You betta Belize it!

Internet access has been few and far between and unreliable at times, thus the long period of time between posts.

Since my last post, I've had 2 weeks of homestay-immersion-one-on-one language study in San Andres, Guatemala; a visit to the Mayan ruins of Tikal; and a week on the pleasant beaches of Placencia, Belize. Now Gilda and I are on our way to Guatemala City to complete the circle of our little trek through this part of Central America. We had originally planned to visit Copan, Honduras, but with the recent coup there and difficult logistics, we decided to scrap it and extend our stay on the beach. Not bad, eh?

My language study at Eco-Escuela de Espanol was very beneficial. Although my curriculum was rather grammar-based (today we learn about present perfect tense, tomorrow the conditional), I didn't mind it too much because I was a language teacher myself and understand that structure. I had a good teacher with a sense of humor and flexible teaching style so things didn't get boring staying in one place or on one topic too long. The first week saw only one other student at the school, but the second week had 6 students there so we were able to do some activities and excursions together. We learned how to make tostadas with guacamole and limeade. We visited the school's forest preserve and learned about the native and agricultural plants and trees of the area. We visited the Mayan ruins of Yaxha, which impressed me a lot. Pictures will follow when I have the chance to upload them.

My girlfriend Gilda arrived at the end of my two weeks and we rendevouzed in Flores. We took off to see Tikal for two days. There are literally thousands of structures and hectares of property to explore, so even with two days we didn't see everything there was to see. But with a detailed book the first day and a great guide Cesear the second day. Highlights included understanding the dual Mayan calendars and number system (base 20, not 10); seeing the vantage point of Star Wars Episode IV shot from the top of Temple 4 in Tikal; and seeing howler monkeys swing from branch to branch.

We stayed an evening in Western Belize and could immediately feel the difference in attitude of this only-English-speaking-country in Central America. Trek Stop was a pleasant place to stay as we rested from the bumpy, dusty ride across the border.

Belize public transport consists of re-purposed American school busses, so we spent a good 6 hours on them getting to Placencia. Although cheap, these busses don't protect one from the sketchy travel arrangements of others. In Belmopan, Gilda and I squeezed our way into the back of a crowded bus, only to find the sole available seat was next to a dog in a box with motion sickness. Then it started to rain. The stuffy sweaty bus, combined with the wretched smell of dog barf, didn't not make for a sweet entry to Barefoot Perfect Placencia. Oh well.

We were finally out of the jungle when we arrived in Placencia. The cool breeze from the Sea and the fresh air finally told us that we'd reached our vacation relaxation spot. Our cottage was right on the beach, with a veranda full of easy chairs and hammocks to relax in. Although Gilda insisted that I just do nothing for the 6 days we'd be here, she had other plans.

We went snorkeling at Bugle Caye with its solar-powered lighthouse. Gilda snorkeled while I SCUBA dove at Laughing Bird Caye. We both toured Monkey River and learned the hard way that 30% DEET bug spray is useless in the midst of swarming mosquitos. Our guide could only laugh that we'd left the veritable "Jungle Juice 100% DEET" back at our cottage.

We ate at a lovely Austrian restaurant, Danube, and experienced schnitzel for the first time. Gilda fell in love with the Coco Colada smoothies at The Shak. I savored the familiar flavors of chicken, rice and beans.

Now we're on the move once again. Tomorrow we catch the 9am ferry to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala and then a bus to Guatemala City. We'll stay with Gilda's uncle Jorge and visit Antigua, like every tourist should I suppose. Friday we catch an evening flight to LA and get back to our lives.

Its been a great month of adventures and learning. Vinettes and episodes with video and pictures to follow!

Meet some of my friends

I haven't posted for a while because I've taken a few trips (Bay Area, Monterey, Santa Cruz) that have pictures waiting to post, but they all require stories that I have to sit down for a while to tell. With my new teaching job, those moments are preciously few. So I'm spending my Friday evening to sit down and tell you about some of my blog friends. This is a "shout out" and "big up" to all those people's blogs that I like to read and an attempt to share them with you, too.

This first one is Geoffrey Philp. We met in cyberspace while I was blogging in Japan. I'd subscribed to a feed of caribbean blogs to keep up with news on the ground over there. Geoffrey had recently written about a soccer match he'd played with Bob Marley. I wrote a post about it, he found it, and we began a dialogue which has continued on and off to this day. Geoffrey is an author who lives, writes, and teaches in Miami, Florida.

Pickeled Eel is another interesting story. I don't know how I found his blog, but he writes about his travels, like me, but on a bigger scale of audiences. I was surprised to find out that he's currently on location in Iraq now. Check out his blog for some interesting footage and narration.

Red Squirrel is a linguistics student at Moscow State University. I think we met through the mybloglog feature that puts the pictures of registered users in a panel when they've visited my blog. Its a great way to make blogging correspondences a little more personal. Maria writes about her studies, interactions with Russian language, culture, and people. All of these things I miss since I studied at St. Petersburg State University ten years ago.

A recent blog friend I've made is Ulla. We actually met face to face via my friends Travis and Joy Long, who also happen to run their own blog about home improvement after 9-5 jobs in Pacific Grove. It was actually the first live conversation I'd had in a room where everyone else kept a blog. We got to talk shop for a few minutes, and its from Ulla that I got the idea to link to more blogs and make more comments on others blogs. An interesint thing about Ulla is that she's an Icelandic-American who runs a design company with her sister and blogs about cooking.

Hippie Gypsy runs an interesting blog musing about whatever comes to mind. She always has something kind to say.

And one last blog that I enjoy peeking in on from time to time is "Back to Living in Paradise". Lee is an expat American living in Belize. She's just dodged her second hurricane in as many week. She's got a great sense of humor and writes about the Caribbean life that I miss from my years in Jamaica.