Central America
Ancient temples in Chizen Itza Mexico. And you thought all the ancient gods were dead. September 1999
When I got to Cancun I went direct to Isla Mujeres, a small island off the coast. There is a great youth hostel
there, where I met many interesting people. It rained a lot during those four days but it didn't really matter because it
was about 85 degrees even while it rained. But there was major flooding there and throughout Mexico as a consequence.
After Isla I came here to spectacular Chitzen Itza.
The main pyramid of Chizen Itza is an impressive sight. It is even more fun looking down from the top.
After Chitzen Itza I went to several places which are not represented on this sight. Some are not here because of
space and some because I lost a roll of film to a thief in Guatemala. Some of these places include Merida, Valladolid,
and San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico and Lago Atitlan and Chi Chi Castanango Guatemala. In this photo I am in
The Macanudo Bar in the village of Copan, Honduras. I met this group of Honduran university students who were here to
study the ruins of Copan. There were about 50 of them and I was virtually the only American in town, so of course we
had a blast for two days.
Carolina adding the finishing touch to an ancient pedestal.
After a long night of singing and dancing Honduran style we went to the ruins together. The ruins at Copan are not
quite as spectacular as Tikal or Chitzen Itza but make up for it in detailed statuary. Almost every surface of
stone is intricately carved. And there are free standing statues carved out of single pieces of stone everywhere.
Me enjoying the good life in Guatemala, October 1999.
After Copan I made my way back to Guatemala. Getting in and out of Honduras was an adventuer unto itself.
In this photo I am in a small village named El Remate. Here, I stayed at the Mirador Duende. This was one of my favorite places.
There is so much to say about El Remate that I won't even attempt to tell you of my experiences, I'll just say that I stayed
here for a month in this tiny vilage along with friends I met here Louie and Jonas. There is a beautiful lake accross
the street where we swam every day. I took a week of Spanish lessons in a private residence meals and lodging included.
The price was so low I won't mention it on the web. But if you're interested email me and I'll give you the info.
Our room with a lake view in El Remate. If you look closely you will see the black spot in front of Louie's hommock
is the resident monkey. The weather was so nice that sleeping outdoors in a hommock was like living in paradise.
They have cabanas also if you don't want to stay in a hammock. The owner Manuel is one of the most interesting
guys you will ever meet. If you're in Tikal, ask him about the traditional Mayan style construction of his place
or his master plan for the village. He's miles ahead of the rest of Central America and is leading the way with his
visions of the future for the entire Petan region, through education.
Louie talking with the monkey.
If you go to Tikal you must stay in the Mirador Duende in El Remate if you want to enjoy your stay to the fullest.
We even worked while we were there. Jonas helped cook and I did some plastering and painting. The food was unbelievable.
Most of it was harvested from the gardens behind the cabanas. It was traditional Mayan/Guatemalan and I had
never heard of, nor eaten most of these local delicacies before.
The main pyramid at Tikal.
From El Remate I made two trips to Tikal. The first one on my own. The second was with the owner of the Mirador, Manuel.
Manuel took a group of university students from University Of Kentucky on a tour of Tikal as well as some pyramids hidden deep
in the jungle. He invited me and Jonas to come along. Well it was the adventure of a life time, which is also
to much to tell here on the web.
The ruins of Palenque
After a month in El Remate I made it back into Mexico through the gauntlet of flooded rivers, crooked border guards
and some interesting modes of transportation. I ended up here in Palenque. Palenque is one more set of spectacular
ruins. One of the unique aspects is the water. There are waterfalls and swimming holes right inside the park.
There are also caverns and an ancient underground aqueduct for the adventurous explorer with a flashlight.
Me and Patricia from Lyon France at the ruins of Tulum. November 1999
When I left Palenque I left in the company of two French girls. We went to Tulum together on the Carribean coast
of Mexico. The ruins here aren't so spectacular but the setting "est magnifique"! We stayed in beachside cabanas
that were "tre tranquille"! But my favorite part were "les Etoile Filantes".
Me hard at work at the Iberostar Resort with Pedro and the South American girls. December 1999
After we parted ways in Tulum I went to Playa del Carmen to hang out on the beach some more and perfect my snorkeling
skills. I hung out with a a great french guy named Arnaud and a Argentinian named Gaston. Me and Arnaud had a little
adventure with the Mexican police but travel experts like us couldn't be taken advantage of that easily. I liked the
town so much that I decided to stay and get a job. My skills at working with children came in handy once again
and I found myself running the kids club at the Iberostar. I stayed here untill April 2000
Me with Carrie Deanovich from Wisconsin. January 2000
This is only one of the more interesting requirements of my job description. I also did a fine Buffalo Bill, King Neptune,
(merman tail included) and I even played a lipsync roll for the opening song of Disney's Aladdin. (that was my best roll)
The coral reef at Akumel, my favorite beach.
The swimming was so great that I spent a lot of time underwater. There are hundreds of miles of nearly vacant
coastline on the Yucatan peninsula and it's full of coral reefs, fish and other wildlife.
A cenote, or cave with fresh water in it.
I also spent a lot of time underground here. The Yucatan peninsula is made up of limestone which is actually ancient
coral reefs. The limestone is full of caverns and the caverns are full of water. There is virtually no standing
ground water on the peninsula, no lakes or rivers. As soon as it rains the water drains into the cenotes which
make up the underground river systems. There is great diving, snorkeling and swimming throughout the cenote system.
After my US tour I flew directly to Cancun Mexico where I traveled thru the
Yucatan Penninsula, Guatemala and Honduras.
