El Remate, Guatemala
I marvel at how quickly perspectives change. Circumstances which on one day appear as a thorny briar of threat, blossom the next day into the aromatic petals of adventure. The flower never really changes, but our senses do. Our bungalow at Hotel La Mansión del Pájaro Serpiente compensates for my lack of effective intramarital communication [...]
Border Crossing to El Remate, Guatemala
After rattling onto the dusty lot of the Benque Viejo del Carmen’s bus station in an orange-and-cream school bus, after escaping the bag-snatching (are we being mugged?) bellhop-like assault of two taxi drivers (catalyzed by our pale skin and prospects of procuring our last Belizean dollars), after pouring sweat along seemingly endless curves of thick-poured [...]
Along the Hummingbird Highway, Belize
Although Batty Brothers, Z-Lines and James Bus sold their routes to Novelo’s a few years ago, the buses still bear the names of their predecessors. Like a teenager’s first car, Belize employs garishly colored, rickety school buses handed down from public schools in the United States. Each time we load our heavy backpacks into the [...]
On the Western Highway, Belize – The Zoo
A cream and orange colored James Bus drops us along the Western Highway, somewhere between Belize City and Belmopan, at the entrance to the Belize Zoo. As the bus roars away, the thick jungle air of early morning quickly engulfs us, already whirring and squawking. Enormous mesh enclosures loosely separate macaws and toucans from black [...]
San Ignacio (Cayo), Belize
Belize is still just a teenager. A British colony until shortly after World War II and self-governing only since 1962, Belize became officially independent in 1991. So, to be exact, it’s a fifteen year old sophomore in high school. For most Americans, the sophomore year of high school proves most influential. No longer new kids [...]
