This is a male quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala. And, yes, that tail and those colors are totally real.

Spotting quetzals during our time at Ranchito del Quetzal was eerily easy. All we had to do was get out of bed at first light and stumble down to the restaurant where as many as 10 quetzals at a time dutifully came out to greet us. However, our next attempt to see these technicolor birds, at Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve, was much harder work right from the get-go.

Getting to Chelemhá

First there was the matter of getting to the privately owned and run Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve, a 400 acre (172 hectare) chunk of land in the Yalijux Mountains in the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala. We’ve driven to many places on the Trans-Americas Journey where we were told we’d need our 4×4 toughness. Often we got to the end of the road and realized that a rental car could have handled the road. Not this time.

We waved goodbye to pavement just a few miles past Ranchito del Quetzal and turned onto a well-graded dirt road. The biggest obstacle on this section was the number of road work trucks and pieces of big machinery since teams were busy prepping this section for pavement. Roughly two hours later we reached the town of Tucuru and turned off toward the reserve.

Road conditions remained perfectly acceptable until we reached the tiny town of Nuevo Vinaroz where the road took a turn for the worse with very deep ruts and seriously big rocks. From here on out the road was quite rough but mostly no big deal as long we drove very, very slowly. More or less three hours into the journey steep inclines were added to the mix as we climbed up above 7,500 feet (2,300 meters) where the reserve is located.

Some sections of the road were so steep that concrete strips had been poured on the ground at roughly wheel width for traction. We actually nearly overheated the engine for the first time on the entire Journey during some particularly slow, steep climbs and we had to pull over three times to let the engine cool down which gave us time to admire our surroundings and not just the road ahead.

Conservation, Chelemhá style

Chelemhá Lodge in the remote Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve in Guatemala.

We reached the reserve about four hours after turning off the pavement and it took about 10 seconds to fall in love. The narrow,  three-story, all-wood Chelemhá Lodge seems to spring out of a steep, tree-covered incline–not exactly natural, but totally appropriate.

Opened in 2005, profits from the lodge, which is owned and managed by a conservation group called Unión para Proteger el Bosque Nuboso (Union for Protecting the Cloud Forest) or UPROBON for short, are used to maintain the current reserve, enable the purchase of more land for protection and to fund projects including reforestation (UPROBON has planted more than 40,000 trees so far), local staff training and collaborations with the local Mayan Q’eqchi’ community including an eco-education program.

Supporting land conservation and animal habitat, spreading eco-awareness and enabling the local Mayan community aren’t the only reasons to visit the lodge.

A cloud forest cabin

Chelemhá’s Swiss/German ownership is evident in the simple yet gorgeous and efficient design and craftsmanship of the four room lodge which was made primarily from wood salvaged from fallen trees on the property. The construction has a minimalist, arts-and-crafts look and feel with hand made furniture, handy built-ins everywhere, a central circular staircase and clever nooks and crannies that make the most of the small spaces.

The cabin chic of Chelemhá Lodge in the remote Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve in Guatemala.

Even the candles (there’s no electricity) are handmade using the waxy fruit of the arrayan tree, just as the Mayans do. Shoes are not allowed inside the lodge (bring inside shoes or non-slip socks or slippers) and there’s a stash of rubber boots for use outside when it’s wet and muddy. This is a cloud forest after all.

Meals are prepared in an open kitchen using ingredients grown on an adjacent organic farm by host/manager/conservationist/cook Armin Schumacher, a Swiss man who’s been here for 14 years. The whole place is heated by a big cast iron wood-burning stove which also heats all the water needed for showers and cooking.

Host, conservationist, organic farmer and cook Armin Schumacher with some local, organic plums he was about to turn into delicious cobbler and jam at Chelemhá Lodge in the remote Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve in Guatemala.

Two levels of the lodge have wrap-around decks with feeders on every corner. These attract at least half a dozen different types of hummingbirds. So many hummingbirds visit the lodge that Armin has started collecting donations for the sugar he needs to make the syrup these tiny birds consume at an alarming rate.

Hummingbirds at Chelemhá Lodge.

Chelemhá Lodge with just some of the land that's protected as part of the Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve in Guatemala.

A cloud forest quetzal nest

Hummingbirds are great, but we’d driven up to Chelemhá to see quetzals. The morning after our arrival we got up at 4:30, roused by the dinosaur-like sounds of a troop of howler monkeys and the delicious smells from the kitchen where Armin was busy making an enormous breakfast of fruit, granola, homemade bread, strong coffee, steel-cut oatmeal and eggs.

Hiking up to find quetzals in land protected as part of the Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve in Guatemala.

At 6:00 am local guide Rojeño arrived and we headed up, up, up into the high reaches of the reserve. A three mile (4.5 km) trail switch-backed its way past a few agricultural plots, into secondary growth forest making a comeback now that it’s protected then into dense primary cloud forest. Suddenly we were surrounded by enormous old giants which remind us of the sequoias in California–only here they’re draped in moss and mist.

This is where the quetzals thrive and it wasn’t long before Rojeño pointed out a tree trunk with the top missing. Though it was still rooted in the ground, the tree was dead and hollow. About midway up the trunk there was a round hole and inside that hole was a quetzal nest.

This male quetzal emerged from its nest inside a hollow tree trunk and posed for us on a nearby branch in the Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve in Guatemala.

We staked out the nest and, after about half an hour, a male quetzal emerge from the hole and flew to a nearby branch where he began calling, flicking his elegant tail with every chirp. Incredibly, the bird remained on the branch for another 30 minutes, undisturbed by our picture taking. At times it almost seemed like he was posing.

We saw two more quetzals in the upper reaches of the reserve before descending back down to the lodge, satisfied.

This male Quetzal emerged from its nest in a hollow tree trunk then posed for us on a nearby branch in the Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve in Guatemala.

This horned passalid beetle we encountered on a trail through the Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve was big enough to fill the palm of your hand.

A Guatemalan emerald spiny lizard spotted on a trail through the Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve.

A bushy crested jay having breakfast near one of the wrap-around porches at the Chelemhá Lodge in Guatemala.

