Go slow, Chill Big

Sorry guys. Too tired. Bullet points. ¿Okay?

Day 1:

• Left Belize City and got on a ferry to Caye ("KEY") Caulker (Best island ever)
• Checked into Tina´s Hostel
• Volunteer project didn´t go as planned...we´ll be back next year!
• Walked around the island and befriended locals and stray puppies.
• Enjoyed Caribbean reggae vibe, laidback culture
• Cereal for dinner
• Sportsbar for authentic Belizean beer straight from the tap! And wrote postcards.

Day 2:

• Revisited island friends
• Stumbled upon sunset
• Barracuda steak dinner, Carribean salad, rice & beans, 2 rum punches, all for $15
• Spent our last night on hammocks on the water with our adopted puppies
• Woke up to sunrise
• Enjoyed Belizean organic coffee and shared the last nut cookie from Cancun as we savored our last morning on the Cayes

Our hearts were unlocked by the Cayes.









We will never forget you, Caye Caulker...

We crossed over the Belize-Guatemala border and paid $37.50 for the border fee whatthehell.

We are now staying in Flores and waking up at 3:30am to head out to Tikal to see C.America´s biggest archaeological Mayan ruins.

¡Buenas Noches!

Arriving in Belize City ....!

Last dinner at Tulum with our waiter, Neo. Hostel in Tulum 

Bus to Belize

Yesterday we left Tulum and said our bittersweet goodbyes to Mexico as we crossed our first border into Belize. Yesterday was a rough day's travel where we left Tulum early in the morning and got to Chetumal, Mexico 4 hours later, and then took another bus from Chetumal to Belize City for another 5 hours. Unluckily, we took a local bus instead of an express bus, and unluckily, our bus happened to be breaking down so it went 2x as slow as the engine's mumble grumble drowned out Enrique Iglesias' spanish ballads on the radio.

Neko.
We got dropped off at a very shady bus station on the south end of Belize City - the wrong side of town ! We started walking in the general direction of downtown but speed walked straight back to the station after being scared silly and not knowing where we were at all. A few people helped us out and advised us to definitely take a taxi to downtown to avoid getting mugged, so we met our taxi driver - this Jamaican guy who called his taxi "The Machine," and called himself "The Machine Gangster." Nina and I just nervously stared back at each other in the backseat, holding on to a breath or two...

Yesterday was the first time that we actually felt like we needed to carry our mace around and be on our tip toes. Despite only eating some cornflakes and a cup of coffee 12 hours ago, we were too scared to walk downtown to grab dinner, so we skipped across the street to a convenience store where all the products were behind big bars, and a small lady greeted us in front of a little window opening asking us what we wanted. And this is what we got: 

2 water bottles, chef boyardee, and stale plantain chips.
It's strange when in moments of risk/danger, you're immediately forced to trust complete strangers with a part or all of your safety/money/life when you're somewhere helpless by yourselves. And it's all based on good judgement. It's a scary reality, but we've been fortunate enough to have been meeting people who are still kind and have helped us along.

The Northfront Guest House

It's morning now and Belize City in daylight isn't as bad as at night, but it's definitely the poorest of the towns we've seen (the hostel we stayed at smells like pervy sweaty old men). But nevertheless, we are happy and crazy to be doing this.


We're off to Cayes Caulker in about an hour to hopefully meet Sra. Rosado, the principal of the school where we're planning to help out at for a few days.


Till then, ciao !

Cancún y Tumul, México 24.05.10-25.05.10

Nina and Yuka here!
Welcome to our cyberjournal. Day 1 and 2 have been incredible, and too much to soak in honestly.





















We found our cozy little hostel, called "The Nest," deep in the local streets of Cancún. The rooms each had names like Hufflepuff and Gryffendor. Our Cancún experience was just a little different from the Spring Break scenes MTV portrays. Cancún is a bustling little town, kinda dirty and "ugly," to quote the Lonely Planet guidebook. Which is true. But the locals are welcoming and some of them more than happy to help you, whether it be for their own benefits, or mere desire to engage in conversation with a foreigner. Shoutout to Carmen, the lady who showed up in more than one location, trying to sell us a cruise/resort package on the street, and then later a taco at a street vender. She works hard.

Nother shoutout to Darky and Raúl from the seafood restaurant where we feasted on fish and shrimp tacos, and a monster ceviche with tostadas. Then we hopped on the bus to check out the strip of beaches/resorts/plazas where vacationers go. We drooled at the monstrous hotels and their backyard beaches and enjoyed the view and malls catered to people with money. We got our 100 peso ice creams and returned downtown to our hostel.

It was already 9pm and the neighborhood was alive with families and vendors and picturesque lights and cute little kids blowing bubbles and riding go-carts. THIS PLACE IS SO CHILL. I would have much rather spent the evening in town than out in the areas made for the tourists.





Next morning we explored a supermarket. It wasn´t so exotic but come on! How often do we get a chance to step into a Mexican grocery store. Then to Tumul!

We got to explore the famous Mayan ruins surrounded by three stone walls, three because one side is already protected by the beach! So after seeing the ancient structures, we stepped into the Caribbean waters for the first time. This beach was postcard-worthy.












Tonight´s hostel, The Weary Traveler, has a laidback bohemian feel, complimentary breakfast and shuttlebus to the ruins/beach. This place is legit. Maybe we can make friends with the other weary travelers. Some hail from Holland, including Yuka´s cutie, who coincidentally came on the bus with us from Cancún. He traveled up from Peru, staying in places for months at a time by himself and going home in 4 days.

We talk with fellow travelers and smiley locals and take in the sights and sounds these places have to offer and we´re trying so hard to take it slow and digest everything as we go, but one day here and one day there just doesn´t do it justice. No one´s in a rush here. Only us, with our intense itinerary and digital watches.

Next on our agenda: call the rents. Our Asian parents are most likely sitting by the phones worried sick.

Activia and coffee still hasn´t done much for our indigestion.

In the words of Yuka and Ice Cube, "Today was a good day." Even though we got jipped by a bus driver.

Adios Mexico! Tomorrow we´re headed for BELIZE!

Itinerary !

May 24-25 / Mexico

May 26-29 / Belize

May 30-June 5 / Guatemala

June 6 / El Salvador

June 7-8 / Honduras

June 9-12 / Nicaragua

June 13-18 / Costa Rica

June 19-23 / Panama

June 24 / Boston

this is our homemade backpacking trip made from scratch with these dates as our rough guidelines, and two projects lined up in between. though it's nearly impossible to try and squeeze the best of eight countries into one little month, you can do anything if you really wanted to ! you just have to breathe a lot. and know that only a few things in life make up what really matter. we'll do our best.

love, yuka

( !!!!!!!!!!!! )