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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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Meaningless Rant: Travel Plans: Spring 2007

Posted on January 13th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Meaningless Rants, Travel.

The evolution of my travel plans…

Plan 1)
Fly Taipei to New York, spend 5 days
Fly New York to Taipei

But it seems such a waste to go all the way to America, just to turn around and go back a few days later…why not make a vacation of it?  Where to go?  Never been to Mexico.

Plan 2)
Fly Taipei to New York, spend 5 days
Fly to Mexico City, spend 10 days
Backpacking in Mexico
Fly Cancun to New York, connect to Taipei

But then people started warning me that perhaps 10 days is not enough.  That transportation in Mexico is ungodly slow.  my mom suggested I choose between seeing Aztec sites, near Mexico City, and Mayan sites, near Cancun.  Maya was the obvious choice.

Plan 3)
Fly Taipei to New York, spend 5 days
Fly to Cancun, spend 10 days
Backpacking in Yucatan Peninsula
Fly Cancun to New York, connect to Taipei.

But really, if you want to see Maya stuff, you don’t want to limit yourself to just Mexico, do you?  Because there’s a lot to see in Belize and Guatamala.  But can you see three countries in 10 days?

Plan 4)
Fly Taipei to New York, spend 5 days
Fly New York to Cancun, spend 18 days
Backpacking in Mexico, Belize, and Guatamala
Fly Cancun to New York, connect to Taipei

But after all this delay, I couldn’t get my flight to Cancun with my frequent flier miles anymore.  After playing around, I managed to find a flight into Guatamala City, and another out of Belize City.  But, if I’m going to be in southern Guatamala, why not have a side trip to Honduras?

Plan 5)
Fly Taipei to New York, spend 5 days 
Fly to Guatamala, spend 18 days
Backpacking in Mexico, Belize, Guatamala, and Honduras
Fly Belize to New York, connect to Taipei

I’d better book my tickets now, else I’ll be back to Plan 1…and that’d be a terrible loss, no?

As for the detailed plan in Central America…
Guatamala City, Guatamala (transit point)
Copan, Honduras (excellent ruins)
Tikal, Guatamala (ruins in jungle)
Palenque, Mexico (excellent ruins in jungle)
Uxmal, Mexico (excellent ruins)
Chichen Itza, Mexico (excellent ruins)
Chetumal, Mexico (excellent museum)
Caracol, Belize (huge ruins site)
Cockscomb Basin, Belize (rainforest wildlife preserve)
Altun Ha, Belize (more ruins)
Belize City, Belize (transit point)

If only I had a thingie for putting up polls…it would say:

Think I can do it?

• a) Yes, it will be an awesome.
• b) No, you are doomed to failure.
• c) You shall perish along the path.
• d) Difficult to see.  Always in motion is the future.

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