Organically grown plums from the neighboring farm which supplies food to the Chelemhá Lodge in Guatemala.

Related posts:

1. Photo of the Day: Resplendent Quetzal – Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve, Guatemala
2. Bucolic Basecamps – Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, Belize
3. Quetzals the Easy Way – Biotopo de Quetzal, Guatemala

Welcome to quetzal country in Guatemala.

The quetzal is Guatemala’s national bird and their money is named after it. It’s also one of the most impossible looking species on the planet. The bird has iridescent feathers that change from bright green to dark blue to nearly black as the light shifts. Its overall color scheme includes an eye-popping mix of neon green, red, blue, yellow and white. The feathers on its tiny head are like a fluffy mohawk. Strange finger-like feathers seem to wrap around from its back toward the front of its chest as if to hug the bird. Its eyes are beady and black.The males sport tail feathers than can be more than three feet (one meter) long.

A quetzal is pictured on the eponymously named Guatemalan currency.

The holy grail of birding

A male quetzal in a trumpet tree, one of their favorites, above the restaurant at the Ranchito del Quetzal guesthouse in Guatemala.

Quetzals are also incredibly shy and prefer a very specific cloud forest habitat that only exists in a few places on earth. This makes the quetzal a must-spot for most birders and, frankly, for non-birders like us too. And so we headed for the Biotopo Mario Dary Rivera nature reserve, more commonly called the Biotopo de Quetzal in the Verapaz region of Guatemala in search of this unbelievably showy yet famously hard to spot bird.

Timing is (almost) everything

A male quetzal near the restaurant at the Ranchito del Quetzal guesthouse in Guatemala.

Quetzals are “easiest” to see from March to June. That’s their mating season so they’re more active and this is also when the males’ tail feathers gain full length and splendor. We arrived in quetzal country in May with fingers crossed.

Location, location, location

We’d heard the rumors that quetzal sightings were practically guaranteed at a little guesthouse right next to the Biotopo de Quetzal called Ranchito del Quetzal Hotel & Restaurant. Whenever we hear the words “guaranteed” in association with any kind of animal sighting we roll our eyes. But we checked in anyway after driving past their sad, faded sign on the highway.

Yep, a renowned place to see quetzals is right on a major road. That’s really the only drawback at the Ranchito. The rooms are simple concrete block affairs but comfortable enough for  180Q (about US$23). There are great hiking trails on the guesthouse’s property (which literally shares a fence with the biotopo) and the owners, Flori and Don Julio, could not be more charming–even when they were knocking on our door before sun up asking “Quiren ver las quetzales?” (Do you want to see quetzals?).

A male quetzal in flight.

Quetzals and coffee

A male quetzal in a tree near the restaurant at the Ranchito del Quetzal guesthouse in Guatemala. Though this bird looks blue that's just a trick of the light on its iridescent feathers.

We threw on clothes, grabbed binoculars and cameras and did our best to quietly hurry down to the restaurant where Flori had set out plastic chairs and made coffee. Don Julio, meanwhile, was calmly pointing at a trumpet tree (guarumo in Spanish) less than 40 feet (12 meters) away. Up in its branches was a male quetzal. Just like that. Quetzals love the fruit of the trumpet tree. Knowing that, Don Julio planted loads of them on his property years ago and now the quetzals know they can come here and eat.

We sat there in our comfy chairs sipped hot coffee and admired the birds for a couple of hours. As the sun came up we looked forward to really seeing their brilliant colors but the birds seemed to dislike the sun. They almost seemed to hide from it, waiting for a patch of clouds to obscure it before flying or feeding again.

Don’t hate us because they’re beautiful

A male quetzal in a trumpet tree, one of their favorites, above the restaurant at the Ranchito del Quetzal guesthouse in Guatemala.

That same scenario repeated itself the next morning, minus the knock on the door since we now knew the routine. At one point we counted more than 10 quetzals in the same tree. It was getting ridiculous. To be honest these sightings came so easily they were almost anticlimactic. We certainly didn’t fell like we earned them. We never even set foot in the Biotopo del Quetzal. Hell, we barely had to get out of bed.

So we decided to visit a remote, privately owned nature preserve called Chelemha where we would have to work for our quetzals.

A female quetzal. Only the males grow long tail feathers.

Related posts:

1. Photo of the Day: Resplendent Quetzal – Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve, Guatemala
2. Quetzals the Hard Way – Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve, Guatemala
3. Troubled but Trying – Guatemala City, Guatemala

Aguateca Archaeological Site by boat

It’s got the word “agua” right in the name and, in some ways, the roughly two hour boat ride that you have to take from the town of Sayaxche out to the Aguateca archaeological site was the best part of our visit to this once powerful Mayan city which dates back to 300 BC.

The Rio la Pasión is the only highway to the Aguateca Mayan archaeoloical site in the Peten region of Guatemala.

In Sayaxche we called a local boat man named Manuel (+ 502 59136012), then we piled into one of his small open-air boats and headed up the Rio la Pasión. The river eventually widened into what’s called Laguna Petexbatún. Surrounded by the Petexbatún Wildlife Refuge, the area is a favorite hang out for birds including herons, ahingas, cormorants and osprey. Not to mention crocodiles and iguanas.

Birds on Laguna Petexbatún on our way to the Aguateca Mayan archaeological site in the Peten region of Guatemala.

When we reached the site our boatman parked and we sloshed up a sloping hillside to the entrance. The hillside has natural springs which made the slope muddy and slippery so wear proper walking shoes for this one.

Archaeologists didn’t even know that the remains of this city were here until 1957, but they’ve unearthed a lot since then. The site is also bisected by an unusual grieta, a natural chasm that’s up to 80 feet (24 meters) deep.As you explore the trails around this sprawling site you can cross the chasm over the same very cool natural bridge that the Mayans used.

Aguateca Mayan archaeological site in the Peten region of Guatemala is best reached by boat.

Aguateca Mayan archaeological site in the Peten region of Guatemala.

You can camp for free at Aguateca in a big, flat, grassy area but you must be totally self-sufficient and you’d have to negotiate for your boatman to stay with you to ensure you have a ride back to Sayaxche.

