Well, I'm in Belize. The border crossing was easy, and I made it all the way down the coast to Belize City that same day. It was strange to leave Mexico after being there so long; I had gotten both used to and sick of that way of life. Belize, by contrast, is a very "Rasta" country.

Belize City is really funky; it's dirty and busy and disorganized and sunny and the people speak that Caribbean English, mahn. I like the weirdness of it.

But, one day was enough in Belize City, so I went out to one of the islands off the coast, Caye Caulker. There are no paved roads and the one town on the island has many palm-roofed sleeping cabins and restaurants. It's almost as primitive as Gilligan's island, but in a fun way.

While on the caye, I went on a snorkeling excursion. We snorkeled on one reef, then went to another where several sharks and sting-rays swam right up to the boat. The highlight was watching several manatees feeding on sea-grass roots in the mangroves where they live. We got right up close to a mother and baby—that was so cool!

Next I went west almost to the border with Guatemala to the tiny town of San Ignacio. I just spent one day here, doing the safari to the Mayan ceremonial cave of the Stone Sepulchre.

The safari was amazing. We drove in Toyota Land Cuisers out into the jungle, then hiked for an hour to get to the cave entrance. The hike included wading thru three rivers. The cave itself had a big stream coming out of it, and we had to swim to get into the cave. We went about a quarter of a mile into the cave, passing stalactites and stalagmites and other pretty formations, and having to swim up-stream occasionally, then went down a side passage to the Mayan ceremonial area.

In this area, the Mayans came to make offerings to their dark, angry gods who live underground. They brought the offerings in to the cave in ceramic pots which they left at the offering sites. Sometimes the offerings were human sacrifices and we saw several skeletons; one was nearly perfectly intact. It was calcified and very "crusty", but was so beautiful.

From San Ignacio, I crossed the border to Guatemala. The crossing was easy, altho I did have to pay an "expediting" fee of a few dollars to get across. I went to Flores which is in northern Guatemala, near the great Mayan ruins site at Tikal.

The next day I explored the ruins in the jungle at Tikal; it was truly awesome. The site is very large with numerous very steep pyramids. It took six hours of continuous walking just to see the highlights. I also saw monkeys climbing thru the trees, packs of cotimundis rummaging for food, toucans eating berries, and lots of other birds.

Then I went to the town of Rio Dulce in south-eastern Guatemala. The Rio Dulce river goes from the town about 10 or 15 miles out to the ocean and this is a real "water" community. There are boats everywhere, many people get from place to place by boat. I am staying at a nicer hotel which I get to by taking the boat across the small inlet here by the main town.

From Rio Dulce, I went west to the capital, Guatemala City. This isn't one of the best places to hang out, but you often need to pass thru it to get to other places in Guatemala. The night I got here I took a walk around the block of my hotel and saw rows of prostitutes, men being frisked by police, and dirty, drunk men rolling in and out of the doorways of abandoned buildings. I pretty much stayed inside at night when I was in "Guate".

Next I went a short distance north-west to beautiful Antigua. The streets are cobblestone, the buildings are mostly old Spanish-colonial architecture, and a big volcano dominates the view from town. Several churches here have been reduced to rubble by the many earthquakes this town has suffered over the centuries, and they have been left as monuments to indefatigable catholicism. It's a nice little town, a lot like San Cristobal and San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, but is very touristy. Nearly every block has several nice, safe restaurants and trinket shops.

The highlight of Antigua for me was touring the museum of the traditional native costumes from all over the country. The native dress of Guatemala is exceptionally colorful and varied. Each town has its own specific patterns for the blouses, skirts, and pants people wear.

From Antigua, I went further north-west to Lake Atitlan—oh, what a beautiful lake. The lake is surrounded by mountains, the water is deep, and two tall, extinct volcanos tower overhead. I took a "lancha" out to Santa Cruz, one of the small towns on the lake.

The hotel—more of a camp really—where I'm staying is a magical, special place called the Iguana Perdido, Spanish for Lost Iguana. The staff are all like one big family. There is no electricity, so kerosine lamps are used at night for light. A family-style dinner is served every evening for the constant stream of well-travelled backpackers passing thru. Spontaneous jam sessions usually happen after dinner with all the instruments lying around.

I have spent my many days here practicing hacky sack, talking to world-class travellers, playing the guitar, going for walks around the lake, playing board games, reading, and just taking in the sun. One day I hiked up the mountainside to the small city of Sololá and took in the breathtaking views.

