Central America - Lili on the Loose

19 01, 2015

Travel Missteps: Groped in Guatemala or am I just bad at Charades?

By Lili|January 19th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, Antigua, camera, Central America, Charades, church, groped, Guatemala, Mayan Encounter 2013, ruins, Safety, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

I had an eventful first day in Antigua, Guatemala. I made chocolate, I shopped a bit, sprained an ankle, and I also had the largest scare I’ve ever had while traveling. The ruins of Santa Clara Before dinner I decided to squeeze in one last site. I was excited to see the many ruined churches of Antigua and there was one I could see from my hotel, a ruin called Convento de Santa Clara. Camera ready, I paid the Q40 to the bored man at the dark entrance. As you enter to the left the ruined church juts

28 04, 2014

Travel Missteps: A Smashing Good Time

By Lili|April 28th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2003, all inclusive, birthday, cake, Central America, Holiday in Rivera Maya, local culture, Mexico, Rivera Maya, Sister Cities|0 Comments

Some travelers are against “All-Inclusives” since the best part of going to a foreign country is to experience the local culture first hand and that’s nearly impossible to do behind the secluded walls of the resort. But even in this type of setting, sometimes you are surprised and can experience the local culture in unexpected ways. At least, that is how we now look at my mother’s birthday while staying in an All Inclusive resort in Rivera Maya, Mexico in 2003. A relaxing beach in Mexico. It was a relaxing trip. Full of hanging out at the beach,

22 02, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: Volcano Snow Globe

By Lili|February 22nd, 2014|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2012, Arenal, Arenal Volcano, Central America, collectable, collection, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, glass, group, La Fortuna, memento, memories, rain, San Jose, shopping, snow done, snow globe, snow globes, souvenir, tour, tour group, travel, unique, volcano|2 Comments

My latest snow globe souvenir is a unique find. While on my last full day in Costa Rica, my group asked our tour leader Randy where the best place to buy souvenirs was. He knew that we would be getting into San Jose really late and since most of us had an early flight the next day would not be able to get anything. So on the way back Randy had the van stop at a large and fancy store. He said it was usually frequented by the all-inclusive hotels and so would have the best selection of souvenirs, however

20 01, 2014

Travel Missteps: In the Dark of the Night

By Lili|January 20th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, airport, Belize, Caye Caulker, Central America, dark, driving, finish line, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, golf cart, group, island, lost, Mayan Encounter 2013, ocean, race, racing, runway, tour, tour group|0 Comments

"Now stay here, turn off your engines, and be quite! I'm going to see if the coast is clear." "Can we get arrested for this?" "No, not likely. This isn't the states. Possibly a bribe, that's all." We waited quietly in the dark while we watched one of the golf carts slowly make its way onto the unlit runway. Its little front lights getting dimmer as it blended into the darkness. Minutes went by but it seemed like an eternity to my excited and frightened mind. Then the golf cart came back. Our guide motioned for us to come over

6 01, 2014

Travel Missteps: Una blosa con hielo, por favor?

By Lili|January 6th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, ankle, Antigua, Central America, cobblestones, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, duck tape, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, group, Guatemala, ice, injured, injury, Mayan Encounter 2013, soda, spanish, sprain, tour, tour group, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

Getting injured can be one of the worst things that can happen to you on a trip. For me, it is becoming a standard fact of travel. After spraining my ankle and then nearly fracturing my nose in Costa Rica, I decided to be extra prepared on my next trip. So I brought a thorough first aid kit and 2 ankle braces (so I could swap them out and not wear one every day). I thought I was prepared, little did I know I was wrong. On my second day of exploring Antigua, Guatemala I sprained my right ankle just

1 01, 2014

2013 Year Highlights and 2014 Upcoming Travel Plans

By Lili|January 1st, 2014|Categories: Travel, Upcoming Travel, Year in Review|Tags: 2013, 2014, Actun Tunichil Muknal, Antigua, Belize, blog posts, Caye Caulker, Central America, CES, chocolate, climb, food, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, golf cart, grandpa, group, Guatemala, highlights, hike, Las Vegas, Mayan, Mayan Encounter 2013, meetup, museum, mythbusters, Panama, Pyramid, racing, rum, savings, shark, Smithsonian, snorkeling, St. John, swim, Tikal, tour group, travel plans, triceratops, upcoming, upcoming travel, upcoming travel plans, USA, USVI, Washington DC, work, year in review|0 Comments

Goodbye 2013! You were a good year. Here are some of the travel highlights: I went to Las Vegas twice for work, and had the opportunity to experience the craziness that is CES first hand. My favorite food experience was learning the history and how to make chocolate in Antigua, Guatemala. There is a 3 way tie for the “I never thought I’d…” Climb to the top of a Mayan Pyramid at Tikal, Guatemala Hike over a mile into the earth and free climb rock formations to see Mayan sacrifices at Actun Tunichil Muknal in Belize. Swim with sharks near

5 08, 2013

Travel Missteps: Memorializing Everything

By Lili|August 5th, 2013|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2012, accident, camera, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, fear of heights, filming, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, injured, injury, Montezuma, nose, photo, photography, tour, video, zip line, zip lining|0 Comments

Tourists are criticized for having their camera plastered to their face for their entire trip instead of interacting to the world around them like a normal person. I can attest I've been on both sides of this argument, there has been trips I haven't taken many photos, and other times I've returned home with thousands of similar images. But sometimes the dangers of over-photographing a trip has little to do with missed moments vs lasting visual memories. Sometimes the dangers are very real, from tripping on things you aren't aware of, stepping out into traffic, or in my case: getting a fractured

15 04, 2013

Travel Missteps: Disrupting Go Slow

By Lili|April 15th, 2013|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, Belize, Caye Caulker, Central America, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, golf cart, hammock, island, Mayan Encounter 2013, Motto, racing, rush, scavenger hunt, slow life, sunset, tour, winner, winning|1 Comment

"Yo Mamma! Go slow. They ain't gonna leave you." I had heard that Belize's islands unofficial motto was "Go Slow". I had been warned that if I rushed I would be told to slow down. But I didn't expect that to be my first greeting in Belize while waiting for my water ferry to Caye Caulker. You see my group had been split up, and our van arrived an hour later than the other half of the group. When we finally made it to the dock I was told the boat was leaving in 2 minutes, so I was running around, going

12 02, 2013

Upcoming Travel Plans: Mayan Encounter 2013

By Lili|February 12th, 2013|Categories: Itinerary, Travel, Travel Planning, Upcoming Travel|Tags: 2013, Belize, Central America, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Guatemala, itinerary, Latin America, Mayan, Mayan Encounter 2013, Mayan ruins, Mexico, plan, planning, ruins, snorkel, snorkeling, tour, upcoming travel|0 Comments

For my next adventure I will explore Mayan ruins and enjoy fabulous snorkeling in Central America. My basic itinerary will be: After a full day of travel I will arrive in Guatemala late at night. I will spend 2 days in Antigua, Guatemala to explore the city. I plan on visiting many ruined churches, see a Coffee Plantation, see how Jade is made, and make my own Chocolate! Then my tour with Gadventures will start and we'll move onto Flores, Guatemala to explore the quaint and small island city on foot and by boat. The next day we'll move onto