Karen admiring the remarkably crisp carving on this stone stelae at Agauteca Mayan arcaheological site in Guatemala.

The Mayans who lived at Aguateca became powerful local rulers and they probably thought their watery location and hilltop perch afforded them some defense from their enemies. But it wasn’t enough. Archaeologists believe that an invading force ultimately breached Aguateca around 800 AD forcing the royal class to flee to nearby Punta de Chimino where they, again, relied on water to protect them.

Archaeologists believe that this palace was abandoned by the royal class as they made their escape from Aguateca around 800 AD.

This partially re-constructed stone stelae at the Aguateca Mayan arcaheolgoical site in Guatemala retains a lot of original carving.

These partially re-constructed stone stelae at the Aguateca Mayan arcaheolgoical site in Guatemala retains a lot of their original carving.

Chiminos Island Lodge on the world’s first Mayan-made island

When the royal class abandoned the beseiged city of Aguateca they headed for Punto de Chiminos, a spit of land just a few kilometers away. Once there, they started digging. Well, the royals probably didn’t start digging, but their servants sure did, ultimately cutting an impressive and enormous trench through dirt and rock to cut off the tip of the spit, creating a small island which they hoped would protect them from their enemies.

Mayans desperate to protect themselves from invaders are believed to have dug an enormous trench through earth and rock to turn the tip of Punto de Chiminos, above, into a man-made island.

Today there’s a small lodge on Punto de Chiminos. The Chiminos Island Lodge has five stand-alone bungalows built amongst what remains of the city that the fleeing royals built here before they were ultimately overtaken.

Situated around the periphery of the island, the huge wooden rooms all have multiple beds, private bathrooms, big porches and generator electricity until 10 pm. There are hard wood floors and a lovely stone shower. Each bungalow also has a thatch roof with a screened “false ceiling” built under the thatch to keep grit and critters from falling into the room. Smart.

Our room at Chiminos Island Lodge where a violent wind and rain storm made us feel like we were about to be blow into the lagoon--or smashed by a falling ceiba tree.

At Chiminos Island Lodge you also get what amounts to your own private archaeological site to wander through. What the fleeing royals from Aguateca left behind has not been excavated but building mounds and even the ball court are obvious as you stroll the grounds. You can also peer into the impressive gash in the land that the Mayans made to create the island way back when.

Just be sure you’ve used good insect repellent before leaving your room. The mosquitoes love it here.

Batten down the hatches

After wandering around the island we returned to our room to watch the birds on Laguna Petexbatún below us, listen to the howler monkeys in the jungle all around us and take a nap. At dusk the wind picked up a little bit and we woke up thrilled. A breeze! Cooler temperatures! Fewer mosquitoes!

But the wind kept going until birds, beasts and trees were being blown sideways. Soon the rain came and the wind intensified even more. White caps appeared on the lagoon.

Over the next two hours the storm blew out our screens and ripped off sections of our thatch roof. With rain pouring into our room we stashed our belongings in the driest corner we could find and piled spare blankets on top of our bed to try and keep the mattress and base bedding dry.

Just as we were beginning to get really concerned about a tree falling on our room (we’d actually put our shoes on and packed our things, ready for a quick getaway), the dramatic storm passed.

A heron that survived the previous night's violent storm heads out to find breakfast on Lagauan Petexbatún in Guatemala.

Related posts:

1. Survivor Mayan Style – Yaxha Archaeological Site, Guatemala
2. Archaeological Index: Mayan (and other) Sites We’ve Visited
3. Sacred Spaces – Xela (Quetzaltenango) & Laguna Chicabal, Guatemala

Yes, end of year round-ups can be lame. On the other hand, they can also be a valuable chance for us to look back on the year that was and remember just how damn lucky we are.

Done right, an end of year round-up can also be a quick and easy way for you to get a dose of the best tips, tricks and truths that made our Trans-Americas Journey so special in 2011. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll hit the road yourself in 2012 (or 2013, no pressure).

First, a few relevant stats:

In 2011 the Trans-Americas Journey…

…thoroughly explored four, albeit very small, countries (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador)

…drove 8,055 miles (we said they were small countries)

…spent $2,300 on fuel (yes, that’s in US dollars)

…had one flat tire (after driving over a nail in Copan, Honduras)

…bounced over about a billion topes/tumulos (vicious Latin American speed bumps) and through twice that many pot holes

We did manage to spend some time outside of our truck doing and seeing exciting things. In no particular order, here are some of the adventures and activities that made all that time on the road even better. Enjoy!

 Best Adventures & Activities of 2011

Best adventure surprise: There are only a handful of falconers in all of Central America and only one who’s certified to guide guests. That would be Roy Beers, owner of Cadejo Adventures. We walked through the hills above San Salvador with Roy and his Harris Hawk Chucky (named after the horror movie character). We strolled through coffee plantations and forested hillsides as Chucky followed along from tree to tree, landing on our gloved hands when we called and half-heartedly hunting (he wasn’t very hungry). Somehow the forest looks and feels different with a hiking buddy who can fly and the experience made hiking without a bird of prey in tow seem downright boring.

Best natural swimming pool: Guide books and travelers rave about the descending pools of water called Sumac Champay in Guatemala. We are happy to report that these pools, totally created by Mother Nature, lived up to the hype and were worth the serious side trip to get there. Crystal clear water (except in the rainy season), a perfect warm temperature, dramatic surrounding cliffs, not crowded (though avoid weekends) and we even got free pedicures thanks to gazillions of tiny fish intent on removing every last scrap of dead skin as we soaked.

Best adventure we did for the first time:  We love to SCUBA dive and we’ve done it hundreds of times all around the world. However, we’d never been on a liveaboard dive boat until we boarded the Aggressor III in Belize in 2011. Specially built and equipped to accommodate just 18 divers with plush cabins and a huge dive deck. Even better? The swanky SCUBA services including hot showers and warm towels post dive, freshly made snacks all day long (hey, diving is hard work) and great dive masters. Bonus:The 3-D dive site maps drawn by the staff on-board the Aggressor III were colorful, informative and playful (sometimes they even featured plastic sea creatures stuck on the white board for effect). Best of all, the maps were clear. Even directionally-challenged Karen could quickly understand the layout of the site and navigate around during our awesome underwater adventures.

