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Belize: Caye Caulker

Posted on May 7th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Belize, Blog, Travel.

In a deliberate attempt to relax (something I suck at), I decided to spend a few days on a tiny island in the Caribbean Sea.

OK, not THIS small - this (I think) is a small mangrove tree growing on a pile of sand just off the shore of my island.

Caye Caulker is about one square kilometer.  The major modes of transportation are foot and golf cart.  I was big on walking, but after getting horribly sunburnt (WORSE than Thailand ‘06!) I took to hitchhiking on golf carts…because it hurt to walk.  Frequently I was picked up by Cory the Canadian, and though he’ll likely never read this: THANK YOU!

I went swimming with the nurse sharks and sting rays…the nurse sharks I was OK with, but the sting rays I was rather nervous about.  I mean, Crocodile Hunter, right?  ‘Nuff said.  But the guide said he teased the animals with their food, and gave us a talk about how to handle the animals and such, so I went for it…mostly under the logic that dozens of tourists go each day and that, if any of them died, Lonely Planet would have written a warning.

[Random, nifty, hexagonal house on a pedestal.]

On a random note, I’ll mention that I spent one night in an infested hole of a hostel called Bella’s.  Although they required an upfront payment of at least two nights (bad sign, yes) I moved after one night to Tom’s Hotel.  It was on the opposite end of the island, and while it wasn’t an exciting place, it was very clean and quite comfortable.

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Belize: Belize City

Posted on May 6th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Belize, Blog, Travel.

I stayed for a couple days in Belize City, which had a bizarre, relaxing effect on me.  I couldn’t even type fast.  There’s actually not much in Belize City, though, so I wouldn’t recommend staying long.

One fascinating thing that I did encounter was a legit ROC embassy.  Due to the political situation between China (PRC) and Taiwan (ROC), most countries - the United Nations included - do not recognize Taiwan as a country.  There are maybe twenty countries in the world that do, and Belize just happens to be one of them.

I stayed at the Seaside Hostel, which may not look like much on the outside, but it was actually quite nice, with prices that are very reasonable in a country that is generally over-priced for Central America.  Some rooms even offer a view of the Caribbean Sea, and there’s a wonderful porch for relaxing.  Enjoying the sea breeze while reclining in a hammock and reading a book…does it get better than that?

An interesting little tidbit…the primary form of public transportation in Belize appears to be old, American school buses, the outsides of which are painted in bright colors (bad example above, my apologies.)  The insides have been left mostly untouched - the same, hideous green or brown vinyl seat covers that we all know and love.  Some buses have added over-head luggage racks.  Strange, huh?

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Belize: Belize Zoo

Posted on April 26th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Animals, Belize, Blog, Travel.

[Main entrance sign: “The Belize Zoo: A Haven for Wildlife”]

The Belize Zoo is a relatively small zoo, spread out on 29 acres of land, where animals are kept in their natural habitats.  Most of the zoo’s occupants have at one point been orphaned or injured, and by the time they were well, they were too tame to be released into the wild again.  There are a few animals that have been donated by other countries.

[Emerald Toucanet]

One thing that makes the zoo fun and special are the wacky signs they have posted to introduce the animals.  The below sign is the introduction to the Emerald Toucanet (pictured above.)

 
[Feast your eyes on something green!
I make a noise like a frog!
I’m rarely seen!
Of the three toucan types foun’ in our nation
I am the smallest variation!]

[Toucan] 

One big attraction was the toucan, Belize’s national bird.  I was amazed at how intelligent they are - sometimes, they seemed to be showing off, fully aware that we were watching them with curiosity.

[Harpy Eagle]

Another beautiful and intelligent bird is the Harpy Eagle, which is nearly extict, like so many other amazing creatures that most people on this planet don’t care about.  This particular Harpy Eagle was raised by humans and, oddly enough, takes comfort in their presense.  He was so longing for human attention that, when I finally moved on, I felt guilty for it.  I could’ve stayed with him all day.

[Scarlet Macaw]

Next up on the endangered species list is the Scarlet Macaw, and if you don’t want it to go extinct in the wild, you might consider visiting http://www.stopfortis.org/ and signing the petition against the hydro-electric dam that a large Canadian power company wishes to build.  The dam will cause the Scarlet Macaw’s only known breeding ground in the world to be flooded and destroyed.

