Blossoming in Belize

It has been a long travel day today. This morning I caught a ride with Steve and Harley - two Aussies travelling down to South America in a VW bus. I met them a few days ago when I was hiking in Celaque National Park (in Honduras). After a series of linking busses and collectivos (vans filled to the brim with passengers), I made my way across eastern Guatemala and have settled in at Rio Dulce.

Backtracking....After a week on Utila Island, I needed some time in the mountains. So last Monday I bussed my way to Gracias in central Honduras. A colonial town, Gracias still has small-town charm with the cobbled streets and impressive iglesias! It is also the launching point for Celaque National Park.

I spent two days and a camping overnight in Celaque. Casey, a Wisconson-ite I met on the bus, joined me on my quest to Cerro de Los Minos, the highest peak in Honduras. Though the peak is set in the cloud forest, the lower half of the trail is covered in pine and maple trees. At our campsite, we met three Polish ´guys who were studying the moss and ferns in the Park as well as the two Aussies. We had a great campfire that evening sharing urban legends we grew up with and feasting on tortillas and cheese! I wish I could trap one guys laugh in a bottle - it was cartoonish, but contageous!

But now I´m onto a new chapter. Tomorrow I leave for a week-long boat trip along the Caribbean. We launch from Rio Dulce in Guatemala and will make our way up to Belize.