Belize (pt 2)

I'd like to start this post by answering a few of the questions I seem to be getting a lot from many readers of this blog:
1) Yes, we are still alive.
2) No, we are not in jail... for now, pending a more detailed inspection of our rented golf cart (see below).
3) Yes, Zack has managed to sprout some facial hair. It's kind of red and patchy and the mustache area resembles that of a 10 year old, but its all part of the charm. It's not fair for me to make fun of him with no means to defend himself (like that's ever stopped any of us before) so I have to admit my own facial hair has transformed me into the love child of Che Guevara and Mario (the plumber). In fact, the high volume of facial hair related questions has inspired me to start an ongoing section in the blog known as "Beard Watch". More on this below as well.
4) Yes, we're having a great time.
Now, if anyone still cares what we've been up to... We continued our diving certification and are now fully certified SCUBA divers. We did some great dives where we saw eagle rays, sting rays, eels, a few nurse sharks, and even a turtle. My camera unfortunately does not work underwater but I have this drawing. With the training wheels now off, I am no longer required to wear the Mankini. However, I do miss its support. That will take some getting used to.
We also attended the "World Famous Chicken Drop" in town, which is allegedly the world's longest running outdoor game. The toothless man at the bar said it is in the Guinness book of world records, maybe someone should look that up. Anyway, everyone buys a few squares, they throw pick one tourist to throw the chicken into the ring, and whichever square the chicken "drops" in, is the winner and takes home all the money. And then they are told they have to pick up the chicken droppings. Pretty entertaining.

On Cody's last full day, we took a trip to the Mayan ruins of Altun-Ha, a boat ride to the mainland and up the river, followed by a bus ride to the ruins. The ruins were pretty awesome, the best part being that you can climb on them pretty freely. We got to see the original temple that is on the bottles of the beer down here, Belikin (It's pretty much the only beer allowed onto the island, so needless to say we've had our fair share). Far and away my biggest regret is not getting a picture of our tour guide who looked EXACTLY like Greg Benson's Rasta twin. Had the dirty 'stache and all. It was incredible (the Benson cross-racial look alike mostly, the ruins were cool too).














Cody left on Saturday, and his fire and motivation will be missed. Following a gorgeous not-a-cloud-in-the-sky Sunday Funday full of Belikins, amazing BBQ on the beach, and some live music, the weather took a turn for the worse. At first, we were baffled as to what to do with ourselves due to the underwhelming number of indoor activities on this island. We decided to go exploring, via rented golf cart, seeing how far north we could drive it (Mexico is 40 miles, we were hoping we could make it 8). Despite, its bald off-road tires, broken seat, lack of a windshield and suspension, we made it about 5 miles up the coast until we decided we were pushing our luck when the depth and frequency of the puddles were growing rapidly. We returned the cart barely running, with the alignment off by about 45 degrees, and covered in mud. We figure we made up the Karma points by giving a young schoolby a ride home on the back. Even Steven.














BEARD WATCH: DAY 10(ish)
This is the section where we post awkward close-ups to demonstrate the true essence of our (attempt at) facial hair so you all can follow along at home. This was by popular demand.









Just one more day to go here. We hope to get in one more good sail with Uncle Fo to the neighboring island of Caye Caulker, and one last meal at our favorite restaurant Wild Mango's. After that, it's off to Miami to visit my cousin, watch probably the least anticipated Super Bowl matchup in history (prediction: Cardinals over Steelers 30-28), get a Brazilian visa, then catch a flight to Colombia.

Hope everyone is well at home, we miss you all. Let's see some more comments.

Belize

We're underway. We woke up at around 3:30 am on Monday morning to fly from SFO to Dallas, then to Belize city. From there, we hopped on a Tropic Air flight to the island of San Pedro, about a 15 min flight. The airline just has your name on a piece of paper, doesn't ask for ID, or even cares what flight you were originally on. We got in early and just hopped on the earlier flight. The plane is basically a mini-van with wings, as you can see. That's my view over the pilot's shoulder as we approach the island.

... and a random creepy guy behind me in the mini-van sized plane.

Once we arrived on the island, we made it to Zack's uncle's place at the Belize Yacht Club (The BYC). Very nice place. Cody Liebman, a good friend from NYC, made a power move and bought some cheap tickets and was already here waiting for us. We have our own condo with air conditioning and telvision that's showing SportsCenter, Seinfeld, and even Warrior games (last night we got to see them hit a shot to take the lead with 1.6 seconds left, only to end up losing). Uncle Forrest has taken us sailing, we pretty much just go up the beach to the next bar. Uncle Forrest knows everyone here.

We went fishing with one of the local guides, Chito. We managed to catch a few fish (which we later ate) but the highlight might have been the sunset.

One of our other projects has been to get certified for SCUBA diving. This includes some reading, some dives in about 6 feet of water, testing of some basic skills, and some more dives. Here you can see me putting on some gear, the most important piece of equipment: The Mankini.

I have to admit that the start of the trip is kind of cheating as we aren't exactly "backpacking" or "roughing it" much. It still seems to me like I'm just on a vacation. There will be plenty of time for hostels and roughing it later. We'll build up to that.

