Pics from my 2012 summer trip in Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala

The Mexican Riviera – places like Cancun, Playa del Carmen. Powdery white sand, turqouise water, big hotels and little guesthouses, jungle and cenotes. Tulum is Mayan ruins right on the Carribean:

Near Tulum, further inland are some other ruins called Coba. They are so big that you rent a bike to cruise through them:

From Tulum I bused it across the border into Belize. This is the Belize City bus terminal:

Belize City is a pretty wild place. Small town, weather beaten British colonial style buildings made of wood, streets full at all times, rice and beans soul food, at least three languages, and tourist police on bicycles who escort you from the bar to your hotel and accept a beer for a tip.

When my boat to Honduras was cancelled I took a bus down to Placencia in southern Belize. Its main street is just a sidewalk:

Lydia´s Guesthouse, pictured above, is a nice place to stay. Lydia was great to talk to. The Belizeans are friendly, interesting people. They are master small-talkers. I spent an hour watching this guy below turn a burnt piece of scrap wood into a carving of a monkey:

Belize is paradise:

After Belize adventures getting through Guatemala and mainland Honduras to my ultimate destination for this trip, the Bay Islands in Honduras. I went to Roatan. The diving was excellent:

The water and beaches were this:

And it was a good place to party:

After 8 days on Roatan, on my final night I went to a huge Garifuna beach party and got down to local drumming. I have videos and stories to post much later.

After Roatan I had to make my way back up to Mexico. After more crazy adventures through Honduras and Guatemala, I had a nice time in Flores and Tikal, the huge Mayan ruins of Guatemala and the rebel base in Star Wars.

From Tikal I took buses and a boat all the way to Palenque. I was there last year, so I knew where to find the waterfall in the jungle near the ruins:

Good things are to be found in Palenque´s market. I bought coffee and cacao beans (the rawest form of chocolate, the bags on the right of the photo) from this woman, and she gave me two cigars and a little baggie of sticky tamarino for free.

Then I made it to Cancun to meet my girlfriend. We went to the night show at Chichen Itza:

And in the day:

Valladolid, the little town next to Chichen Itza, is a great place to visit:

And its market also offers treasures of the jungle. These two were selling honey and all things made from yucca:

And now I´m back where I started. Yesterday we visited Tulum:

There´s a story behind all these places. When I get back home I will start posting them. Thanks for checking out my blog.