I left the lake, regretfully, intending to go to Chichicastengango, a place famous for its Sunday market. Instead, I got a ride in the back of a pick-up truck from a nice young family much higher up into the mountains to Nebaj, a quaint little town of 9000 people. The five-hour trip thru beautiful and rugged mountain roads was bumpy and dusty, but so fun.

Almost all the women here wear their traditional suits with the intricate, bright purple patterns. Most of the houses are made of mud brick with tile roofs. Only a few of the main roads are paved, and there are no paved roads in or out of town. Every street and alley has its own stray dog. Corn fields are everywhere, cars are few.

After Nebaj, I came back down out of the mountains to the city of Quiche. I went there because it is close to Chichicastenango, where I went for the Sunday market. (I just love the name "Chichicastenango".) The market was big and good. It was much like a lot of other markets I've now seen in my travels, but it was an especially nice one.

After "Chichi", I came to the big, bustling city of Quetzaltenango which everyone calls Xela (pronounced SHEY-la). I like the energy of all the people working and the young people talking on there cell-phones and being "cool" in the bars. I checked out several language schools, all full of gringo Spanish students, and did a hike up the Santa Maria volcano.

A few of us from this hotel all got up at 5:00 in the morning to climb the Santa Maria volcano. Mist and fog shrouded the mountain when we first got there, but it started to clear up as soon as we started climbing. The views were spectacular, especially of the little volcano nearby that erupts every half an hour and of the volcanos around Lago Atitlan. I must have taken 15 pictures!

After Xela, I came back to Panajachel at Lago Atitlan. Ostensibly, to do a Spanish conversation course here, but really it was to be with Heike, a beautiful German woman whom I met three weeks ago when I was first here.

We called to each other by email and when I got back, got to know each other better; we hiked along the lake and rode bicycles to little nearby villages; we practiced our Spanish and quenched our thirst with choco-bananos; we drank wine and discussed life late into the night; we touched.

I admired her inner strength and worldly sense of travel, and my feelings for her grew quickly strong. But language and age held us apart, and her heart was focused on another. In the end, she couldn't reciprocate my feelings.

Too soon, she went home to Germany and I fell into deep sadness. But it is a happy sadness: the hope and feelings she gave me are so rare and precious, no matter how long I got to enjoy them. They remind me of what values are possible in this life, what happiness there is to fight for, and give me something to dream about.

With little to hold me at the lake, I went back to the mountains, this time to Todos Santos. This beautiful little village is in north-western Guatemala near the border with Mexico.

Todos Santos is a lot like Nebaj: surrounded by high mountains, it is very cold at night and I need lots of blankets; only a few roads in town are paved; corn fields and mud-brick houses are everywhere; most of the people dress in their extremely colorful traditional dress. I went for a day hike up into the surrounding mountains—the views were gorgeous and it was a good chance to be alone with my thoughts.

While here, I saw a couple of documentaries on the history of Todos Santos and the effects of the civil war here. It was a big rebel stronghold during that time and the government and the rebels both really repressed the people. I also attended an interesting talk by an activist woman about the condition of women here.

After Todos Santos I came back to Xela. I went up into the mountains around here and bathed in some hot springs. The water was wonderful—just hot enough that you could only stay in for ten minutes at a time.

I came down out of the mountains to Retalhuleu near the Pacific coast after Xela. It's an ordinary small city, not very clean or very exciting. There is a very nice garden surrounding the church in the town square. I am glad I went because I like to see places that aren't touristy and are really representative of the country.

Next, I went south to Monterrico on the Pacific coast. On the bus ride from Retalhuleu we passed lots of sugar cane plantations and several sugar factories. Near a factory, you can smell the dirty sweetness of the sugar brewing. The Pacific coast is such a different landscape from the highlands of Guatemala.

Monterrico was yukky! It was full of awful Guatemaltecan tourists (who manage to make American tourists look polite), the locals were all very rude, the beach was filthy, my hotel was a dump. I left for Antigua the morning after I arrived.

I am back in pleasant Antigua where I'm relaxing and doing business before going to Honduras. I saw the movie Men with Guns here. It's a great movie: it's very well made and does a great job of capturing the ethos of the conflicts in Central America.

It's hard to believe I've spent nearly two months in Guatemala. This is such a beautiful, fascinating, and diverse country—well worth the time I spent here. But now it's time to see what Honduras is like....