Archive of ‘Travel‘

Between Grand Cayman, Roatán, Belize, and Cozumel, Cozumel easily my favourite (and by far the most beautiful). White-sand beaches, connected by dusty highways, cover most of the island’s circumference. While tourist buses exist, most visitors wander on their own by scooters, jeeps, or retro Beetles.

A word of warning to Jeep riders: don’t step on the plastic cover over the back tires. It will bend and you will fall. (Maybe even sack yourself. It was touch and go for a bit.)

Speaking of warnings, like most places in Mexico – steer clear of the food. Every time I visit Cozumel, I get food poisoning, and it always happens at the exact same spot (with this awful sign). Sure, you might have an iron stomach, and yes, it tastes great, but chances are, you’ll end up reeling in bed for a week and it’s just not worth it.

That said, if you do end up at that restaurant, go get yourself a full-body massage by the ocean. From now on, I demand every massage be done by water. Amazing.

Besides a nasty cut from earlier that morning (kids, when snorkling, watch out for tall coral and shallow water), Belize was fairly uneventful. While Grand Cayman and Roatán proved safe, Belize had a reputation I wasn’t willing to test on my own. So, to pass the time, I turned my eye from the locals to the tourists. Pretty benign stuff.

Following Grand Cayman, was the less commercialized (and more photogenic) Isla Roatan. Outside the tourist complex, the dusty streets were lined by tired buildings, housing equally humble stores. Many of the locals were eager to chat, but like the two girls pictured above, most of them were in for the dollar.