paper). But their eyes are creepy! The best moment, though, was swimming just feet above a tortuga with a beautifully mottled shell. In the water, it looked like it was flying.

The guys took us beyond the reef to do a little deep-sea fishing. I've never even held a fishing rod let alone caught anything before, so I was pretty psyched. I learned that I can't cast a line (I think I got it past the boat like twice), but I was still able to pull in a few decent fish:) A lot of them got tossed in the bucket as "shark bait," but I caught a really cool trigger fish (named for the fin that disarms it). At the end of the day, Sara and I had red snappers, gray snappers, and a yellow-tail (Belize's filet). I was hoping to be able to clean the fish on the boat (see goal # ), but Oliver kept baiting us so that we'd keep the poles in the water (there was a lot of pressure-- he wanted us to get bigger, better fish LOL).

Nonetheless, we came back with a whole lot of fish, and Sara and I prepared and cooked two whole red snappers and a bunch of filets (wasabi, lime & sesame oil + garlic & olive oil+ black pepper & Marie's Hot Sauce). Good eats! We celebrated with bailey ice cream smoothies & episodes of The Office and 30 Rock.

Tomorrow we'll be volunteering at SAGA again. Saturday, we head to Tulum, Mexico.

San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize

Last Thursday, we arrived in San Pedro on the island of Amgergris Caye, a 40 minute water taxi ride from Belize City. San Pedro is a small but very developed town, with lots of beachfront resorts and restaurants. It is hard to grow tired of staring out into the Caribbean.

Kate, a friend from architecture school, very generously offered us a place to stay at her beautiful, beachfront home. She lives here with her sister, Jennifer, while she is single handedly designing a boutique hotel and villas across the road, on the lagoon side. (This part of the island is only wide enough for a string of properties on the lagoon side, a string on the beach side, and a dirt road in the middle). Jennifer handles marketing and accounting. The hotel is still over a year from completion, but Kate took me through it and showed me the plans and it looks like it is going to be amazing: 30 suites, each with a bathtub on the balcony, a rooftop pool and bar with a 360 degree view of the water, a spa and restaurant on-site, plus 24 villas, each with their own pool. It has been very interesting to hear Kate and Jennifer's stories about how they have managed this project as two foreign women who continuously have to remind the men that are working for them that they are in charge. They are smart and tough though, and handle it all brilliantly. It is all being done through their uncle Tony's firm, based in Long Branch, NJ.

Annie and I couldn't believe it when we rolled up to the house. It is stunning from any perspective, but especially from a "I've been staying in hostels for four weeks" perspective. We have our own studio apartment, with our own bathroom, television and fridge, plus access to the beautiful main part of the house with a big comfy living room and fully stocked kitchen. We were so thankful for the opportunity to cook for ourselves again. Kate and Jennifer have helped us with everything, from setting us up with bicycles to recommending places to eat and things to do, and helping us find the best deals. We have even used their golf cart a couple of times (the golf cart is the standard vehicle on the island; it is just too small to accomodate cars.)

The Caribbean Sea is beautiful. We still can't get over watching the sting rays glide by under the docks so close to shore. The smallest one we have seen was over 2 feet across. They're our favorite. When they aren't around, we lay on the dock and watch hundreds of tropical fish swim by, turquoise and purple and yellow and green. Tomorrow we are arranging for a half day fishing and snorkelling trip. Annie is going to catch our dinner!

We had a bad couple of days beginning on Saturday, we think because of the Chloroquine anti-malaria tablets. Saturday was our second time taking them, and we both had acute physical and emotional reactions that lasted until Monday afternoon. We will not be taking them again, as we are apparently in the small minority of people who have these kind of reactions. None of the locals take any kind of anti-malarial, of course, and we have actually heard that the disease is very rare around here. We will rely on diligent bug spray application and our dear friend mosquito net from now on.

Yesterday, we decided to volunteer at SAGA, the local animal welfare organization. We showed up at 8:30, expecting to be cleaning cages but instead we spent three hours just walking puppies and playing with kittens. Not a bad gig. They are doing great work, though it must be hard to feel like it is not just a drop in the bucket on an island with so many strays. We passed more homeless dogs on our bike ride there than they actually had at the shelter. It is a sad thing, but we are very thankful for the organization's work. They are having a benefit party on Sunday with a Halloween theme, including a pet costume contest.

Today we are getting ready to go to the baboon sanctuary. The baboons are actually not babboons but howler monkeys, which are called baboons in Creole.

Tobacco Caye

If Newark and New Orleans got together, Dangriga might be the love-child. It looks a bit run down, but this is a chill spot-- even at 8 a.m., everyone's either got a beer (Belikin) or a joint (or both). Really, everyone just wants you to join in the party. Once Sara and I got a chance to walk around for a bit and meet some locals, (and chat with our favorite aunt Judy), we decided to stay.