Best National Park name: Parque Nacional El Impossible in El Salvador.

Best guide: We don’t usually hire guides. However, when we wanted to get an authentic glimpse of the FMLN perspective on the decades of war between the El Salvadorean army and FMLN guerrilla fighters which started with genocide in the ’30s and really flared up in the ’70s and ’80s we went straight to Bar El Necio in Suchitoto and asked for the bartender. Luis Carrera is a treasure (and not just because rum cocktails and ice-cold beer are just $1.50 at this revolutionary-themed bar). Luis has since quit his job as a bartender to focus full time on guiding. He will take you to nearby villages that were obliterated during the war and introduce you to elderly people and translate when they recount their often horrifying first hand experiences during the country’s darkest moments. He’ll even take you home to meet his mom, an infectiously bubbly woman who survived a massacre, fled into the jungle and quite literally gave birth to Luis on the trail while she was on the run. Contact Luis at sapitotours@gmail (dot) com.

Best voluntourism opportunity: Love and Hope Children’s Home in the hills above San Salvador lives up to its name providing a truly homey home for children whose own families are unift or unwilling to care for them. Rachel Sanson, a native of Ohio, has been in El Salvador since 2001 and she helped start the home in 2004. She’s still there and she can use all the help she can get. Volunteers are accepted for short or long-term stays (room and board included). We visited the home and a friend of ours still raves about his experiences during a brief volunteer stint. We were impressed with Rachel and with the home’s policy of putting all volunteers through a background check before allowing them through the doors to help heal and teach her needy kids.

Best zip line: In the hills above Metepan in El Salvador, just shy of the Montecristo National Park, lies Hostal Villa Limon. In addition to a handful of lovely, multi-bedroom cabins with kitchens Villa Limon has one hell of a zip line. Eight different sections criss-cross the slopes up to 300′ (91 meters) above the jungle and coffee plantations below. One particularly steep stretch is 1/4 mile (.40 km) long. It’s almost enough to distract you from the awesome views of volcanoes in the distance.

Best private waterfall: For $120 you can reserve your own private waterfall, swimming hole and rustic picnic pavilion in the vast protected area around Hidden Valley Inn in Belize. They’ll even bring you a four-course champagne lunch and string a handmade Do Not Disturb sign across the trail to ensure complete privacy.

Best hot springs: Just outside Ahuachapan in El Salvador lies Termales Santa Teresa, a paradise for anyone who likes to soak in water super-heated and full of healing minerals. Huge, deep pools ($10 pp for a full day of access) already exist in the shade of a well tended garden surrounded by a vast coffee plantation. A few large villas are also available for rent right around the pools and a new hotel and reasonably priced dorms are being constructed right now. Our thanks to Claudia and Roberto from the lovely La Casa de Mamapan hotel in Ahuachapan for taking us to this hidden gem!

Best borrachos: The pro partiers in the town of Todos Santos in Guatemala know how to drink and these borrachos (Spanish for drunks) don’t let a little inebriation get in the way of a good time either. A popular regional pass time is drunken horse racing which is every bit as baffling (and dangerous) as it sounds…

Best tour operator: Miguel Huezo of Suchitoto Tours in El Salvador. He knows the most unique places, the most enjoyable activities, the most innovative guides and tour operators and he devoted a tremendous amount of time, effort and passion to make sure that we got acquainted with all of them. And he’ll do the same for you: suchitoto.tours@gmail (dot) com

Best adventure honeymoon suite: Eric and I well past the honeymoon stage but if we weren’t we might consider spending part of our honeymoon inside a cave owned by Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch in Belize. First, you hike for an hour into the jungle then you rapel nearly 300′ (91 meters) down a cliff face called the Black Hole Drop (we did this as part of our awesome cave adventures with Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch). After the rapel, a short walk leads you to the mouth of a cave where a real bed has been set up and strewn with flowers, candles have been lit and champagne has been chilled. Your guides cook you a romantic dinner, then wander off to leave you two alone. In the morning, they cook breakfast and guide you back out.

Best jungle hike: We were hot. Our feet were sore. Our minds were blown. Hiking through the jungle to reach El Mirador in northern Guatemala isn’t easy, but the remains of one of the biggest and hardest to reach Mayan cities is worth it–as is adding a day onto your adventure so you can hike back out via Nakbe and La Florida archaeological sites (where we finally saw a jaguar, sort of). Our thanks to Manuel of Tikal Connection for providing us with the gear and guides needed to have this amazing experience.

Best religious festival: Turns out, there are very good reasons why the Semana Santa (Holy Week) celebrations in Antigua, Guatemala are world famous. In 2011 we were lucky to spend the entire week leading up to Easter in Antigua (huge thanks to Gene and Judy for letting us stay in their gorgeous home). We watched elaborate religious floats paraded through the streets. We saw artistic but temporary albombras (carpets) created on the streets and even got to help make one thanks to Evelyn of Hotel San Jorge.

Best National Park entrance: The swing bridge that gets you into Parque Nacional Pico Bonito in Honduras.

Best (easy) bird sighting: Quetzals are known for three things: the technicolor plumage and extravagantly long tails of the males, their shy nature and their love of a narrow swath of remote cloud forest. In other words, they are exciting to see but usually very difficult to see.  During their mating season (roughty March to June) all you have to do is manage to wake up at dawn and stumble from your basic room at Ranchito del Quetzal Hotel on the edge of the Biotopo del Quetzal in the Alta Verapaz of Guatemala and head down to the hotel’s humble comedor. There, you will find a hot cup of coffee and quetzals waiting for you. You almost don’t even have to leave your seat to watch the extraordinary birds dip and dive from tree to tree, tails streaming and feathers glinting.