[Jaguar]

In addition to the plethora of birds, Belize is also home to a number of big cats, including the jaguar.  Anna loves cats - big and small.  Anna was in heaven.  (I used to try to convince my mom to let me have a Siberian Tiger when I was little…that was one of the few requests she never broke down for…that, the iguana (why not???) and the goat.  Oh, and she never let me have a horse either.)

[Jaguar]

Please respect that I stuck my whole hand (and my precious camera) into the jaguar enclosure to get this picture - he was about 4 to 5 feet away from me and could have eaten my hand, had he been less lazy (but in the jaguar’s defense, it was a hot day.)  Know that I have risked limb, if not life, to make this blog more interesting. 

We live in a beautiful world…so take care of it, if you want any of the above creatures to be able to survive in it.

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Guatemala: Canopy Tour (Tikal)

Posted on April 16th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Guatemala, Travel.

I signed up for the zip-line canopy tour…partially because I thought it’d be fun to swing around between trees, and partially because they were advertised as “Tarzan tours”. I went at the place next to the gate of the national park that the Tikal/Yavin 4 site is in.  The guide was awesome - he had great English, and he took the time to point out lots of special plants on the way, describing special or medicinal properties.

[Myself…hanging from a cable up in the jungle canopy of northern Guatemala for reasons that seemed to make more sense at the time.] 

The guide also taught me how to ride upside down between trees, the idea of which terrified me at first…but then I decided I wanted to confront that fear, and I went ahead and did it.  It was really exhilerating…I felt like a bird.  The sky below me, the wind and trees rushing around me as I hung free with out-stretched arms.  (The only challenge in knowing when to turn back up so you don’t reach the next tree George of the Jungle Style.)

[Typical patform around a tree between two cables]

Of course, I’m somewhat skeptical about the wisdom of hanging from a cable 100 feet up in a third-world country…even right-side up…but I admit they had enough safety measures that I felt pretty comfortable…and a bit like an Ewok.  Then they took me on the Canopy Walk and my suspicions were confirmed.  Guatemala is the all-purpose Star Wars moon.

[Ewok bridge…err…Canopy Walk]

They took me on the uncompleted Canopy Walk free of charge, hoping to gain insights as to how an American/European tourist might react to various aspects.  Uncompleted, the Canopy Walk had none of the safety features that the Canopy Tour boasted, and at times I was climbing carefully on narrow steel girders where they planned to build a platform around a tree to connect two bridges, and there was nothing to hang on to but a huge tree trunk with no accessible branches.  I love the adventures.

[Myself on the Canopy Walk, but still geared up from the zip-line Canopy Tour]

Of course, by the time we got back to what passed for the office, the last bus next to Flores was long gone.  Never fear!  The workers at the site all live in Santa Elena, right next to Flores, and instead of spending three hours crammed into a ten-passenger van with 15 other tourists, I got a smooth one-hour ride in an air conditioned sedan.  Ah, the good life…

[The sunset on the ride back to Flores]

The Canopy (Zip-line) Tour, I should mention, only cost US$15 in Guatemala…is neighboring Belize, they run about US$100.  They it really didn’t serve as the wildlife tour they claim it to be…but for US$15 it’s a fun experience.  I would have hated to spend US$100 on it unless the Belize one is radically better.

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Guatemala: Tikal (Yavin 4)

Posted on April 15th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Guatemala, Star Wars, Travel.

Where is the rebel base?

Not on Dantooine…or even on Yavin 4…no, the rebels were in northern Guatemala.

[Anna’s picture of Tikal, Guatemala, taken from the top of Temple IV]

[Scene from Yavin 4 rebel base in Star Wars Episode IV]

Please take careful note of the similarities and differences of these two images and submit to me a one-page report on it one week from today.

[Temple I in Tikal]

Tikal’s most famous temple is Temple I, which folks haven’t been allowed to climb since two tourists tumbled to their doom from its steps some years ago.  It’s a pity, but we are allowed to climb Temple II, which is similar and offers a great view of Temple I, so I wasn’t too bitter about the lost opportunity.