3... 2... 1

   So, we leave tomorrow. It really doesn't feel any different to say than "We leave in 2 months... 1 month... a week...". To me, its still the unkown lurking behind that Jan 19th square on the calendar. I think its about time to go already. The preparation has spanned over multiple months, a few sleepless nights (for me at least), a good chunk of change, and about three too many visits to REI. That's just once we decided to actually go, not to mention the time deciding if this type of thing was a logical (still TBD) move in life. I've gone through millions of scenerios in my head, likely none of which will happen, and none of which I am prepared for anyway. I know a lot of useless information about the places I am going to go, yet I have little to no useful knowledge of how I will feed or shelter myself. 

   Multiple people have told me to "just go already", so that at least I can tell them a entertaining story rather than discuss how many pairs of socks I need to pack. Thanks to the many friends and family members for being there and helping us get ready, couldn't have done it with out you. With that, we are off... Next stop: Belize.

The Agenda

Like I said, there are a lot of questions. "Where are you going?" and "What the hell are you going to do for 4 months?" are among the popular ones. The first one is easier to answer (see below), so let's start there. In general, I am getting on a plane in January, touring a good majority of the continent of South America, and coming back in Mid-May. I will be accompanied by a good friend Zack Makowsky, with whom this whole idea was dreamed up over a year ago. Like most ideas, it started as a joke. And while drinking. I know for a fact neither one of us thought the other would actually go through with it. As time went on, the reasons why (just a few listed previously) as well as the places we "needed" to go began to pile up. We did some research, found some deals on the interwebs, and now have some plane tickets. All of this is subject to change, but this is the general idea:

Jan 19 - Jan30: Belize - Zack's uncle Forrest (aka Uncle Fo') pretty much lives down there and will be hosting us at the Belize Yacht Club.
Jan 31 - Feb 5: Miami - I realize this makes little geographical sense, but trust us it saved a lot of money and now we get to be in America for the Super Bowl (prediction: Indy over Carolina 34-27).
Feb 6 - Feb 20: Colombia - I know, I know you've heard it's sketchy. We thought the same thing too until we heard great things from many people who have actually been. Cartagena, Santa Marta, and a little Bogata on the way in and out.
Feb 21 - Mar 13: Peru/Bolivia - Starting in Cusco, Peru we plan to hike Machu Picchu and make our way along Lake Titicaca, and down into La Paz, Bolivia.
Mar 13 Mar 17: Lima - Had to make our way back towards Ecuador by the end of March, which required a stop over in Lima. Figured we'd check it out.
Mar 18 - Mar 31: Ecuador - Family friends of mine started a foundation for environmental sustainability that runs trips through the Andes and rainforests of Ecuador. We'll be out in the remote areas, seeing how the Achuar people live.
Apr 1 - Apr 11: Santiago/Patagonia - Lakes and mountains. Not really sure to be honest, but I've heard its cool.
Apr 12 - Apr 27th: Argentina - In and around Buenos Aires, maybe make a trip up to Uraguay. Stop over for one day in Iguazu Falls on the way to...
Apr 29 - May 15: Brazil - Rio, and up to Salvador de Bahia to see where my dad spent a summer in medical school back in the 60's.
May 17th: Bay to Breakers, San Francisco - It's pretty much my favorite.

*If anyone has been to any of these places, has some input, tips, tricks, a friend who lives down there and wants to take in some large bearded men along the way... please let me know. This entire trip has pretty much been built off of recommendations from those who have gone before us.

There you have it. Anyone want to come visit?

I Don't Even Know Where to Start....

If you're reading this it's because you know that I will be going on a little adventure. "Why?" you may ask. That's a great question. I wish I had one good answer. The truth is, I don't have one good answer, but instead many partially-logical, some non-sensical, and a handful semi-philosophical ones. What really matters, and what many of you who know me can attest to, is that this is something that I have put a lot of thought into.

When you get into the "real" world you realize that there are a lot of ways to go about things. The one extreme would be to get right into it and start working, getting an early jump on something called "the career path" and building a financial foundation and professional future. People who go this route often have nice things, boring stories, a routine, 401(k), and perhaps a nice resume. The other extreme might be to float around and Live the Dream for as long as humanly possible, often pushing the limits - whether it be credit cards, livers, family patience, or otherwise. Many of us young professionals find ourselves struggling to place ourselves somewhere in between these two extreme lifestyles. Let's face it, both have their merits and their downsides. In short, this trip is an effort to touch base with the Why-The-Hell-Not? Lifestyle before finding myself too deeply committed Why-Is-It-Only-Tuesday? Lifestyle.

That is little more than a feeble attempt to sum up the reasoning behind this trip. As I said before, I am not 100% sure why exactly I am leaving a perfectly good job, rent-controlled apartment, and temporarily stepping away from a lot of people that I will miss dearly. I do know this, though: I have to do it. The reasons why I went will only become evident along the way, and long after I return. My hope is that this, like the "Tubby Times" before it (chronicling my Semester in London, with yet another oversized comrade), will help not only serve as a record of the happenings, but maybe provide some entertainment as well. I would expect future entries to have a slightly lower level of philosophy, and an higher level of shenanigans. Without further adieu, let wackiness ensue with hilarious consequences.