I worked for the winter in Playa del, Carmen Mexico, at the world famous
Iberostar Resort. When I went thruogh my photos I
had a hard time choosing the ones I wanted to present. Due to the
limitations of space, I couldn't put photos of all the
great places I went to, or of all the great people I met on this site.
But the following pictures should portray an
accurate summary of my trip
Ancient temples in Chizen Itza Mexico. And you thought all the ancient gods were dead. September 1999
When I got to Cancun I went direct to Isla Mujeres, a small island off the coast. There is a great youth hostel
there, where I met many interesting people. It rained a lot during those four days but it didn't really matter because it
was about 85 degrees even while it rained. But there was major flooding there and throughout Mexico as a consequence.
After Isla I came here to spectacular Chitzen Itza.
The main pyramid of Chizen Itza is an impressive sight. It is even more fun looking down from the top.
After Chitzen Itza I went to several places which are not represented on this sight. Some are not here because of
space and some because I lost a roll of film to a thief in Guatemala. Some of these places include Merida, Valladolid,
and San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico and Lago Atitlan and Chi Chi Castanango Guatemala. In this photo I am in
The Macanudo Bar in the village of Copan, Honduras. I met this group of Honduran university students who were here to
study the ruins of Copan. There were about 50 of them and I was virtually the only American in town, so of course we
had a blast for two days.
Carolina adding the finishing touch to an ancient pedestal.
After a long night of singing and dancing Honduran style we went to the ruins together. The ruins at Copan are not
quite as spectacular as Tikal or Chitzen Itza but make up for it in detailed statuary. Almost every surface of
stone is intricately carved. And there are free standing statues carved out of single pieces of stone everywhere.
Me enjoying the good life in Guatemala, October 1999.
After Copan I made my way back to Guatemala. Getting in and out of Honduras was an adventuer unto itself.
In this photo I am in a small village named El Remate. Here, I stayed at the Mirador Duende. This was one of my favorite places.
There is so much to say about El Remate that I won't even attempt to tell you of my experiences, I'll just say that I stayed
here for a month in this tiny vilage along with friends I met here Louie and Jonas. There is a beautiful lake accross
the street where we swam every day. I took a week of Spanish lessons in a private residence meals and lodging included.
The price was so low I won't mention it on the web. But if you're interested email me and I'll give you the info.
Our room with a lake view in El Remate. If you look closely you will see the black spot in front of Louie's hommock
is the resident monkey. The weather was so nice that sleeping outdoors in a hommock was like living in paradise.
They have cabanas also if you don't want to stay in a hammock. The owner Manuel is one of the most interesting
guys you will ever meet. If you're in Tikal, ask him about the traditional Mayan style construction of his place
or his master plan for the village. He's miles ahead of the rest of Central America and is leading the way with his
visions of the future for the entire Petan region, through education.
Louie talking with the monkey.
If you go to Tikal you must stay in the Mirador Duende in El Remate if you want to enjoy your stay to the fullest.
We even worked while we were there. Jonas helped cook and I did some plastering and painting. The food was unbelievable.
Most of it was harvested from the gardens behind the cabanas. It was traditional Mayan/Guatemalan and I had
never heard of, nor eaten most of these local delicacies before.
The main pyramid at Tikal.
From El Remate I made two trips to Tikal. The first one on my own. The second was with the owner of the Mirador, Manuel.
Manuel took a group of university students from University Of Kentucky on a tour of Tikal as well as some pyramids hidden deep
in the jungle. He invited me and Jonas to come along. Well it was the adventure of a life time, which is also
to much to tell here on the web.
The ruins of Palenque
After a month in El Remate I made it back into Mexico through the gauntlet of flooded rivers, crooked border guards
and some interesting modes of transportation. I ended up here in Palenque. Palenque is one more set of spectacular
ruins. One of the unique aspects is the water. There are waterfalls and swimming holes right inside the park.
There are also caverns and an ancient underground aqueduct for the adventurous explorer with a flashlight.
Me and Patricia from Lyon France at the ruins of Tulum. November 1999
When I left Palenque I left in the company of two French girls. We went to Tulum together on the Carribean coast
of Mexico. The ruins here aren't so spectacular but the setting "est magnifique"! We stayed in beachside cabanas
that were "tre tranquille"! But my favorite part were "les Etoile Filantes".
Me hard at work at the Iberostar Resort with Pedro and the South American girls. December 1999
After we parted ways in Tulum I went to Playa del Carmen to hang out on the beach some more and perfect my snorkeling
skills. I hung out with a a great french guy named Arnaud and a Argentinian named Gaston. Me and Arnaud had a little
adventure with the Mexican police but travel experts like us couldn't be taken advantage of that easily. I liked the
town so much that I decided to stay and get a job. My skills at working with children came in handy once again
and I found myself running the kids club at the Iberostar. I stayed here untill April 2000
Me with Carrie Deanovich from Wisconsin. January 2000
This is only one of the more interesting requirements of my job description. I also did a fine Buffalo Bill, King Neptune,
(merman tail included) and I even played a lipsync roll for the opening song of Disney's Aladdin. (that was my best roll)
The coral reef at Akumel, my favorite beach.
The swimming was so great that I spent a lot of time underwater. There are hundreds of miles of nearly vacant
coastline on the Yucatan peninsula and it's full of coral reefs, fish and other wildlife.
A cenote, or cave with fresh water in it.
I also spent a lot of time underground here. The Yucatan peninsula is made up of limestone which is actually ancient
coral reefs. The limestone is full of caverns and the caverns are full of water. There is virtually no standing
ground water on the peninsula, no lakes or rivers. As soon as it rains the water drains into the cenotes which
make up the underground river systems. There is great diving, snorkeling and swimming throughout the cenote system.
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