south beach

after a day to recover from the embarrassing Bronco performance i'm ready for the next adventure which is a trip to Miami's South Beach.  Marti, my closest childhood friend picks me up around 8AM.  it's early for me but i'm so excited i'm dressed and sitting on the front step ready to go ten minutes early.

Marti is the perfect friend to go to South Beach with -  she's a phenomenal artist and adds to the already colorful culture plus she knows all the great spots.  if you've been, you know that South Beach is really like no other place in the US and if you haven't been, well you should go.

we drive around and soak up the color and relax into a South Beach attitude.  it's daytime and traffic moves at a crawl everywhere.  the beaches, the streets, the cafes and shops are filled with people.  it gets even more crowded after dark when the nightclubs open and party spills out onto the streets.

we end up at the Delano, a fabulous Philipe Starck, hotel for lunch.  there are nooks that surprise and delight and are inviting to sit and relax.  i could sit in that lobby for hours but Lincoln Road and shopping and the gallleries are next on the list.  Just a walk down the road which has been turned into a pedestrian mall is filled with color and music and plenty of entertainment options.  it would be easy to spend a week here but i have only one day.

we end the day on Lincoln Road with a stop at Dylan's Candy Bar where there is sugar available in more shapes and sizes than i ever imagined.

we head back to the west coast of Florida and i can't wait for the next adventure with Marti.

off to florida

huge day for Denver with the Broncos playing at the Super Bowl.  i'm at the airport and it is blanketed in orange.  even the gate agents are cheerful.  i am not headed to the Super Bowl, i am going to Florida for a week of work/play/escape the cold.  i did go to both the superbowls when the Broncos played and won so i remember all so well the excitement of being at the game.  if the Broncos win i will be sorry to miss the energy of a city celebrating a victory that belongs as much to the fans as the players.  clearly, this woman has invested a large part of her paycheck in orange.

when i left the house this morning it was crisp and cold.  a picture perfect winter morning with a blanket of snow on the ground and a collection of snow on every exposed spot.  magical.  it was also really, really cold.


we are spoilt to have such a great international airport.  sure it's big but it has by far the best food choices of any US airport i've been in.  root down is my favorite but there are others that offer a taste of Colorado including sit downs at Elways, Boulder Beer, Belgium Beer House and the Chophouse.  the airport is clean and there's never a line to use the ladies rest room.  also, i've noticed Denver International Airport has put in filtered water stations inside the security line.  wish more places would do this.  thanks DIA!

3.5 hours is the time it takes to go from 12 degrees in Colorado to 85 degrees in Florida.  

post belize post

i've been back two weeks now and i still have dreams of the monkey pot.  on days when i sit in meetings with miserable, burnt out people that can't find a smile my mind wanders back to that moment when i stepped out on top of the Yaxha pyramid and the bliss of the moment washes over me.  also embedded in my consciousness for immediate retrieval is the feeling of floating in crystal clear water with the animals of the reef with my body soaking up the warmth of the sun.

when i checked out at Akbol i discussed with Kirsten an unauthorized charge on my credit card.  she said she'd reverse it but that hasn't happened even though i sent her a polite reminder last week.  so now i'm left to dispute the charge through my credit card company.  just another example of how poorly run Akbol is.

in two weeks i leave for a week in florida and another adventure.

homeward bound

our last day starts overcast and windy.  packed and ready to go, i have some time before we need to leave and i spend a few minutes with some of the travelers i've met who have shared a part of themselves with me and made my trip a little more special. 

as we are leaving i hear yet another guest being told their was no laundry service and i can see she's not very happy when she's told the laundry service in town will be closed because of the holiday.  wait till she finds out there's no hammock garden.  i want to be fair in my assessment of Akbol because there were both good and not good parts to our stay.  Kirsten was a fantastic yoga instructor and clearly enjoyed teaching.  the management and maintenance of the property were substandard and in the end i would not stay here again.  if you are staying elsewhere on the island i would encourage you to drop in for a yoga class as that she does well.

we take a Tropic Air flight back to Belize City and it's a fast flight leaving me with breathtaking views of the island, the water and the reef.  at the airport we weave our way through the ticket lines then stop in for something to eat.  one last cocktail as i fish out the travel size bottle of Belizean rum and add it to some diet coke.... ah, now if i only had a lime.

the signs are posted everywhere at the airport that a departure tax in the amount of US$37.50 must be paid.  somehow we get out of the country without paying the tax.  perhaps it was collected in my airline ticket and i didn't notice.

