Sharing positive, fun filled (and sometimes crazy) travel adventures.
I'll post up blogs from my various US and international travels as they occur.
I hope you enjoy the journey,
CraigO
alright, it's more of a pier in the caribbean, but it is still awesome. I spent my last day in Belize watching the rain drench the town in the morning, sea kayaking in the noon, and went on a snorkel trip in the afternoon where we jumped into the water as they fed Nurse Shark's and Manta Rays and watched as 3 sharks and like 20 manta rays swarmed under the boat. It was really fascinating to see all of them swimming and sumtimes going underneath you. I couldn't help but think of Steve Irwin the crocadile hunter and made sure my hands were over my heart.... no random attacks though.
Then watched the sunset beautifully over the sea and island from the end of a dock. Ate tasty barracuda steak and garlic potatoes and bread and then went back on the dock to watch the moon rise huge over the sea. The wind was blowing the temp was perfect... no place better to be.
Go belize!
the next day I took a boat to the pirate museum, learned some fascinating facts about pirates. Took a 20 USD cab ride to the airport (yikes) and hoped on the plane...
got to miami and YEAH, I can drink the water!!!!!!
I'm currently at my Aunt and Uncles house in St. Louis (my god craig, do you ever go home?) awaiting the 50th anniversary celebration this weekend. It's great to see family again and as wonderful as traveling is, it is great to be back.
thanks for reading, keep in touch and let me know how all of you are doing!
After the sailing trip I spent a mellow day in Placencia (not placenta), chilling on the beach, writing in my journal and making plans. The weather was overcast but perfectly comfortable and the water was still warm for swimming.
The next day we were going to scuba dive... except for that big ass rain storm that rolled in. So the few of us from the boat who were still in town got out fast, taking the "best journey in belize" according to the lonely planet guide. It was a water taxi ride through the mangrove forests on the coast for 15 minutes... well, maybe in the sun it might be nice. The rain drops were like bullets and we had to stay low to avoid being blinded. I think I saw a bird. :)
Took the bus through the beautiful interior mountains, and somehow ended up back on Caye Caulker. I just kept going and came back to beaches and chilled people and the moto here is "go slow". And after some MAD CAP KARAOKE last night I did just that.
Oh yes team, ICE ICE BABY and TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART were brought to the land of mellow love songs and Raggae. I ran out on the street and tried to get the party on into the bar... it didn't work, it's just so mellow. BUt it was fun and many peop[le today are like.... "Hey, ice ice baby dude!". It's kinda amusing. The bartender wants me to send him a cd of my mix for the bar. I'm not sure what he wants, but we'll see.
ANyway, tomorrow is the last day. I'm sorta sad to go. It's been a fabulous trip (montezuma's revenge aside) and I am realizing how many things I didn't do... like scuba dive in belize. The rain has put a damper on that, as has finances. Though I would have gone if not for the rain... oh well.
Next time...
See you all soon... especially the family at the reuinion on saturday in St. Louis. If anyone is around there feel free to come crash and partay with us!!!
went on a 3 day, 2 nite sail trip with a bunch of cool folks. We had wonderful fresh seafood, caught during the day and cooked by the awesome crew of the sailboat. We snorkeled beautiful reefs, and saw thousands of fish, 2 foot long star fish and lobsters, and even swam with a manatee for 10 minutes or more! It was awesome, the manatee was 15 feet long or more and you could get right next to it. Its actually rather rare to see so we were very lucky. It was wild to swim down right next to it as its so huge, yet graceful. It probably thought we were a bunch of idiots, but it was fun.
the first night we camped on Rendezvous caye.... it was about 50 feet by 25 feet and had 8 palm trees. It took 16 seconds to run from one end to the other. We set up tents and enjoyed tasty fresh conch and sunset, a brilliant nearly full moon and some silly drinking games. at 5 am a thunderstrom rolled in and soaked us all... but we were wet for 3 days anyway, so it is okay.
The next morning I had a visit from Montezuma and had the experience of shitting in the sea... yep, squat in the water and letter rip! then walk forward so as not to swim in your shit.... kinda gross, but at least you dont have to wipe!
we sailed some, but there wsan't a lot of wind, so the motor ran more than ideal. Still the colors of the water wree fabulous and the rain was warm and wonderful.
The second nite we stayed at tobacco caye.... pop: 26. we got to stay in cabins this nite as the rain came in strong at 10pm.... it was exciting. I love rain.
so here in Plecencia, and 5 days left til I hop on a plane ot the USA. Will hopefully scuba dive and see some wildlife at the jaguar preserve. Oh, and tonighte.... KARAOKE !!!!!!!!