[Temple V, the size of which cannot be captured without backing into the surrounding jungle]

While Temple I may be off limits, Temple V, which stands 40 feet taller and appears to be steeper as well, is not off limits.  The ledge on the top is no more than three feet wide, and there is no railing to keep the two-way pedestrian tourist traffic from tumbling down - I guess no one’s died here yet.  They’ll put up a railing after enough Americans tumble to their doom.

[View of Yavin…er, Tikal’s tallest pyramid, Temple IV, from atop the Lost World Temple.  And me, of course.]

Most of these pyramids were discovered in the past century, and it really made me wonder…how could you not know?  It was right up there on par with the ”How could Lois Lane not know Clark Kent is Superman?” question.  I mean, they’re rather large and hard to miss.  And then I stumbled upon an unexcavated temple (below) and I think I developed a new level of respect for the archeologists working there.

[Random unexcavated pyramid]

And to wrap this up, something very cute.  The Lonely Planet warned not to feed the coatis…is this what it was referring to?  It’s too cute to be a pest…  I mean, I wouldn’t mind having one for a pet.  The sad thing is, when I was little, I only had to convince my mom of the need for whatever animal I was after…but now I have to justify it to myself.  I have a hard time even justifying a fish.

 

Wiki declares the coatimundi to be a small, intelligent bear that in an insectivorious member of the raccoon family.  They live in Central and South America and have double-jointed ankles.  Interesting.

1 comment.

Guatemala: By Bus and Boat

Posted on April 15th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Guatemala, Travel.

[I tried to take a pic of this bird while it sat on my hand, but when I stopped feeding him he started slowly applying more and more pressure on my finger with his beak, reminding me that he was here for the food and not my entertainment.]

After making our last stop in Mexico at an open-air breakfast buffet where parrots hang out with the hopes of being fed the supplied sunflower seeds by the passing tourists, I continued on towards the Mexico-Guatemala boarder with a bus load of (mostly)backpacking Europeans.

 
[The boat that got ten life-direction-lacking-individuals, myself included, to Guatemala]

There’s no overly convenient boarder crosing between Chiapas and northern Guatemala.  You take a bus to the middle-of-nowhere Mexico, hunt down the immigration office, get your passport stamps, then climb in a small boat and ride down the river for a half hour ’till you meet the nearest road on the Guatemalan side of the boarder where you pile in another bus.  A much crappier bus.

[An alligator/crocodile/Annacan’ttellthedifference that our boat operator was kind enough to slow down, pull over, and point out for us]

We were met at the boarder by the above mentioned crappier bus, and all our luggage was piled on top the bus and strapped down for the 6-hour ride to Flores, only the last hour of which was on paved roads.  Many of the roads were made of more small to mid-sized rocks rather than gravel - in fact, we were all grateful when we got onto packed dirt roads.

[The bus on which I would end up discussing sci-fi, fantasy, and travel with a German dude for six consecutive hours…the conversation would continue for another three hours the next morning on yet another bus]

The immigration office wasn’t actually on the boarder, but about 5 miles into the country on an uncontrolled rock road.  Next door was a snack hut.  No one really makes you stop…it felt more like “Tourists: Guatemalan Passport Stamps - On Sale Today!  Only US$5!  (Bananas and Coca-Cola also available upon request.)”

[Guatemala’s boarder control office - very high security, as you can see]

So long Mexico…Yavin 4, here I come!

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Mexico: Chiapas: Agua Clara

Posted on April 8th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

[Bridge over Agua Clara]

Agua Clara’s blue-green waters may make it worth viewing, but the real draw to this other 30-minute side trip on your day trip to Agua Azul - in my opinion - is the stereotypical freaky bridge of wooden planks that hangs precariously from the two shores over this pretty lake.

The thing that makes these bridges freaky, other than their tendancy to make scary noises as they swing back in forth in the air, is the fact that not al the planks are wholly in tact - in fact, some of them are no longer a part of the bridge at all.  I suppose only a skinny Asian child could fall through to the rocks and water below, but if you weren’t watching, you might have a terrifying misstep.

For those who can’t bring themselves to cross the bridge back over to their waiting tour group, an old Mexican man offers a solution: for a small fee, he’ll take you back over on his raft.  (I took the bridge back - it’s so much fun!  How could I resist?)