getting back into the US is a snap and i avoid all the lines because i'm in the trusted traveler program.  i walk directly onto my connection to denver and on the final leg home i think about what an incredible adventure this has been. the unknown of climbing through the ATM Cave, the pyramids in Yaxha, the howler monkeys at dusk, tikal for the sunrise, snorkeling on the reef and spending time with my amazing friend from London.

new year's eve

we woke up to rain, rain, rain and after breakfast at the bar i choose to skip yoga since there's no instructor in sight.  we flag down a taxi and head to the airport to pick up a golf cart.  i don't want to be reliant on a taxi to get us home after midnight.  also, we can avoid a taxi to the airport tomorrow by taking the golf cart.  we didn't make a cart reservation and the first couple of golf cart rentals we go to are out of carts.  i ask some random girls on the street where we might get a cart and they point across the corner.  sure enough, that rental agency has one left.  it's the crappiest golf cart i've ever seen but it'll work.  we cruise around checking out the island and i think the northern part is the nicest.  we stop in at Aji and make a dinner reservation.  i huddle with some other travelers to see what's exciting for the night.  seems like everyone is heading downtown which is where we eventually end up.

pure joy on a reef

day three waking up on the island.  again i roll out of bed, into yoga clothes and head over to the bar to sign in for yoga.  i run into one of my neighbors and ask if she's interested in kayaking out to the reef.  she's in and we agree to meet after yoga.  Kirsten's back but to accommodate the yoga retreat group we have class on a smaller platform that crowds everyone but it's yoga and we make it work.  a guy from duluth, mn mentions after yoga he might kayak out to the reef and i invite him to join us.  safety in numbers.  

the three of us set out to get some kayaks and head out to the reef.  Andy at Maya House just down from Akbol has the right equipment for a trip out to the reef.  he gets us geared up and we drag the kayaks down to the water.  there is no request to leave a cc deposit, sign a waiver and no suggestion that we take pfds.  at the same time there is a dark cloud and rain heading right for us.  we step under a tree and the storm sweeps past in five minutes.  we can see more rain clouds heading our way but we decide to go out anyway and head in if it gets too rough.  

the paddle to the reef is magical, the water is so clear we can see the bottom, the silence is broken only by the sound of the water crashing against the reef and we feel the wind and some spray as the storms pass to the south of us.  then as if on que when we reach a buoy to tie up to the sky clears and the sun sparkles in the water.

the reef here is unspoiled and close to the surface so as we snorkel we are a part of the reef and not just hovering above.  there is no one else around and we snorkel, pull ourselves onto the kayaks for a rest, jump in when we get hot and repeat.  we'd left without a thought to sunscreen as it was overcast and i get pink quickly in the hot sun.  we reluctantly head back and find out we'd been gone for four hours.  total cost for this priceless experience was $10US.  it was my favorite time on the island and if i went back i would do this every day.

back at Akbol i get ready to head into San Pedro for laundry pick up but it's getting late so we decide to have dinner in town.  we eat at Elvi's or Elvis, i never figured out which it was, then head back to Akbol via the water taxi.

mexico rocks

another beautiful day on the island.  i roll out of bed, into some yoga clothes and head over to the bar.  the regularly scheduled time for the yoga class comes and goes without anyone commenting on it.  we can see the yoga retreat is using the dock platform and there's no Kirsten and no one seems to know what is going on.  a few deep breaths later, or however many breaths you take in 30 minutes, a guy named Scott shows up and says he'll be leading the class.  it's immediately evident that he has a very different style.  his mechanics are good but there is no flow into or out of postures and it makes for an awkward class.  

we'd signed up for an afternoon snorkel to Mexico Rocks and that too was running late.  so late that i was reluctant to go, soon it would be dusk and the water would be too flat to see much, but i went.  the highlight on that short trip was seeing spotted eagle rays and a lionfish.  it reaffirms for me that i'm just not the guided tour type of person.  i hope tomorrow to find someone who would like to kayak out to the reef and snorkel freestyle.

back at our room i chat up another neighbor who i ask for some dining recommendations.  she sends us down the beach to Aji which ends up being our favorite dining spot on the island.  the tables are on sand and scattered over the property providing an intimate dining experience. twinkling lights are wound through the trees and tables are placed in natural looking nooks created by the trees. the food, the wine selection and the staff are the best we found on the island. also, we aren't consumed by flies that covered the bar and table at Akbol. sometimes it's just the little things.....  

there are also casitas on the property which are small one bedroom houses but have kitchen, bath, a/c and rates similar to Akbol.  this is where i would recommend staying for the best value on Ambergis Caye.