Total Eclipse is coming to belize with thunder!!!!!
So I'm in this little tiny ass town in western belize called San Ignacio town. It's actually the largest city in the area and I think there are like 2500 people here. Anyway, everyone is chill and friendly, and I was hanging out with this amusing Rastafarian dude named... Yes, RastJ, and we ended up going to the club that had people at it last night. It was pretty packed and there was some good and some not so good music bumping. :)
Everyone looks like they live in LA as far as fashion goes, belize is the westerner-safe 3rd world country I think. Anyway, we're dancing and I look next to me and who is dancing... looking at me... and I realize Dancing with me... but Angelina Jolie!!!!
What the crap?
So we danced most of the night! Like, come on, I'm in San Ignacio Town, and I'm dancing with one of the hottest (and turns out coolest) movie stars around! I won't get to carried away with the details, but come on, I live in LA and that would Never happen, but I come to Belize, and that would never happen here either! Shit! One can dream!
But would you believe I got fricking SICK again! Woopie dooo!!!!!
Yep team, now I got a cold, possibly more, though I think it might just be a cold. Though I slept all day again and was achey and weak and sorta felt a little feverish, but that might just be that my hotel room is kinda hot.
Oh, as for story above, everything but Angelina was true. RastJ is an interesting dude, who's got my back and I got his,but I had his back a bit much for buying booze so I said I was out of money. I saw him today and it's like we buds, but its all good.
So no "sucky-sucky" offers here, but lots of offers for "the ganja weed" etc. People can't seem to fathom that i'm from Cali and don't smoke up. I think I was offered 5 times in one walk down the street.
On a not sick note...
I went to a kick ass, AWESOME, amazing Mayan Cave, whose name is so complex they call it ATM. The tour is 70 USD.... um, really? Yep, and that's low season prices. But it was really cool. I went with these 5 students from America and our awesome guide francesco took us into the jungle, fording 3 streams, to the start where you leave everything but your swimsuit and helmet behind.
Then you swim into the cave, climb over rocks and waterfalls, and along the way he stops and tells you about what the Mayan's used the cave for in ancient times. Offerings to Shak (?) the rain god and such. There are obsidian blades that were found there too.
THen you climb out of the water, put on only socks, and head up into this amazing limstone cavern, which spectacular stelagtites and mites and bacon and flowstone. And... pots! 1000 year old pots! that have been left right where the mayan's left them after their rituals. You can get withing a foot of them... you could touch them if you wanted, but that would be silly and illegal.
Then, further in... you get to SKULLS. There were at least 6 human remains, all likely sacrifices to the rain god as the drought that caused the collapse of the mayans' spread. so the deeper underground you went, the closer to the gods you got, and they sacrificed people. spines, and bones, and skulls, and at the top of a passage there is an entire skeleton of a 20 year old woman laying perfectly preserved! wow! (next to her is the prisoner from another tribe who was killed with his hands behind his back... hm, I wonder if thta happened at the same time?)
it was really cool and actually not that creepy, more fascinating. A great experience.
So...
now we come to the "I'm lonely" part of the email. Traveling alone can be kind of hard, especially in low season... and they mean LOW season. The place is like a ghost town. Belize has 225,000 peeps total, and over 800,000 tourists per year... and six of them come in september and october. The street artists say they haven't sold things all week. (could be a hard luck story, but we had been chatting for awhile). So yeah, I'm kinda lonely. Unlike last year when I left for SEasia, this year I was sorta lonely in LA too. Last year things were happening and it was exciting and busy and such, and this year I'd had so much time to myself before I left, it's ironic to need more time to myself, and I think I've maxed out my self time right now. And I keep getting sick, so the usual stuff that would keep me interested is exhuasting and so I lay around in my hotel room and sleep to much (because Im' sick).
Anyhoo, I'm lucky to be able to travel, and always glad to do it. But it doesn't change how you feel sometimes.
So, if anyone wants to buy a ticket to meet me in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye for the next week, get your asses down here! Fly to Belize city and take the water taxi over! That is likely my next stop, and then we'll see... supposedly there are people there. I was going to goto Caye Caulker, which is the smaller of the Cayes, but the students said it was like a ghost town, most of the shops closed up for slow season.
so, come on down, San Pedro has people! Lets snorkel, swim, scuba and dance!