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Mexico: Chiapas: Misol-Ha

Posted on March 15th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

[Approaching the Misol-Ha waterfall]

With the sun shining down from the top of the waterfall, and the stone path leading down to the clear blue waters, I nearly expected some unicorns, or at the very least some wood nymphs, to step out of the surrounding trees.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t granted so much as a rainbow.

[A view out from BEHIND the waterfall]

There’s not actually a lot to see at Misol-Ha, but it does have one very cool feature: you can follow the stone path along behind the waterfall.  In stories, heros and villians always go into secret layers behind waterfalls…but the stories never warned you that you get VERY WET when standing just behind those gushing sheets of water.  Sigh.  I always have to learn the hard way…

[Are they encouraging skinny dipping here??]

Misol-Ha is a quick stop, and alone may not be wholly worth the trip, but you can combine it in a day trip with Agua Clara and Agua Azul for a total of US$10 to $15…not bad.

2 comments.

Mexico: Palenque

Posted on March 13th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

[Palenque ruins - back door]

Unknowingly, I entered the Palenque ruins site from the back door, which means I then got the opportunity to climb up a seemingly endless pile of vaguely identifiable ruins, covered in moss and mud and slick from morning dew.  It was great. 

[Grupo Norte] 

After making my way, miraculously - for certainly the insects should have eaten me alive along the path - I was greeted by the North Group, a set of buildings that, while not particularly fancy or large, were very beautiful, and a lot of fun to scamper around on.

[The Palace, viewed from atop the nearby Templo de la Cruz]

Approaching from the ball courts, I didn’t find out that you could enter the lower section of the Palace until I later doubled back.  (Actually, I missed large sections of the site on my first pass, so when I got to the main gate feeling rather unsatisfied, I sat down and analyzed a map before heading back in.)

    
[Left: upper section window; Right: lower section window]

Windows in the Palace’s walls were all T-shaped, a Mayan symbol for wisdom.  In the “underground” section of the palace (which was inexplicably above ground) the T-shape was turned upside down, apparently because the Mayans believe that everything in the underworld is upside down, and “underground” tunnels like the one I was in were gateways to the underworld.

[From closest to farthest: Temple of Inscriptions, Temple XIII, and Temple of the Skull]

Near the main entrance is a set of three interesting buildings, none of which could be climbed, and only one of which could be entered.  (But hey, getting to go inside is pretty exciting.)

[Tomb of the Red Queen]

Inside Templo XIII was a tomb (empty of course, but exciting nevertheless.)  Labeled the Red Queen, she has never been properly identified (not moreso than being female.)  But the woman with buried with over 1,000 jade pieces…so likely she was somewhat important.  Doubt I’ll ever be buried with 1,000 jade pieces.

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Mexico: Edzna

Posted on March 8th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

[Random unrestored structure with tunnel]

On entering Edzna, after trudging through a length of mud and jungle - during which time I not only wondered if I’d find my way to the ruins, but also if I’d ever make it out again - I came to the choice of walking across the grass, or taking a short tunnel, possibly full of bats and spiders.  Of course, likening myself to Indiana Jones, we all know it was necessary for me to take the dark tunnel.

[Edificio de los Cino Pisos - the main temple at Edzna, standing 31 meters]

Entering the main plaza, I came to realize something.  The two Brits in my taxi and I were quite possibly the only people at this site.  And I’d left them way back in the jungle somewhere, so that made me the sole human in a site littlered with ancient temples.  It was a special sensation, and I took a few minutes to let the concept soak in.

[Mayan sun god - represented at sunset in this image]

Edzna didn’t have a great plethora of buildings, nor was it overly photogenic, but I did enjoy my time there, and it made for a nice half-day trip.  It did have a couple of neat sun god masks on site - one of the god at sunrise, and the other at sunset.  You could see hints of the paint they used - largely red, with hints of blue and green and black.  (Similar to colors the Chinese traditionally liked to use, no?  Very interesting.)

[My vote is either lizard or maybe turtle - or FROG!]

The above stone I found placed randomly on the pile of rubble that was an unrestored pyramid of medium size.  It interested me because normally any carvings are either removed or highlighted by a plaque…and this one was just a step on the temple that I doubt the average person notices.  I’m sure the acheologists have, and I know it’s not in great shape…but why was it all alone in the rubble?  And does anyone think about these things except for me?

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