Best (worth the effort) bird sighting: The quetzals we saw during our morning at Ranchito Quetzal came so easily that we almost felt like they didn’t count. So we made the rough journey to a remote privately run nature preserve called the Chelemha Cloud Forest Reserve. In addition to a stylish, sustainably handcrafted guesthouse and gourmet, organic, locally grown food you will find quetzals here, but you’re going to have to hike for it. We walked for three hours high into the protected cloud forest where our guide finally pointed out a known nest site inside the hollow stump of a dead tree. After sitting silently nearby, camera at the ready, the male emerged from the nest and obligingly posed on a branch for a while.

Best dive site: During a few days of diving with Utopia Dive Resort on the island of Utila in Honduras we visited a dive site called The Pinnacles. In the course of a 55 minute dive in warm, crystal clear water we saw dramatic coral and rock pinnacle formations, the most enormous green moray we’ve ever seen (easily 6′ long) plus spotted morays, golden morays and a turtle feeding serenely on a coral head with a bevy of colorful angel fish scavenging around it.

Best camp site: We spent our very last nights in Guatemala camped on the shores of Lake Ipala, a lake in the crater of the Ipala volcano. The road up was wicked, it rained like hell and some dude stole our cooler, camp stove and camp chairs (which were all recovered with the help of our friend George Boburg of Guatemala’s awesome Proatur tourist assistance organization). Still, what we really remember was the scenery and serenity of this spot.

Best bird watching platform: Belize Lodge & Excursions has a lot going for it including three of the most unique lodgings in Belize and an equally unique approach to conservation.  Jungle Camp, a lodge so deep in protected jungle that it’s only accessible by boat, offers one more superlative to add to the list: epic bird watching platform hung around the girth of a sacred ceiba tree 100′ off the ground.

Best National Park infrastructure: Parque Nacional Cerro Azul in Honduras was developed in partnership with a Canandian NGO. This helps explain the extraordinary infrastructure which makes it such a pleasure to explore this park. In addition to a variety of very comfortable rooms, the park has a covered camping area with running water, flush toilets, cold showers and electricity. The park’s nine miles (15km) of trails through the jungle and past waterfalls are all well marked and well maintained. And the restaurant even has WiFi service. Well worth a night or two.

Best church: We’ve seen hundreds of churches during our Trans-Americas Journey but the most memorable and unusual one so far is the irreverent, controversial, absolutely compelling Iglesia El Rosario (free, closed 12-2). The church, located in downtown San Salvador, was created in 1971 by artist and architect Ruben Martinez who tweaked everything you normally associate with a Catholic church in Latin America. The exterior looks like a particularly ugly crumbling airplane hangar. The cross looks like a rudimentary ship mast. Inside there are no pillars or columns. Stained glass windows have been created by randomly imbeding hunks of colored glass into the curved, bare concrete walls and ceiling. The stark, simple altar is on the same level as the pews. To the right of the altar is an area that houses the remains of brother Nicolas Vicente, and Manuel Aguilar (heroes of El Salvadorean independence) and representations of the stations of the cross. So often melodramatic and predictable, the stations of the cross in the Iglesia El Rosario are depicted in thoroughly modern, enticingly abstract sculptures created by Martinez in carved stone, wrought iron and re-bar. If you see just one thing in the capital of El Salvador it should be this ground-breaking church.

Related posts:

1. Best of the Trans-Americas Journey 2010 – Best Adventures & Attractions
2. Best Of the Trans-Americas Journey 2011 – Best Hotels
3. Best of the Trans-Americas Journey 2011 – Best Food & Beverages

In the tiny town of Uaxactun, Guatemala (near the Mayan ruins of the same name) we saw an adult cat suckling from a dog. Neither seemed to care at all that they were contirbuting to extreme inter-species shenanigans.

We can tell you who DID care. As we stood staring an old lady walked past and noticed the spectacle. She clasped her chest and hissed “Dios mio!” (My God) before rushing away as if she’d just seen the devil himself. Perhaps she had…

Related posts:

1. Photo of the Day – Double Rainbow
2. Las Guacamayas (Scarlet Macaws) – Photo of the Day
3. Photo of the Day – Total Lunar Eclipse

• The White Continent or Bust
• MORE Antarctica Photos

Right now we’re debuting some videos we shot in Antarctica–shown for the first time here.

Penguins, orcas and seals

Penguins are adorable. Orcas are deadly. Seals are way bigger than you think. We got close to all of them. Check it out.

Gentoo penguins in Port Lockroy

More penguins, this time they’re swarming around the research station in a rocky, windy place called Port Lockroy.

Aboard the MV Antarctic Dream

The truth is that you’re going to spend most of your Antarctic adventure on board the boat traveling to various points of interest and/or waiting out bad weather. Much of this video was shot from onboard the MV Antarctic Dream, including up in the bridge as well as from Zodiacs during excursions away from the ship.

A (relatively) calm day on the Drake Passage

The Atlantic and Pacific oceans bump bellies at a spot called the Drake Passage. This notoriously rough stretch of sea must be crossed immediately leaving Ushuaia and again returning to port in Ushuaia. It takes two to three days to get through the Drake Passage and seas are usually rough to hellish. We lucked out with swells peaking at just 30-40 feet (moderately rough). Here’s a taste…
If we’ve helped inspire your own Antarctic dreams, check out our tip-filled newspaper story about How to Make the Most of an Antarctic Adventure and our piece about all the fun you can (hopefully) have with the humans in Antarctica.

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Karen Birdwatching at La Milpa Field Station where we saw 50 different species of birds we'd never seen before in just two days.

During our nearly three months in Belize we saw hundreds of species we’d never seen before in stunning natural places like Chan Chich Lodge and La Milpa Field Station in the vast Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area. That’s where we met guide and naturalist Vladimir and dubbed him the bird ninja. Then there’s Lamanai Outpost Lodge and the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. Some birds simply appeared by the side of the road.

We saw the flashy colors of trogans and aracaris and the shimmery, orange-dotted get-up of the ocellated turkey. We learned to recognize the frog-like call of the toucan, marveled at the near-perfect camouflage of the great potoo (which still looks just like a tree limb even after you know it’s there) and tried and tried and tried to see a harpy eagle in the wild.

Here are just a few of our favorite feathery finds, no binoculars required.

