Nick canyoning in Cebu, Philippines
Caracol, in the Belize jungle.
A fairly tough 1 hr, 45 minute drive from St Ignacio, and maybe 1/10th of the way is paved, and the rest is somewhat sketchy; although they are in the (slow) process of building a magnificent new paved road, expecting to be completed in around 5 years….
It will definitely change the experience of visiting these ruins. It’s an adventure now, but it’ll be a cruisey jaunt with a better road, as is Tikal in Guatemala or Chichen Itza in Mexico.
Butterfly swarm in the Belize jungle
Came across this on an epic drive to Caracol Mayan ruins…
The grotto from James Bond’s’Thunderball’
And cannabis for medicinal purposes of course…!!
Russian hosts, and the Windy islands
Cuban cigars..
The four islands comprising the French West Indies, inadvertently four out of five of our destinations after our cruise was canceled :
Martinique has all the French cachet, Guadeloupe is bigger, definitely need a car to get around, more down to earth,
St Barth is very different, hardly know it’s French at all, everyone speaks English, everyone owns a yacht, $US is a second currency, but great tourist souvenirs!
Sint Maarten is different than them all, most shops and bars are run by US or Indian people, great food, $US and Euro are the same currency in effect, notes given in one form and change in the other.. many cigar shops selling Cuban cigars to American tourists.. very rare to hear French spoken at all. It’s like going to Noosa for Melbournians, for many in the US!
Landing plane on Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten, and the island’s main claim to fame, it’s airport…
A LOT of souvenirs feature the plane taking off/ landing motif.. We did stand in the jet wash as planes took off, maybe overrated if the jet is a small size… but larger ones create quite a sandstorm on the beach!
Heading to port in St Barth on a zodiac
The view of our overnight accommodation in St Barth was a Airbnb on a yacht in the harbour/ bay, surrounded by the rich and richer. Quite the revelation was seeing a helicopter taking off and then later landing again on a mega-yacht nearby. Sint Maarten is in the hazy distance in the video. Quayside shopping is at Hermes, Prada, D&G, Versace, Rolex and Tiffany. A very ‘yachttie’ crowd.
We booked our flights into and out of this island before looking at hotel prices, and due to holidays in Europe, most were booked up, or else the price per night was $1300 or more.
Also one more noticeable thing is that the Windward Islands are WINDY!
View from behind the co-pilot on approach to land on Saint Barthélemy, a world renowned difficult strip for landing… enjoy!!!
A cool beach-side bar, Guadal beer, Pina Colada, and local Rhum
From the beach of Death in Paradise
Sunset drinkies, with- what else, a guy selling crépes!
This is a bit of the boat trip to our hotel