Hello and welcome to my last podcast about Belize. I jump off the bus to see Belize Zoo on my way west, which is a zoo worth seeing because all the animals are native to Belize and have been rescued in one way or another. I continue on to San Ignacio, the main city of the Cayo District, and have a blast in a lovely hostel there called the Old Hostel . I see the Maya ruins at Cahal Pech and Xunantunich. A group of us hire a car and go on a day trip to the Mountain PIne Ridge Forest Reserve, with its caves, pools and waterfalls. I hold several iguanas at the Green Iguana Conservation Project. I have pretty much all my hair cut off. I eat pupusas and fry jacks and drink a lot of beer and rum. I meet some funny new people and catch up with others I've met before. I do the famous ATM cave tour. All in all, I have a great time!

Continuing my adventures in Belize, I catch a bus south to Dangriga and on to Hopkins, a Garifuna town on the coast. From here I visit the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, independently via buses and hitching. I have a Garifuna drumming lesson with Jabbar at Lebeha Drummers and enjoy the local food, I hitch and bus up the beautiful Hummingbird Highway, stopping to explore Billy Barquedier National Park and St Herman's Blue Hole National Park. I arrive back in Belize City soon after a state of emergency has been declared in response to a surge in gang-related violence. Nevertheless, I enjoy BC, it's food, houses, museum and people. And I visit the ruins of the ancient Maya city of Altun Ha, which is only 50 km north but takes me a long time to get to!

I cross from Chetamul to Belize in a water taxi, which is both the easiest and most cost-effective option. I got to spend about half an hour in San Pedro and then several days in Caye Caulker. The highlight was an amazing snorkelling trip to the Hol Chan and Caye Caulker Marine Reserves. To put things in context, I also discuss some background about the history and culture of Belize.

In this episode I describe my visit to the famous (Id heard a lot about it) laguna de Bacalar. There I decide to go diving on the so-called Costa Maya, at Mahahual and Xcalak. The latter was the more interesting of the two sites. Finally, I travel down to Chetumal, the capital of Quintana Roo, and prepare to cross the border into Belize.

Notes: There were 2 cars to Xcalak because there were 7 people in the group.

Evidemment, I was breathing through my mouth while diving, not through my nose! I settled on a count of approximately 4 in and 6 out and my air consumption was definitely less, though I took full, deep breaths.

In this episode I reach San Cristobal, the unofficial capital of hghland Chiapas, a beautiful colonial city surrounded by indigenous communities of Tzotzil and Tzeltal-speaking people. There`s a lot to do here. I go on a boat trip down the Rio Grijalva through the Canon del Sumidoro, with its 1000m walls, ending in the town of Chiapa de Corzo. And I visit the village of San Juan Chamula and its two-hundred-year-old church, one of the most intensely sacred places in Mexico. People come here to consult shamans and commune with the gods, with the help of candles, fizzy drinks, mirrors. music and the sacrifice of chickens.

In this episode I describe my trip to Isla Cozumel, where I did six dives (note, the second dive was for 50 minutes, not to 50 metres!) with Barefoot Dive Centre. The dive spots were:

Palcancar Caves; Palancar Bricks; C-53 Shipwreck; Chankamaab reef; Paso del Cedral; Punta Tunich; San Clemente; Paraiso

After Cozumel I spent a couple of nights in Playa del Carmen and had 2 incredible dives in Parque Dos Ojos, in the cenotes El Pit and Nicte Ha.

In this podcast I talk about my experience in the city of Valladolid in Yucatan state, and the nearby Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. Chichen Itza was voted as one of the `New Seven Wonders of the World` in an online poll in 2007. It was the most visited archaeological site in Mexico in 2024. I also visit the nearby, lovely,and much less visited Maya ruins of Ek` Balam.

Note: In my little rant I meant don`t cross the world to sit on a beach in Mexico, not Norway. My head is not in the game!

In this episode I reach the Yucatan Peninsula and find it extremely hot! I go to the fine colonial city of Campeche and then to Merida, the capital of Yucatan state. I couch surf with a slightly odd fellow and go on a day trip to visit the beautiful Mayan sites of Kabah and Uxmal in the Puuc region.

Notes:

1. La Malinche translated from Nahuatl (the language of the Aztecs) to Yucatecan Maya (the language of her employers). Jeronimo de Aquilar, the shipwrecked friar, then translated from Maya to Spanish, obviously - not English as I say in this podcast!

2. The square city planned by Foster and Partners is Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. It aims to be a model for sustainable urban living, based on the planning principles of an old walled city with narrow streets. It seems that, to an extent the plan has worked and the temperature is significantly cooler than the surrounding desert. Geoffrey West, in his book, `Scale`, argued that a square city was a terrible idea because cities should evolve organically, in line with the needs of their inhabitants.