A rare orange-breasted falcon.	A ferruginous pygmy owl.
A pair of collared aracaris.	A toucan spotted at La Milpa Field Station in Belize.
A lineated woodpecker.	A great egret.

An ocellated turkey on the grounds of Chan Chich Lodge in Belize.

A pygmy kingfisher tucks in for the night near the Lamanai archaeological site in Belize.	A black-headed trogan seen in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.
A laughing falcon along a rural road in southern Belize.	A black-collared hawk heads out to hunt near the Lamanai archaeological site in Belize.
A violaceous trogan spotted in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.	A slaty-tailed trogon in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.

A red-footed booby and fledgling on Half Moon Caye Natural Monument in Belize.

A white-necked jacobin (hummingbird) in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.	A tiger heron in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.
Look close. There are two great potoos (an adult and a juvenile) sitting on that branch.	Yucatan nightjars nest on the ground where they practically disappear into the foliage.
An aptly-named roadside hawk on the grounds of Hidden Valley Inn in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve in Belize.	An osprey eagle spotted in Belize.

Magnificent frigatebirds (these are courting on Half Moon Caye Natural Monument) have a seven foot wingspan and can stay in the air for weeks.

An orange oriole seen from the epic bird watching platform built 100 feet up a ceiba tree at Jungle Camp, part of Belize Lodge & Excursions.	A boat-billed heron along the river that runs through the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.
A northern jacana seen near the Lamanai archaeological site in Belize.	A great blue heron seen near the Lamanai archaeological site in Belize.
We'd hoped to see an endangered harpy eagle in the wild while in Belize but we had to settle for this one in the Belize Zoo.	A crested guan in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize.

Wetlands in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary attract enormous wood storks (with the black heads), herons, egrets, cormorants and other water birds.

A chestnut-headed oropendola.

A group of rare king vultures way off in the distance on land owned and preserved by the Hidden Valley Inn in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve in Belize.

An ornate hawk-eagle in deep jungle.

Related posts:

1. Belize Briefs: Tips, Quirks & Foibles After 2.5 Months in Belize
2. Here, Kitty Kitty – Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, Belize
3. We’re Belize-ing It – Corozal, Belize

11 reasons live-aboards rule

1. No elbowing the diver next to you. The Aggressor III has a very roomy dive deck with plenty of space to stow and dry your gear and ample room for suiting up (hey, it requires plenty of room to get into and out of a wet suit).

Happy divers! Eric and Karen pre-dive on board the Aggressor III live-aboard dive boat in Belize.

2. No freaking out about basic gear. The Aggressor III is stocked with spares of basic essentials in case something in your kit stops working or you forgot something. For example, Eric borrowed a wet suit hood (he’s modeling it, above) from dive master Jordy and wore it for most of the diving to stay warmer underwater. This made his dives much more enjoyable.

3. No waiting until you get back on dry land to use the bathroom after a dive. On a live-aboard your bathroom is always right there immediately after a dive. Anyone whose done any SCUBA diving knows how important this is.

4. No soggy towels. After every single dive on the Aggressor III we were handed a clean, warm towel fresh out of a dryer right on the dive deck. You heard us.

Eric taking the plunge off the Aggressor III's ample dive platform. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

5. No stale crackers and over-ripe fruit to keep your energy up. Diving is hard work. The staff of the Aggressor III knows this and they keep the platters of freshly baked cookies, conch fritters, lionfish fingers and more coming so everyone stays fueled up.

6.  No scrambling in and out of small boats to travel out dive sites. Just turn up on the dive deck of the Aggressor III, gear up and step off the specially designed platform at the back of the boat. Think of it as a chauffeur service for divers.

7. No fighting for the fish i.d. books. There were more than enough copies of marine life reference guides on board the Aggressor III to satisfy all of the curious divers.

Photo courtesy of fellow diver Michael Eppoliti.

8. No nasty regulator taste. Crew members came around with a spray bottle full of diluted mouthwash to shoot into our mouth pieces before each dive. Yeah, that happened.

9. No sand. When diving off a live-aboard your feet never touch the ground.

10. No vague (or non-existent) dive site maps. The dive masters on the Aggressor III drew wonderfully detailed 3D maps of every site we visited.

11. Perhaps our favorite live-aboard touch? The two hot shower heads (with shampoo and conditioner dispensers) right on the dive platform which made post-dive rinse-offs a complete pleasure.

Karen all wet. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

Dive! Dive!

Another plus about live-aboard diving? The sheer amount of diving you can do–up to five dives a day. During our week on the Aggressor III we did 22 dives totaling about 20 hours underwater at 12 different dive sites including the famous Blue Hole–a cave with a collapsed ceiling that’s been engulfed and filled by the sea (photo below–click image to enlarge).

So, what did we see down there? Plenty, including seahorses, lots of turtles, lot of amazing spotted eagle rays, colorful reef fish galore, gorgeous corals (soft and hard), barracuda, frogfish, reef sharks, dolphins, octopus and hammerhead sharks!

Eric spends so much time taking pictures on dry land that he leaves his camera behind when we dive. We thank Captain Simon Marsh and fellow divers Michael Eppoliti and Brian Shea for the use of their awesome underwater images from our time on the Aggressor III.

A pair of spotted eagle rays "fly" by. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

Okay, we didn’t see the hammerhead. But fellow diver Brian Shea did and he shot the underwater video, below, to prove it.

We also got the chance to try out a very James Bond hand held underwater scooter which was fun, though we startled the heck out of a curious eagle ray.

The strange underbelly of a spotted eagle ray. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

We also put our Nitrox certifications to use for the first time and we have to say that we agree with those divers who claim that this mix (which is lower in nitrogen) left us feeling more energized at the end of a long day of diving than regular old air.  Then again, it could have been the post-dive hot showers and warm chocolate chip cookies…

Aquarium-like reef fish and corals underwater in Belize. Photo courtesy of Michael Eppoliti.

Eric hanging around checking out a seahorse. Photo courtesy of Michael Eppoliti.

Divers exploring coral heads. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

Eric and I watching a spotted eagle ray "fly" past. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

A common reef shark. Photo courtesy of Michael Eppoliti.