We moved to Val's, which is a really comfortable hostel run by friendly owner Dana. We've mostly got the place to ourselves, except for this guy staying in our dorm who just bought an island off the coast of Belize. He's currently surveying the land and designing a square house. Sara was trying to see if he'd hire her as an architect, but he's in love with his design (though Sara says the roof will probably cave in). He's a vegan and says that this makes him wise and able to exist without companionship. He explained to us that if we weren't meat-eaters, we wouldn't need other people.

We split and shared a breakfast of eggs, bacon and fryjacks (sort of like funnel-cake pockets minus the sugar) at Riverside Cafe. There, we met fisherman Clifford and his homies (as he calls them) and jumped a boat to Tobacco Caye (pronounced key).

This island is the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my entire life. White-sand beaches, aqua-blue water, no roads, no cars. We rented some snorkeling equipment and went to check out the amazing fish and coral. I even saw a pre-historic looking barracuda.

Around noon, we went looking for food and met up with Devon, a scuba instructor (currently listening to The Alchemist on his i-pod). He taught us how to play dominoes. We lost every game, but I still consider that goal #8. The rest of the day, we chilled snorkeled, and skipped lunch because the island doesn't serve food during off-season. There's plenty of liquor, though. When I got a half-inch splinter in my thumb from jumping off the pier, Clifford pulled it out and then he and another guy poured rum to dissinfect it.

Today we spent our hours at Pelican Beach-- swimming, swinging in hammocks, and reading. I'm halfway through Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (it's so good that it literally makes me weep). We were hoping to get back to Raati's for dinner, which is a new spot operated by a family and offering just a few options, but they were closed. (Note: In off season, all of the restaurants close whenever business is slow, so almost nothing was open to us).

Tomorrow, we are heading to San Pedro (the same San Pedro in that Madonna song) and staying with Kate, who is very generously letting us crash for free.

Ruthie's Seaside Cabanas & Live Entomology Exhibit

A long hard day of traveling from Flores, Guatemala to Dangriga, Belize yesterday that was not without it's troubling moments. We checked into Ruthie's Seaside Cabanas, steps from the Caribbean sea (private bathroom + cable TV!). We watched about four hours of TV and laid down to go to sleep. Annie got up to use the bathroom, flipped on the light, and lo and behold, our room had come alive!! Giant cockroaches, hundreds of tiny ants, and even a couple of bedbugs. We packed all our stuff tightly away between squeals, set up the tent-like mosquito net (our most favoritest thing that we brought) and stared at the ceiling until dawn. Ruthie's was more than twice the cost of any place we have stayed so far.

Baby Spiders! Mayan Ruins! Monkey Poop!

It's so hot in Flores, especially in our dorm, that everything we wear is soaked with sweat. The most peaceful time of the day is just before sunrise, when the humidity has cooled into a pre-dawn mist.

The peace was somewhat broken yesterday morning when we opened our cosmetics bag and hundreds of teeny baby spiders scurried out. We managed to clean things up and get ready, funbling quietly in the dark in preparation for our morning visit to the nearby Mayan ruins of Tikal.

We took a shuttle to Tikal at 5 a.m., watching colors flood the sky as we approached. It feels a bit like Jurassic Park, with its wide-arched entrance, signs warning of the presence of jaguars, and tall, flat-leafed trees. The park was empty when we entered. Sara and I walked the 25 mins to the Grand Plaza, skipping the group tour. It was still cool, and the tops of the temples were blanketed in a light fog. I visited Tikal in 2006, climbing Temple IV to watch the sun come up, but this morning was quiet and eery. Only the call of birds broke the haze.

We ate a breakfast of bananas and granola bars at a picnic table next to a man who worked at the park. In Spanish, we explained that Sara wasn't feeling well, and he walked us over to a nearby tree, stripped of bark and smelling strongly of an unidentifiable but familiar spice. Picking up a fat green seed, he said, "They're pimientas," and the monkeys (and locals) eat them for upset stomach. Sara tried one, and it made her tongue go numb, but it did settle her stomach. This was quite possibly my favorite encounter of the day.

We spent the rest of the morning touring The Lost World and the rest of the ruins. Temple IV, as always, has a spectacular view of the jungle. Sara climbed the five steep ladders to Temple V and freaked out once she was halfway up. (In all fairness, the US would never permit tourists to explore these sites. There would be guardrails everywhere). In fact, one of the temples that I had ascended in 2006 is now only accessible by a new set of stairs, because two travellers were recently killed after falling off of the original steps.


