by Land & by SEA

10/19/2010

We awake and head down to breakfast its a basic break fast of Rasin bran, bannana, and toast. Take showers and make our way to Akumal.  Getting directions to bus station from the associate at the Tanaka Hotel e find its only 4 blocks away, this was a relief considering my pack weighs in at 55lbs I'm also not in the best shape then you add in high temps and humidity and im sweating like crazy.  We purchase our tickets to Akumal at the ADO terminal and walk toward the waiting area our bus departs in 10 minutes.  Boarding the bus we experience the glory of air conditioning its nice Im soaking wet mind you.  We arrive to Akumal in short order and the bus drops us along the highway.  We walk into the town and find a local restraunt with American Mexican cusine :) Ben and I both order beef tostadas we clean our plates.  We find that the resteraunt has free WiFi and Ben checks his email and finds an email from Zac he is on Caye Cauker and island off Belize he wants us to meet him and Marike below are the directions he gives us.

"Ben,

Yo yo. Sorry this email has taken so long. Hopefully this finds you well in Mexico. We are on Caye Caulker island in Belize. It is amazing!! And would recommend coming down. We just paid for five more nights here, at 20.00 Belize total per night. Which means, it will cost you and Eric, 5.00 USD per night to stay here. Maybe less, he said he would cut us a deal. So here are the in and outs of getting here. Its a bit of a journey.

Bus From Wherever you are, Playa Del Carmen, Tulum??) Direct to Chetumal. Make sure you get a second class bus (Segundo Classe). All the buses charge about the same, but Mayan, or Cristobal Colon may be a little cheaper. It will coast about $25-30 I think USD, so about 280 pesos?? something. Dont really remember. But its about five hours straight south.

From the Chetumal bus terminal, take a taxi for 20 pesos, to the MAIN PIER. There is only one. You will have to describe in spanish though. Belize Water Taxi. They may be confused and try taking you to the road crossing, if they think you want to go to Belize?? But anyway. The water taxi is fairly expensive. 360 pesos. About 40 USD. The water taxi will go through San Pedro. and then continue to Caye Cauker.

There is only one boat to San Pedro and Caye Cauker per day, and it departs at 4:00 mexican time. so maybe try planning the bus, so arrives just a little earlier. Nothing really to see in Chetumal.

Note: DO NOT PAY ANYTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING, ZERO PESOS, TO THE CUSTOMS GUY. THERE IS NO EXIT FEE, TAX, NOTHING. AND YOU PAID EVERYTHING INCLUDED INTO YOUR AIRLINE TICKET. DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY MONEY. EXPLAIN YOU HAVE BEEN IN MEXICO LESS THEN 7 DAYS, AND YOU DO NOT PAY.

Once here, you can exit the dock, and turn right. Walk all the way down, there will be a guy selling paintings on the right. Just past him, is a place call called PEDROS. ON THE LEFT SIDE. It will be dark, because the bar is not open yet, but wander around and look for the owner, and he will be able to find us. OK. The internet here is fucking outrageous expensive. Hopefully that gives enough info. See you on the island. PEACE\

Zac" 

We discuss our options at this point and decide it would be best to meet with Zac and Marike sooner than later and hope that thye might be better at spanish than we are.  We ask about a bus to Chetumal and are told to go back to the road.  While at the bus stop a small bus stops and the driver explains that you must go to Tulum to get a bus to Chetumal so we get on this packed full bus of which our packs barely fit.  We pay 20 each for this taxi and then pay 132.00 each from Tulum to Chetumal.  we sleep most of the way to Chetumal and once in town hail a taxi outside the bus station.  We are taken to a unnamed turquoise hotel and a 2 bed room with no AC is presented for 230.00 a night.  Score...we drop or bags and take a stroll to see if any thing intrigues our appetite.  I settle with a Coca cola and Giro cookies (OREOS) Ben scores a 40oz Sol cervesa and we head back to the room to decompress.  Its amazing to think that this is our life for the next 8 months or longer.  I'm excited and scared at the same time.