we walk back along the beach and pop over to the Palapa Bar which is a bar at the end of a dock just a few properties down from where we are staying.  it's impossible to miss the Palapa Bar as it has a large, garish sign on the roof.  the bar itself seemed skanky but it was here i saw my first shark of the trip.  it was circling the end of the dock in quick circles and it was big.  at least six feet.  i watched for five minutes until it moved away from the dock.

yoga bliss

it's up and over to the dock for yoga.  i've been really looking forward to this and the yoga class is great - the location perfect.  Kirsten is a wonderful yoga instructor and easily leads a class of varying levels.  

just breathing the clean air is bliss but watching the fish and rays off the edge of the dock make it a extraordinary class.  next up, breakfast, then snorkeling!  Akbol gets good reviews for the breakfast food but they are out of some of the basics like orange juice.  i drove through orange groves two hours away so it's surprising they

don't have oranges for juice.  they have 4 - 6 staff working the breakfast bar and preparing food but it can take up to an hour to get food.  the beach bar serves as restaurant, bar and office.  my impression this morning is that the owners and staff seem overwhelmed by having guests.

it feels so good to have my naked feet in the sand and i snorkel around the dock where there are plenty of fish and I spot two large starfish.  i could spend hours in the water but i need to get my laundry into town.  i usually have easy to wash clothes with me so rinsing out in a sink is doable but the jungle clothes have a thick layer of clay in them and it will take a proper washing to get them clean.  

off to San Pedro we go, it's a two mile walk but we hitch a ride from a passing golf cart.  i find the laundry spot and they are quite busy so it'll be two days before i can pick them up.  being in town in daylight gives me a chance to see how much has changed in the 16 years since i was last here.  it's built up quite a bit but the biggest change seems to be the road that runs tip to tip on the island.  the golf carts make zipping about easier but the town is less pedestrian friendly and i spend most of my energy avoiding golf carts.  we stop in at Fido's for a snack and it feels more like a sports bar in the US then a beach bar in the tropics.  the food is good and after a few more errands around town we head back to Akbol.  

we hang out at our room which is clean and comfortable with great ventilation and beautiful folding doors across the front and semi private front porch area.  although small it's very charming but the proximity to the road makes it very noisy and i never sleep really well.  the golf carts run on the road all day and into the night when the bars close.  when we get back, i notice our towels are gone, thinking that odd i ask a passing staff member for clean towels.  the towels never showed up.  it took me several days to figure out they probably didn't have enough towels for all the rooms so it was hit or miss if you got one. 

i chat up the travelers in the next room over and find them delightful.  they give me tons of information about what they've done and where they've been on the island.  there was a yoga retreat arriving so the entire resort was booked out and the staff was over stressed.  they commiserate about the towel situation and give one of their towels to me.  :)  one guest commented that she was disappointed to find out there wasn't a hammock garden as advertised on the website.  


another way the maintenance and management fails is in keeping the shared bath clean.  every time i went to take a shower the soap caked shelf grossed me out.  the space needed to be cleaned more than once a day as the trash bins including the ones in the toilet stalls with used toilet tissue were always overflowing with rubbish.  just grossed me out.


last night as i was sleeping i felt a bite on my foot which i ignored.  when i woke up today my foot was quite swollen although there wasn't a visible bite mark.  i'm covered with quite a few bites at this point so it's just another addition to the jungle bites.

no tapir

today we are driving back across the Guatemala border across Belize to Belize City to catch a ferry out to the island.  not really interested in another substandard meal at the Jungle Lodge we grab coffee and head out.  we see a coatamundi playing and a strange tiny deer as we drive out of the park.  this area is called the petite jungle because all of the animals are smaller than counterparts found in other jungles.  as for the mysterious tapir, well we didn't see one.  given the amount of time we spent in the jungle in the dark it seems possible that we might have seen a jaguar but we didn't see one of those magnificent animals either.

it's 141 miles from Tikal to Belize City and we leave at 8:30 AM.  with a border crossing a few store stops and lunch we arrive at the ferry after 4:30PM.  i stop for some flip flops because the clay hill destroyed the pair i had.  we also find a car wash because the car is covered up to the windows with mud and clay which would surely be a flag to the rental car company.  

the border doesn't take too long but there is a line getting into Belize and i chat up an Australian couple who are touring Central America.  we lament the fact that border crossings are so unpredictable and you have to be on highest alert as the children and other hawkers crowd you. i give them a lift into the next town over which is San Ignaciao and we stop for lunch.  i buy some spices in the farmer's market and we find some Guatemalan coffee at the grocery store.  then drive on to Belize City to drop the car.  i will not miss it.  that damn alarm went off every single time i unlocked the car.  i did the driving on the mainland and was comfortable doing it.  i was glad to have the flexibility to stop and go as we pleased. it is not however, for the less adventurous traveler and most people acted surprised when i said i rented a car.