Jose, a guard at the Grand Plaza, suggested we meet him at Complex Q at 3:30 so we could arrange to camp overnight in the park (wink, wink). At the right price, I'm sure you could camp on the temples. He told us not to tell anyone (nadie!). We watched as he approached every other group he saw.

The entire time we explored the site, a native Guatemalan, dressed in Indian (think Native American stereotype) regalia, trailed us while playing a flute toward the sky (Lauren H-- think Tikal's version of Sandy). Some travellers engaged him in conversation, he explained that the white man was going to be punished for all of his sins, and that this had already begun, as widespread homosexuality had conquered parts of Europe. His flute playing was meant to call all the non-white people of the world together. The Mayan calendar suggests the world will end in December 2012, but the flautist claims that punishment will begin as early as next summer.

A second favorite moment was spotting spider monkeys. We caught quite a few in the branches, and everytime they saw us staring at them, they adjusted their positions so that they were right above us: then they pooped. Luckily, they had bad aim:)

We got back at about 2:00, showered, and relaxed at the hostel with some fresh smoothies. Sara and I took a walk to the lake as the sun was setting and had a long conversation about what we want to get out of this trip and decided that it's important to us to connect to a place, in addition to seeing all of the amazing things this part of the world has to offer. We're hoping to do some more volunteer work and language classes in Mexico.

The power for the entire island went out just as dusk approached, so we headed back to our hostel, which was lit up with candles. We spent the evening talking to Dan from Canada, who had just been accepted into Engineers Without Borders, reading by candlelight & flashlight, and preparing for our next stop: the Caribbean.

Earth to Linea Dorada Bus Line: Lose the war movies on the overnight bus rides

Wednesday morning we awoke in San Pedro to the sound of the complaining cow next door. With our new friend Annie (B.S. Public Health, Seattle) we followed the handwritten signs to a yoga class nearby led by a Czech woman who was much more limber than any of us. But the garden was very beautiful and it felt great to stretch, so we decided to follow yoga class up with a brisk hike up the Indian's Nose. It took over two hours to the top (well, nearly the top, once a thunderstorm rolled in around us, we decided to book it down). We actually watched the clouds roll over the mountains and surround us, and we wondered: what happens with lightning when you are inside the cloud? so, yeah, twice as fast down as up! The panoramic views of Lake Atitlan were indescribable, but we were not sure it was safe to bring the camera, so we left it behind. The single most amazing thing, though, was passing numerous Guatemaltecos, men and women, some in their sixties +, laden with supplies, the women wrapped in traditional skirts of thick fabric, climbing past us toward their crops above. We tried our best to hide our panting when we greeted them as they passed.

We just beat the rain down, despite the thick fog and thunder during our descent, and desperately needed a good hot meal. There it was: Thai food at Buddha Bar. Huge portions of hot hot Pad Thai and a dish called Bombay Curry. Sooo tasty and satisfying. We chilled out for the rest of the night, after deciding to reverse our route and head for Belize next instead of Mexico. We jumped a shuttle for Antigua the next morning and booked the night bus to Tikal. Got to see some friends again in Antigua before boarding the bus.

The night bus. Indeed. A little sketch, a little smelly, a lot uncomfortable, but we did reach Flores by early morning as promised. The bus company really could have minimized the discomfort by not choosing to play Rambo for half the ride, and lowering the air conditioning so that the condensation wasn't dripping on our heads. In any case, we checked into Los Amigos hostel on the little island of Flores, had a sleep and a swim and are resting up trying to recover from the sleepless night. Tomorrow - the Mayan runs of Tikal, as close to sunrise as possible!

Riding the Chicken Bus(es)

To get from Antigua to Atitlan, you can pay about $10 and ride the tourist shuttle, or you can drop $3, transfer four times, and travel with the locals on the chicken bus.

We boarded at the corner closest to our hostel, which was convenient, and watched as all four of our bags were thrown onto the roof of the bus. It was a pretty pleasant ride until a drunk man boarded the back through the emergency door. Luckily, a nice Guatemalan man named Carlos made sure that he didn{t bother us.

We transferred buses in Chimeltenango, which required that we throw our bags up to the handler while trying to get into the back (all while the bus is still moving). When the chicken buses stop, they don{t really stop! We were on the second bus for at least an hour, ascending the entire time, acting as an audience to the fruitsnack peddlers who drop candy on your lap and ask you to pay and to the young couple making out in front of us (Note-- young Guatemalans seem to like dropping a few quetzals in places like ruins, old churches and chicken buses where they set up picnics and make out all day LOL).

On the third bus, we met Annie and Camille who are traveling southward to Chile. Amazingly, Camille only carries a school backpack, and they{re both really easy going travelers. Their last stop was in West Belize, where they lived and worked in the jungle for a week sin electricity.