Air Transportation

10/18/2010

Riding in a plane next to a beautiful woman is a great way to pass the time, especially if she is capable of stimulating conversation.  This was going to be to my benefit only.  I looked across the aisle over at Ben with his jaw gaping, he rolled his eyes as an older couple took their seats next to him.  We got off the plane and went through the customs stand, we agreed to put down 27 days as our stay in Mexico. We gathered our bags, Ben's bag was much smaller than mine..he of course didn't have a huge camera in a Pelican case, or Slackline gear.  After going through the scanner you press a red button and it randomly selects that your bag is searched by a customs associate.  Thankfully Ben had his bag searched and I was cleared I just know they would have taken out the Pelican and the slacklines and have been confused and I wasn't excited for that.  We walked through some sliding doors and decided to exchange some money to Pesos the exchange was $1.00USD to $10.2Pesos I exchanged $170.00 USD and received 1730 Pesos FYI the best exchange will be in the US we passed on a stand in the Houston airport because we didn't know what would be better.  Live and learn right.  We had met a couple, Skylar and Whitney in the Houston Airport and mentioned splitting a taxi into Cancun, we looked all over for them and found them in the exact taxi we had negotiated to take us into town for 10.00USD.  We crammed into the bus and went for a ride it quickly started to pour rain like you wouldn't believe.  We were the last in and assumed the last stop. We intended to find the hostel and hope it wasn't full and was truly cheap.  The stop just before ours was at the Tanaka Hotel in Cancun the couple getting out said it was 380 pesos per night.  I ran in to check if he a had a room with 2 beds and it was a done deal.  We found ourselves on the second floor with a broken AC unit and hungry.  We stashed our things and grabbed some cash to find dinner.  Some buildings have very poor curb appeal and others seem to have a owner with deep pockets.  I wonder if this would change in 50-100 years?  We came around the corner and stopped at a restaurant with few guests.  The menu was entirely Spanish and I was lost... being a picky eater is one thing but when you can speak the language or read the menu its scary.  Ben recognized chorizo on the menu and ordered some tacos, I tried to order like I would at Taco King in Anchorage, Alaska I was prompted to order something else almost as if she knew what I explained and was to say "oh you really want this".  Out comes the food, Ben's tacos and my mystery meat and red soup with mystery meat.  Ben identifies it as pork chops and says "watch out for the bones" I try the soup first its alright, only one flavor and I'm intrigued. I try the pork chops and grab some lemonade in the process.  The meat has a strange texture and I'm quickly loosing my appetite.  We finish our meal and after 2 attempts to get our check we succeed pay and walk back toward the Tanaka Hotel. At a convenience store I grab a Snickers bar for 9 pesos and Ben gets 3 bottles of water for 20 pesos.  Once back to the room we quickly pass out as this has been a long day considering neither of us slept in the past 24 hours.

Leaving tomorrow

Tomorrow at 7:00am I get on a flight at Seattle airport for Cancun, Mexico with a one way ticket my travel plans are open.  Once on the plane I will be sitting next to Ben who starts his day in Anchorage, Alaska.  Ben & I will meet up with Zach & Marieke in Belize in a few weeks.  We set off on a journey to capture countless awe inspiring moments with friends and fellow travelers.  I'm only taking a small backpack with camera equipment, slackline gear, hammock, and limited clothing.  I intend to make the most of a 6-8 month departure from the U.S.  I hope to partake in some Voluntourism, Scuba Diving, Zip lining, & Slacklining. This is the adventure I have been waiting for.  Live vicariously through this blog, let it be your motivation to explore the world.

I QUIT my job...

I quit my job... When you consider the current status of the United States, it's such a wild thing to say,  let alone do. Unemployment woes are hitting Americans all over the country, leading to higher competition for jobs. Yet here I am 27years old thinking, "Here goes nothing."  My reasons for leaving my job of 5 years really had little to do with the job itself, but more to do with me. 

If you have read my bio page you are aware of the loss I recently went through.  Coping with that has been one of the greatest challenges of my life.  I was in Alaska for just under 2 weeks to mourn for my friends.  I realized I have made the best friendships and had the fondest memories while traveling. When people ask me where I'm from I want to respond "All over." I have been a transplant from city to city many times over the last ten years.  Every time I move I stay in touch with those closest to me, yet everyone I meet gifts me with some wisdom. 

So I quit my job, sold my car, and put my things in a storage unit. I'm leaving Seattle on October 18th to travel around Central America with friends Ben Peltz, Zachary Blair, and his girlfriend Marieke Keulen. We hope to visit most of the countries in Cental America although some may be skipped in fear of enslavement.  We have no timeline or detailed itinerary, we are all expert budget travelers, and enjoy meeting new people.