Belize City is exactly as described in all the forums and guides.  it's another place where as i do a mental risk assessment i'm sure i don't want to be.  it's heartbreaking to see the poverty and conditions that exist so close to the US. my hope for Belize is they can develop ecotourism in a sustainable way since they don't seem to have any other viable economy. 

we're taking the ferry out to Ambergis Caye and it's dark so that's disappointing and as we arrive in San Pedro the water taxi we need out to the resort is just pulling away from the dock.   i'm tired and cranky even though i celebrated getting rid of the car with a rum/juice cocktail on the ferry.  we get a snack as we wait for the next water taxi which leaves at 8:30.  it turns out to be our last chance to eat as when we arrive at our resort everything is completely dark.  we wander around shouting and eventually find the owners who's welcome is to tell us what a tough day they've had.  seriously, i've been traveling for 12 hours, doing all the stuff you just read about and i'm tired and cranky and they want me to empathize about their day?

Kirsten shows us to our room which has a lizard on the wall.  hey, it's the tropics and i expect bugs and reptiles to show up, it was the half-hearted way she attempted to get him out that was ridiculous.  her dog came in and chased it around the room for a while then it disappeared into a crack.  we never saw it again but we kept our bags zippered so we didn't take any extra critters home.  i like to pack super light when i'm traveling and because the website said they had laundry service onsite i expected to be able to get my jungle clothes washed.  so i ask Kirsten where i could drop my clothes in the morning to be told that wasn't an option.  it's late, dark and our hosts had a bad day.  i'm hoping it's all sunshine and rainbows in the morning but this stay isn't starting great. 

the grandaddy of all mayan ruins

it seems like we hardly even slept before our tour guide Roxy was knocking on our door at 4:30am.  it was starting to rain so we pulled on the rain gear and hiked about an hour to the far side of the ruins. it was really a hassle to get a hotel inside the park, but the closest accommodations are about an hour away which means don't even bother going to sleep if you are going to do the sunrise tour.  Roxy was a great guide and kept us awake until we got to Temple IV which we climbed to watch the sunrise. most people were respectful and quiet which allowed for an introspective moment as i contemplated about the uses of the temple that Roxy had explained to us.

the tour continues through the amazingly well excavated and reconstructed temples, pyramids, homes and markets that once held the Maya civilization.  it's impossible to cover the site in 5 hours or touch more than briefly on Maya history even for Roxy who is a fast talker and keeps us moving.  Mid morning as the tour ends she suggests we take a break at the hotel since the tour buses will be pouring in and come back later to explore more and catch the sunset.  and that's what we decide to do.  we see toucans and spider monkeys around the temples and the 'dew' falling from the trees as we hiked in earlier was from the monkeys in the trees above us as they were waking up.  just saying, glad i had an umbrella.

we stayed at the Jungle Lodge and if you don't need a shower or electricity and don't mind walls covered with mold this place will do.  i hate arriving after dark because it's so much harder to assess the accommodations but with the shorter days and distances we were covering it was difficult.  once i've opened my bag i'm reluctant to hunt up a new room or hotel.  i woke up one night and got up using my flashlight and there was a huge spider on the wall.  it must have been six inches across but it wasn't hairy so i thought probably not dangerous.  

after nap and lunch, we talk a server in giving us a bottle of wine and two wine glasses and plan to hike back in for a few hours of exploring before sunset.  then both of us hit a wall and can barely even move our feet.  we drag ourselves over to the espresso bar and hope that will do the trick.  slowly, slowly we make our way back to the Gran Plaza which is the center of the excavated ruins.

it's misting and a light rain but that just helps clear our the tourists faster.  we are adventure girls and we improvise an umbrella/sarong tent on top of the goddess temple across from the Jaguar temple and have some snacks white we wait for the sun to set.  we hike out in complete darkness.

before i left i tried to read up a bit about the maya civilizations but found all the books available were quite academic and didn't really bring the culture to life for me.  the Maya were a sophisticated, intellectual people and i'm sorry i wasn't able to do a deeper dive into the history of these amazing people.

i have to give a shout out to Lauren, an intrepid traveler, who provided tons of first hand advice on exploring the jungle and ruins.