A great example of a brain coral. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

An angel fish dining on coral. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

A turtle with a pair of remoras attached to its belly. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

That's why it's called a spotted eagle ray. Photo courtesy of Michael Eppoliti.

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Related posts:

1. Live-Aboard Life (topside)- Aggressor III, Belize
2. High-Altitude Fresh-Water SCUBA Diving – Lago Media Luna, Mexico
3. Live is Good – New York City

And, yet, we still have SCUBA dreams. Specifically, we dream about getting on a live-aboard dive boat–a dream we finally fulfilled in Belize.

The Aggressor III, our home and dive base for a week in Belize.

It’s fitting that we had our first (but hopefully not last) live-aboard experience with The Aggressor Fleet which has been taking small groups of divers out for multi-day, all-inclusive, full-service, intensively-dive-focused trips since 1984. The fleet currently has 10 ships serving 11 of the world’s best dive destinations including the Cocos Islands and the Galapagos Islands.

Aggressor is, admittedly, a terrible name unless you’re a pirate. But that’s what their fleet is called and who are we to argue? The company’s live-aboard in Belize is called the Aggressor III and it was our home for a week of eye-opening diving.

Crew members navigate the Aggressor III through the notoriously tricky reefs off Belize. Photo courtesy of Captain Simon Marsh.

Live-aboard Life on the Aggressor III

We were welcomed aboard the Aggressor III by Captain Simon Marsh and his first mate (literally and figuratively) Andrina. They’ve both been diving for years and have both worked on other boats in the Aggressor fleet. We were in good hands.

Captain Simon Marsh with a 3-D dive map of Belize's famous Blue Hole dive site as he briefs us on board the Aggressor III live-aboard dive boat.

Dive master Jordy hoisting the ship's dingy, on board the Aggressor III live-aboard dive boat in Belize.

As the ship set sail we took a quick tour of our home for the week and found nine smartly-laid-out cabins (for up to 18 guests total) with A/C and televisions (for playing DVDs), ingenious storage/stowage areas and private bathrooms. The communal living room was cozy and had plenty of plugs for laptops and for charging cameras and batteries.

Upstairs on the top deck, a small wet bar even had a tap of local Belikin beer (though smart ship rules mean that once you have a drink you become a snorkeler for the day). Sadly, the top deck hot tub was out of commission.

One afternoon a pod of dolphins came to play around the boat, but by the time we got our snorkeling gear on and jumped in they were gone.

It was all kept spotlessly clean and neat by Randy who, when he wasn’t serving us delicious snacks or making sure our dinner plates were heaped high, was either polishing something, plumping pillows or ironing and folding napkins into amazing shapes. We wish him luck with his pizzeria in the town of Orange Walk. We can guarantee that it will be clean!

While the focus of the eight passengers on board was diving (we’ll get way into the dive sites and marine life in our next post), part of the live-aboard life occurs on the surface and, sometimes, even on dry land. You’ve got to let your body expel accumulated nitrogen (commonly called “out gassing”) above the water anyway, so you might as well have fun. Plus, it’s was much easier for Captain Simon to whistle  “Hello” when he didn’t have a regulator in his mouth. The Lionel Richie’s hit quickly became the silly theme song of our sailing. “Hello. Is it sharks you’re looking for?”

Part of the Half Moon Caye Natural Monument as seen from the Aggressor III.

We spent an afternoon at the Half Moon Caye Natural Monument, a protected island that’s home to a thriving population of red-footed boobies and many of them had their red feet full with fluffy, demanding chicks when we were there.

Nesting red-footed boobies on Half Moon Cay Natural Monument in Belize.

Nesting red-footed boobies on Half Moon Cay Natural Monument in Belize.

Nesting red-footed boobies on Half Moon Cay Natural Monument in Belize.

Nesting magnificent frigate birds on Half Moon Cay Natural Monument in Belize.

The island is also a great place to have a picnic, especially with the talented Yanis, the chef from the Aggressor III kitchen, is on hand to handle the grill.

Yanis, the chef from the Aggressor III kitchen, takes her skills outside for a BBQ lunch during a shore excursion to Half Moon Cay Natural Monument.

The imposing Aggressor III is too big to dock at Half Moon Cay Natural Monument, so a local boatman ferried us from our floating home to shore.

Just one of many beautiful Belize sunsets that we saw while living on the Aggressor III.

There she is: the Aggressor III live-aboard dive boat and our home for a week of SCUBA diving in Belize.

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2. Belize Briefs: Tips, Quirks & Foibles After 2.5 Months in Belize
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Jaguar slumber party: Ballum Na Lodge

No TVs. No phones. No Wi-Fi. Just jungle. That’s Ballum Na just north of Punta Gorda off the Southern Highway. The lodge has plenty of roomy porches and a lovely rooftop escape with chairs and views but odds are you will spend most of your time looking down.

As the lodge’s name implies, this is the Jaguar House (Ballum Na means house of the jaguar in Mayan) and the real stars of the lodge are a pair of jaguar brothers (one a rare black jaguar) which were inherited from a breeding program run by Xcaret in Mexico.

You can experience the closest thing to sleeping with jaguars at Ballum Na Lodge, part of Belize Lodge & Excursions.

To accommodate the big cats, Ballum Na was built around an enormous zoo-quality enclosure. You enter the lodge via a walkway that sweeps around and above the enclosure and one of the lodge’s four rooms has a wall of windows that looks down on the jaguars. The cats spend the night in a cage directly under this room and when we slept there we could  feel and hear their rumblings off and on all  night. When they took a break the silence was deafening.

During the day the jaguars roam and posture in their roomy fenced in habita and the view of them from our room made us feel like we were in Caesar’s box at the Coliseum, minus the gladiators. To say this room is unique is an understatement.

A rare black jaguar named Bosch (a Mayan word for black), at home at Ballum Na Lodge in Belize.

A wild female jaguar comes around the enclosure on a regular basis to check out the boys behind bars. Maybe that’s why the brothers don’t get along, as their multiple scars attest.

Mopan, one of two resident jaguars at Ballum Na, looking right up into our room.