We four took a boat to San Pedro, checked out a few seedy hostels till we found one we liked, and had a delicious fish and peppian dinner overlooking the lake. I fed my scraps to a mama dog, who ate every chicken bone (because the dogs here are so skinny and hungry). Then Sara and I went exploring for a little while, stopping at the really cool Jarachick for a drink.

Today we{re climbing La Nariz de Indio near Volcan San Pedro.

Tomorrow is either Mexico, Belize or northern Guatemala. We can{t make up our minds!

The House That Love & Cement Built

Days four and five were all about concrete: it took about five hundred buckets of it to lay the floor on Friday. Well it seemed like that many anyway. Sara, Tom and I (just barely) each carried two cement bags down a slippery dirt hill to the site, mixed in a huge pile of dirt (heavy digging!) and then added a whole bunch of rocas. It was exhausting but fun (except for the part where Tom covered us with half a bag of dry cement-- we looked like ghosts from the waist down).

For the record, I'd like to note that Tom is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He has an incredible heart, he's warm and generous and is absolutely devoted to working with From Houses to Homes. A trained carpenter, he wasn't able to find work in England, so he decided to come to Antigua to volunteer. He fell in love and decided to stay on for a total of seven weeks.

One of my favorite moments of the project was when Isaias asked Marian Elena where she wanted her window. I don't know if the house was real to her before that, but then the builders blocked out a space for the door and window, and suddenly our collection of cinderblocks began to look like a house!

Friday was a half-day because once the floor is poured, there isn't much else to do. Valentin, the father of the family, found a soccer ball, and we challenged the other building team to a game of futbol. On our team were Cutchie and Diablo (the builders), Tom, and Sara and I. On the opposing team were Louise, Nick, Stewart, Fernando and Ernie. Only one goal was scored during the 1 1/2 hour game, because the goals were two water bottles, one at either end of our field (the narrow cobblestone street). We ran up and down the street like a thousand times (avoiding the horse poop and pausing for dogs, kids and people walking their donkeys home) and never scored! Sara and I spent all Saturday and Sunday really sore.

See video, care of Louise. (Coming soon!)

The weekend was filled with relaxation and nutella crepes (Confession: I have had more crepes in a week than I have my whole life. The guys at Luna de Miel wave at me from across the street, because they know I'm addicted ). We finished our walking tour of Antigua, ate some imitation pizza, and went for (decent) immitation Indian at Pushkar. I do miss Asian food.

Monday was painting day. We were all excited and in disbelief that our time with From Houses to Homes was coming to an end. Three new volunteers joined-- Sisel (architect, Mexico) and Rachel (student, US) and Susanna (Ireland) -- and we painted the outside red/inside yellow. To get the top few levels, Rachel had to get on Tom's shoulders. The guys installed the gutters and the roof, and then the family made us delicious Peppian, a local soup served with rice and tortillas. The chicken was the best I've had in Guatemala! It was an incredible meal, one I'll never forget. The family even bought us a 2-liter Coca Cola.

The closing ceremony was deeply moving. Suddenly, all of the extended family members arrived and we all crowded into the finished house. Oscar, the Program Director of FHTH, said a speech in Spanish (which we all proudly understood...more or less) and then we were given beautiful shawls by the grandparents. Sara and I handed Valentin and Marian Elena the keys to their new home, and everyone celebrated by beating the crap out of Spiderman (Note: pinata). We stuffed it with two giant bags of candy and a bag of plastic balls. Even the adults dove into the pile! Then Sara and I handed out the little parting gifts (toys, clothes, crocs) to the family and we said goodbye.

Valentin said, Thank you always. It was hard to imagine being thanked for this. It felt so effortless, so worth it, and unquestionably necessary. We were grateful to get to know his family and to help in this way. Thank you all, of course, for your support and donations.

And now Sara and I will return to America in April and build our own cinderblock house. We know a nice little piece of property in Mount Tabor...

But, really, we hope to come back next summer to build again, if we have any money left at all!

Uno Dos Tres Cuatro Cinco Seis!

Day 2 and Day 3 - Laying Block

The past couple of days have been all about laying the concrete blocks. 5 rows on Tuesday and another 5 on Wednesday. The builders put the block down and check that the rows are level and plumb, and we volunteers pack the cement in between. We also mixed concrete and poured it into the holes in the rebar where the rebar sticks through. It´s starting to look like a house! Remarkably, it hasn´t rained once. 3 days of building to go.


We almost got little Yosselin (left in photo) to come over to us (tiene miedo!). She will take candy from our hands but she won´t come close otherwise.


We are tired and sore at night but we did have go out for a lovely dinner with Joe last night at a cafe with a French name. We all had cheeseburgers, but to keep with the French theme, Annie and I grabbed a nutella crepe on the way home.