Belize - Lili on the Loose

8 05, 2017

Travel Missteps: Warning! Danger Noodle

By Lili|May 8th, 2017|Categories: Nature & Outdoors, Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, Bacalar Chico, Bacalar Chico National Park, Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve, beach, Belize, Caribbean, Caye Caulker, Central America, Coral, eel, island, Latin America, Mayan Encounter 2013, ocean, Sting Ray, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

I don't know why but I fear eels. The first time I saw one was in St. John USVI. I actually thought it was a poisonous water snake and so freaked out. But as I learned more about eels I started to become weary of them. I love diving down, getting close to rocks and taking photos of the fish. You know what also lives in the rocks. EELS! Now beyond that first experience of seeing a spotted eel swimming near the top of the water, I hadn't seen another one. Of course my guide in Belize decided to change

29 12, 2016

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

By Lili|December 29th, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: Abu Simbel, Africa, Ancient, Antigua, Assisi, Aswan, Austria, Barrier Reef, Basilica of San Francesco, Bath, Belize, Cairo, Caye Caulker, Central America, Champs Elysées, Chichen-Itza, Coiba, Dahshur, Dashur, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle, Egypt, Eiffel Tower, England, Europe, Florence, France, Germany, Giza, Great Pyramids, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Guatemala, Hadrian's Wall, High Dam, Holy See, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Leanding Tower of Pisa, Loreley, Louvre, Luxor, Mayan, Memphis, Mexico, Middle East, National Park, Necropolis, North America, Notre-Dame, Nubia, Panama, Panama Viejo, Paris, Petra, Philae, Philae Temple, Piazza del Duomo, Pisa, Pompeii, Pyramids, Ramesses II, Rhine River, Rhine Valley, River Seine, Roman Walls, Rome, Rüdesheim, ruins, Sainte Chapelle, Salzburg, Saqqara, Scotland, Seine, Siena, snorkel, Thebes, Tikal, Travel Thursday, UK, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, United Kingdom, USA, Vatican City, Venice, Venice Lagoon, Verona, Wesminster Abbey, Westminster, World Heritage, Yellowstone National Park|0 Comments

"Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration." - UNESCO There are thousands of world heritage sites. I've been to 30 of them: Salzburg Austria Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg A turtle in Belize Belize Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System Ramses Temple at Abu Simbel Egypt Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis Historic Cairo Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to

9 09, 2016

Caye Caulker Sunset

By Lili|September 9th, 2016|Categories: Nature & Outdoors, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2013, beach, Belize, Caye Caulker, Central America, island, Latin America, Mayan Encounter 2013, Photo Friday, sunset|0 Comments

As I was racing around the island in a golf cart to try (and succeeded) to win a scavenger hunt I saw this beautiful sunset and squealed to a stop before snapping this pic. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

15 07, 2016

Crack in the Shadows of Xibalba

By Lili|July 15th, 2016|Categories: Activities, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2013, Belize, Cave, Cave Tubing, Caves, Caves Branch River, Cenote, Central America, dark, Latin America, Mayan Encounter 2013, Nohoch Che'en Archaeological Reserve, Photo Friday, San Ignacio, Travel Thursday, Tubing, Xibalba|0 Comments

While cave tubing in Belize a cenote allowed a little light into the dark cave. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

8 06, 2016

Under the Sea – World Oceans Day 2016

By Lili|June 8th, 2016|Categories: Nature & Outdoors, Travel|Tags: 2011, 2012, 2013, Bacalar Chico, Bacalar Chico National Park, Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve, Belize, Caribbean, Caye Caulker, Central America, Coral, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, Flounder, Isla Tortuga, Mayan Encounter 2013, ocean, Sea Grass, Sea Turtle, Sergeant Major, St. John, St. John 2011, Starfish, Sting Ray, The Little Mermaid, turtle, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, USVI, Waterlemon Caye|0 Comments

Today is World Oceans Day. With so many news stories of rising ocean temperatures and bleached corals, now more than ever is it important to protect this important part of our ecosystem. So today I share some of my favorite snorkel photography and hope we can all help protect the oceans. Above is Waterlemon Caye, off of St. John USVI. The large school of fish you can see are Sergeant Major, my favorite fish. Here you can see more Sergeant Majors near Isla Tortuga, Costa Rica. I like this fish as it reminds of me the coloring of Flounder from the