Check out our brief video, shot from our bedroom, to see (and hear) the jaguars at Ballum Na Lodge.

Road-free-zone: Jungle Camp

Ballum Na is literally the end of the road so transferring from Ballum Na to Jungle Camp requires a two hour boat trip along the Golden Stream (no jokes) which winds through acres and acres of untouched jungle. The ride is incredibly peaceful–both because of the natural silence and the scenery and because Belize Lodge & Excursions uses nearly silent, non-polluting electric engines for its boats.

The area is wildlife rich, especially the river which is a magnet for everything living in the jungle. We were hoping to finally see a tapir (the national animal of Belize). The strange pig-meets-anteater creatures are plentiful here. We saw lots of tapir tracks down to the water’s edge, but no tapirs.

We did see a troop of howler monkeys, lots of birds and a big boa constrictor warming itself up on the riverbank–the first boa we’ve ever seen though, surely, not the first one that’s seen us.

With no roads, the commute between Ballum Na Lodge and Jungle Camp is done in a boat along the wildlife-filled Golden Stream. The two hour trip was so relaxing we didn't want it to end.

Believe it or not, there's a six foot long boa constrictor wrapped around these tree roots in the river bank. We spotted it during our boat ride from Ballum Na Lodge to Jungle Camp in Belize.

The riverbank was also home to a crazy flower called a Aristolochia grandiflora–but you can call it a Pelican Flower. It grows on a vine, often along riverbanks, and the blooms we saw were nearly a foot long with a four foot tail coming off it.

The thing has a smell that humans hate, but bugs love the stench until they realize they’re trapped inside the flower. From there there’s only one way out, a route which forces the insects to help pollinate the flower. Very Little Shop of Horrors.

We saw dozens of these foot long Aristolochia grandiflora (aka Pelican Flower) blooms during our river commute from Ballulm Na Lodge to Jungle Camp in Belize.

Around a bend in the river, Jungle Camp suddenly appeared like a mirage. It’s got more than a little bit of the look and feel of African jungle lodges with a huge and welcoming common room and 10 thatch-roof bungalows strung out like jewels along  a raised walkway that’s high enough off the ground to stay out of the way of high water. It’s not fancy, but it is very well done and the quality of the food was a delicious surprise.

Welcome to Jungle Camp where great food and an awesome bird watching platform await.

In another attempt to see tapirs we got back on Golden Stream at dusk for a night tour. The water was so calm it was like velvet or mercury. Despite our best spotting efforts we still got back to the lodge with no tapir sighting which shocked the excellent guides who said they see tapir all the time–along with all of the cats in the jungle including jaguars.

The next morning we were up before dawn with other visual prey in mind: birds. Bird watching at Jungle Camp is no passive stroll through the jungle, neck craned to the tree tops, hands clutching binoculars. Here, you enter the bird’s world via a unique aluminum platform 100 feet up in a ceiba tree. Mayans consider the ceiba to be a sacred link to the underworld. In this case, it was our link to the canopy.

Using techniques developed by wildlife film makers to craft perches from which to observe and film wildlife, the lightweight platform is rigged to a section of branches and trunk without ever penetrating the bark of the tree. As the tree grows the platform, which completely encircles the trunk, raises higher into the air right along with it.

This is the only way up to or down from a fantastic bird watching platform ingeniously rigged 100 feet (30 meters) up in a ceiba tree at Jungle Camp in Belize.

The only way up to or down from the platform is in a seat-like harness which the guides hoist up using a rope pulley system. This ensures you are fully awake by the time you reach the platform. With weather rolling in the birds were laying low the morning we made the journey up the tree, but it was still spectacular to be in the canopy. Truly one of the best bird watching locations we’ve ever seen.

Karen as that look on her face because she's about to...

...get lowered 100 feet (30 meters) back down to the ground.

Check out our video, below, for a 360 degree, birds-eye view  from the amazing platform 100 feet (30 meters) up in a sacred ceiba tree.

Just you and the iguanas: Moho Cay private island

A restaurant and collection of 10 bungalows take up practically every inch of tiny Moho Cay, part of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. BLE bought the island from the previous private owner and was granted the right to continue operating the lodge here even though it falls within the protected area.

The atmospheric bungalows on Mayo Cay are built using room-size soft-sided tents erected under thatch roofs.

The result is absolute serenity. Karen spent almost an entire day napping which, it’s fair to say, almost never happens. Bungalows employ an innovative mix of room-size soft-sided tents with a thatch roof over them and breezy porches built off the front practically over the gently lapping water.

The view from our bungalow on tiny Mayo Cay, Belize.

The warm shallows around  Moho Cay are full of red starfish and small stingrays and snorkeling gear is available as are fishing excursions–though those activities would require getting up from your nap.

Iguanas FAR outnumber humans on Mayo Cay in Belize.

Iguanas FAR outnumber humans on Mayo Cay in Belize.

As impressive as jaguars and private islands and ceiba tree bird watching platforms are, the innovative environmental work of BLE owner Ken Karas, an enthusiastic realist with Theodore Roosevelt hair, is even more ambitious and noteworthy.

Ken, an accomplished wildlife film maker who has worked on projects around the world for National Geographic, PBS and others, has amassed (and protected) hundreds of thousands of acres of land. His goal is to create vast wildlife corridors–essential to healthy migration and breeding patterns for dozens of species, including jaguars–ultimately traversing the entire country.

His string of lodges exists on a corridor that connects the last stretch of lowland broadleaf habitat (at Ballam Na) in the interior with the coastal habitat and the sea (at Moho Cay, via Jungle Camp). When we met him Ken he was in the process of acquiring 20,000 new acres of land which would provide the only connection between two inland “islands” of land in the north.

How does he work on such a large scale? He makes the land pay for its own protection. By having his land carbon certified it literally pays to keep the jungle pristine. Simply put, Ken is able to calculate the value of all that healthy jungle exhaling out all that clean air, then sell those carbon credits to corporations required to offset their pollution. Make a profit. Buy more land. Repeat.

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Related posts:

1. Belize Briefs: Tips, Quirks & Foibles After 2.5 Months in Belize
2. Tiny Town – Belmopan, Belize
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