Health Tips

Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States

Today I set up my blog and talked to Ally and failed to download Nestor’s video. Fun stuff.

from: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/cubsguaco/1/1275345070/tpod.html

San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize

It took a fair amount of effort to get myself off of Caye Caulker (made ever so much harder by not really wanting to leave), but I made myself do the exciting boat/taxi/bus combo to San Ignacio in inland Belize. San Ignacio was pretty tiny…and it must have been the low season because almost everything was closed every day I was there. The upside was that it’s in the center of a huge number of Mayan ruins and nature-related attractions, and it felt relatively safe. I booked a set of 3 day trips through (what turned out to be) a really good tour company — they all started at the crack of dawn and ran through 4-5 in the afternoon which made the quietness of the town a bit less problematic.

Friday – Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave — the main reason I went in San Ignacio and one of the overall highlights of my trip so far. Essentially you swim into a giant cave through a pool at the entrance. The cave is still “alive” and absolutely amazing in terms of crystals and cave-formation stuff. Caves were used by Mayans for a variety of ceremonies/sacrifices because they were viewed as the entrance to the underworld — this cave is one of the largest (known) that the Mayans used. You walk/wade/swim through the cave passed a variety of old pottery/ceremonial relics. Eventually you climb up a pretty sketchy set of rock walls/ladders (that US safety regulations would never allow…not that US regs would allow you to roam through a cave this way to start with) and into the dry chambers. There are remains from human sacrifices from 1,000+ years ago, including complete skeletons — you essentially walk right up to all of them. The guide was really informative about the Mayan traditions/culture which added a lot of context. I have about 20 bruises from trying to climb/slide over rocks and squeeze through tiny openings but it was absolutely worth it.

Saturday – Cave tubing — a bit more leisurely — essentially floating on a really really slow moving river, but through a few miles of caves. There were a few places with rapids (including in the middle of caves) that were pretty exciting, but it was definitely a day with a bit more restfulness.

Sunday – Caracol ruins — the largest Mayan ruins in Belize, right on the border with Guatemala. The tour started in the Rio Frio cave, which is mostly a giant cavern with a river running through it. There were armed guards in the cave because (according to our guide) bandits from Guatemala kept robbing the visitors…some how the guys with machine guns didn’t actually make me feel much safer. After the cave we were escorted by the military to the ruins (same security concerns), which are lots lots bigger than I expected. There are 3-4 main sights they’ve excavated and restored, but you can see lots and lots of others that they haven’t worked on yet. Our guide was amazing, giving lots of insight into the history of the city and Mayan culture/spirituality. The day was exhausting between walking around the site (which was really not tiny) and climbing up the old huge temples – the Mayans really liked their giant stone steps!! The last stop (finally military free) were the Rio Frio pools — these are a series of swimming holes/waterfalls that are supposed to be amazingly blue. It was raining most of the day so they were a bit less scenic for us, but it was a good stop to swim for a bit.

from: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/teirrac/1/1275328793/tpod.html

Buenos Aires, Capital Federal District, Argentina

More than two weeks spent in the argentine capital city. Some people may wonder what I was doing during all this time. And I have to say, I went to many places and some of them not so turisty maybe.
Arrived by boat, I just retrieved some argentine pesos and had a taxi to a first hostel. It would have been good that I did not bumped my head on the door and injured myself. Carlos Gardel hostel full , I went to the next one in the street still bleeding a bit. Luckily, this one had a free bed for me. Welcome to Buenos Aires, many columbians are in the place. I did not like so much the place, nice people but not for me. So I looked for another hostel around in the bohemian district of San Telmo. I maybe found the cheapest in town, less than 6 euros, where I will stay till I leave Buenos Aires.
I had many good tips for this city and my schedule was quickly full. I had the very nice BA freetour. Very nice guides and on the evening, we went to see a tango show in the café La Ideal with quite cosmopolitan group (kiwi, americans, canadian and french). Nice dancing but I prefered the couple who was dancing the night before in a restaurant in San Telmo. You can see on the picture that after two days, I was dancing tango . I visited all the main districts like Palermo, La bocca, Recoleta, puerto madero and of course the micro centro. I entered the national congress and the casa rosada, house of the president (feminin in this case). It always interesting. I always went to the “museo de las aguas”, thanks to Flor who I met back in Bonito. It used to be the place where all the water was distributed from, a wonderful building, like the library Ateneo which is a former opera. We also had a quick tour on the tramway running on weekends. I really enjoyed the café Tortoni where I had a delicious hot chocolate and a “submarino”, which a dark chocolate bar sunk in hot milk. I became a fan of the alfajores “capitán del espacio”, the best in town. The only problem is that you don’t find them everywhere.
If I stayed for such a long time, it is also because Argentina was celebrating its bicentenary. On May 25th 1810, they made their revolution. The city was all white and celeste (not blue ), and many events were happening in town for 4 days. I also met again Martín, after Foz do Iguazu, and was invited to go to Punta Alta. Thanks! The celebration was a real mess sometimes and I struggled to find my way through the argentine crowd, but it was a historical moment, as they said. There were a lot of concerts, parade, and fireworks.
Argentina is the country of the “che” and “boludo”. I have to learn a new Spanish. The country is also famous for its meat, but I am still waiting for the killing asado. And I found a new friend in front of my hostel. Maybe you know her. She is called Mafalda. I went to nice amateur circus show. I saw a couple of demonstrations downtown. You have to know that there are plenty of them everyday. Argentina is a young country.
On the last weekend, we went rowing on the “rio del Tigre” where I was waling on the water. Big feet are very useful for that, before visiting the city of El Tigre. And the day after we went to La Plata which the capital city of the provincia de Buenos Aires, strange.
The very last day, I finally bought warm clothes to stop freezing and risking being sick every day. Having a nice jacket is a luxury. I am ready for Patagonia. I also met Layanna who started a one week stay in Buenos Aires.

from: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chiheb/1/1273664751/tpod.html