17 02, 2016

30 at 30: Best Experiences So Far

By Lili|February 17th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories|Tags: Abu Simbel, Africa, Anaheim, Antigua, Asia, Aswan, Bath, Belize, Belize Barrier Reef, Bent Pyramid, birthday, Bostan, California, camping, Canyon Ranch Spa, castle, Caye Caulker, Cenote, Central America, Champ de Elysee, Chino, chocolate, Christmas Market, CIE, Concert, concert photography, Costa Rica, Dahshur, Dashur, DC, Disneyland, Egypt, England, Epiphany Night, Europe, Ewok, fireworks, Florida, France, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Germany, golf carts, Great Britan, Guatemala, Harry Potter, haunted, Ik Kil, Ik Kill cenote, Ireland, Island of Adventure, Italy, Japan, Karnak, Lake Placid, Las Vegas, Latin America, lightsaber, Luxor, Massachusetts, memories, Mexico, Middle East, Munich, museum, Nagano Prefecture, Nevada, New York, North America, Orlando, Paris, photography, Playa Del Carmen, Pyramids, racing, Red Pyramid, reef, Rome, San Francisco, sharks, sheep, Sister Cities, snorkeling, Spa, St. John, Star Wars, Suwa, swimming, temples, The Vatican, Tokyo, tombs, tour, Trafalgar, Trajan's Column, travel experiences, trolly, Tucson, UK, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Universal Studios, USA, USVI, Vatican, Vatican City, Washington DC, white water rafting, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, yukata|1 Comment

Today is my birthday, and I've hit the "Big 3-0". I wanted to look back at 30 of my favorite travel memories in my life, in no particular order: Fulfilling my dream of going to Egypt, seeing so many amazing tombs and temples Sitting alone in the temples of Abu Simbel and Karnak Climbing into and on top of a pyramid Wandering the Christmas Markets of Munich Seeing the castles of Germany Taking a haunted trolly/walking tour of Boston graveyards. Seeing as many museums as I could in Washington, DC Swimming with sharks in Belize Racing golf-carts on Caye Caulker Making

28 01, 2016

Breathtaking Crystal Maiden at Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) Cave

By Lili|January 28th, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2013, Actun Tunichil Muknal, ATM Cave, Belize, Cave, Cave of the Crystal Sepulcher, Caves, Central America, climb, Crystal Maiden, dark, hike, Mayan, Mayan Encounter 2013, Mayan Sacrifice, Mayans, pottery, San Ignacio, Stone Sepulcher, Travel Thursday, Xibalba|0 Comments

One of the most breathtaking experiences I have ever had while traveling was when I visited Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM). The name means “Cave of the Crystal Sepulcher” but it could be more accurately described as the physical embodiment of Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. This is a cave system in Belize, where you can see actual Mayan sacrifices and offerings to the gods. It is believed the Mayans first found the cave around 300-600 AD, but didn’t move into the further reaches until 700-900 AD. Beyond seeing ceramic or stone pots and plates you will also see skeletons. They are

18 01, 2016

Travel Missteps: Don’t Look Under the Ledge

By Lili|January 18th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2010, 2013, beach, Belize, boat, California, Caribbean, Caye Caulker, Central America, fear, fish, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, grouper, island, Little Maho Bay, Maho, Mayan Encounter 2013, Mermaid, Michigan, ocean, paradise, snorkel, snorkeling, St. John, St. John 2010, The Little Mermaid, underwater photography, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, USVI, water|0 Comments

As a young child, my favorite movie was The Little Mermaid. I loved swimming and spent my childhood on the beaches of California and the Great Lakes of Michigan pretending to be a mermaid. On my first trip to St. John USVI, it was my first time snorkeling in years and I was excited to try out my new equipment and underwater camera. I swam out to a rocky outcropping near Little Maho Bay Beach and got a little snap happy as I hadn't expected the water to be so clear or to see so many fish so close to the

13 08, 2015

Cave Tubing in Belize

By Lili|August 13th, 2015|Categories: Activities, Travel|Tags: 2013, Belize, Cave, Cave Tubing, Caves, Caves Branch River, Caye Caulker, Central America, dark, Mayan Encounter 2013, Nohoch Che'en Archaeological Reserve, San Ignacio, Travel Thursday, Tubing|0 Comments

Coming from Boulder, CO I’m no stranger to tubing down a river, but Belize offered a new twist on that activity: Cave Tubing! Belize is known for having the largest cave systems in all of Central America, but the most popular cave tubing is found at a small part of the Caves Branch River at Nohoch Che'en Archaeological Reserve near Belmopan. Here you will goes through 5 different caves, weaving between sunlight and darkness for almost 5 miles! Coming to the end of a cave! Our plan was to stop for cave tubing while on the drive from

2 07, 2015

Tips for Swimming with Sea Turtles

By Lili|July 2nd, 2015|Categories: Activities, Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: Belize, Belize Barrier Reef, Caribbean, Hawaii, Maui, Mayan Encounter 2013, North America, Sea Turtle, St. John, St. John 2010, St. John 2011, Tips, Travel Thursday, turtle, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, USVI|1 Comment

A turtle in Belize Sea Turtles are a majestic sight to see when snorkeling. I’ve had the opportunity to see and swim with turtles in Maui, HI, St. John USVI, and the Belize Barrier Reef. But too often swimmers or snorkelers get too close to Sea Turtles and inadvertently end up harassing them. Here are some tips when swimming with Sea Turtles to make sure the experience is good to everyone. Turtle Town Maui First it is important to note in many areas turtles are protected by law. You should not touch, attempt to feed, or