Touring Tikal

September 3, 2015 kate brand

From Flores we took a bus to Tikal National Park:

"It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. Situated in the department of El Petén, the site is part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site."

Since I was a young child, I have always been fascinated with ancient civilisations. When my friends were playing with barbies or reading "Sweet Valley High", I was pouring over books about the Ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greece. My favourite movies and TV series were about Roman and Greek myths, legends and ancient civilisations like "The Mysterious Cities of Gold". Visiting Tikal was a dream come true.

Unfortunately, we learned the hard way, that your guide can either make or break your experience and ours was a huge disappointment. Caesar, from Little Caesar's Tours took us on a private tour of the city. He walked us through at such a rapid pace that we hardly had time to stop and take photos (unless it involved the wildlife), not to mention the minimal info on the structures, civilization and history of the site. We got more information on the wildlife than the temples!

After Caesar raced us through the city at Olympic Gold Medal speed, we did a little exploring of our own. During that time we got more thorough and fascinating information from eavesdropping on other passing tour guides, than we got during the entire "detailed personalized" tour Caesar supposedly provided for us.

Rubbish guide aside, it was a fascinating experience and another one off my bucket list ;)

Standing at the top of the Temple of Masks, overlooking the Temple of the Grand Jaguar

circular stone altar with intricate carvings of secenes from Maya life

Temple of the Grand Jaguar, tomb of "Lord Chocolate" (Ah Cacau), one of Tikal's greatest rulers

A massive stucco mask found on the substructure of one of the temples

Archeologists working on one of the structures

panoramic view of Tikal, from the tallest Temple IV

view from the palace, overlooking the Central Plaza

abundance of wildlife in the forest, including toucans and these acrobats!

The Long Way Round

September 1, 2015 kate brand

Once we completed our last charters it was off to the other side of the world again - this time, and for the first time, South Korea. We had been asked to join a project there for 10 days and couldn't turn down the opportunity. We had a few days to kill before we flew to Seoul so we decided to take the long way round, via Guatemala, to visit Melody and explore a bit more than the Rio and the marina.

The first stop was Flores, a tiny island town on a lake in the north east of Guatemala, close to the Belizean border. You can circumnavigate the island on foot in a mere 30min. Tiny indeed. The cobblestone streets are lined with colourful old buildings, many with obvious Spanish influence and most of them have beautiful decorative steel balustrades and intricate "spanish bars" over the windows.

There are many little hotels, you can find at least 3 on every street, and the malecon is lined with interesting restaurants and bars for every budget and palette. One of Rufus' favourite things to do in each place we visit is try the street food. In the afternoons, local women set up stalls with colourful assortments of traditional dishes and desserts. We went back to those stalls twice and still had dinner afterwards!

It's a beautiful little town and we have been back since. A great place to relax and get good food and cocktails, especially during happy hour ;)

the local carpentry and handwoven fabrics are beautiful

delicious meals and generous portions to be had here, at budget friendly prices

a little more on the pricey side but definitely worth a visit to this restaurant

Bye Bye Belize

August 28, 2015 kate brand

The charter season is over in Belize and the boats are on their way to the Rio, in Guatemala, for their annual maintenance. I thought this would be the perfect time to post a selection of our favourite photos, from some of our most memorable experiences, while working for Belize Sailing Vacations.

So many great memories!

Photo Credit: some of the below photos were taken by guests, specifically Andreas and Andrea Jensen, and they have graciously allowed me to use them for this post, and include their two beautiful daughters :) Thank you, Jensen family!

the view from below... getting to know the local Nurse Sharks

these guys are so beautiful and peaceful, and they love their sea grass. Rufus and I affectionately refer to them as "sea cows" :)

our guide, Ally, interacting with one of the rays - they know her well and greet her personally whenever she gets in the water

these two photos were taken while under way, sailing to the next

island - perfectly calm and clear — island - perfectly calm and clear

the view from our cabin port hole, while we were sailing

seagull trying his luck for a seafood snack off the back of the boat

fresh shrimps prepared the Danish way, for our Danish guests. D is for DELICIOUS!

these two gorgeous girls stole my heart!

there was no one else on or around this island besides the two of us, our two guests and our boat anchored in the background.

chasing a crab up a tree, doing his best crab claw impression

a coconut is not the best hiding place, as it out...

exploring the curious and colourful town of San Pedro, on Ambergris Caye, in the north of Belize. definitely worth a visit, if only for the locally hand-made organic chocolate (!!!).

you can take us out of South Africa but you can't take us away from the braai! this is one of our favourite charter meals to prepare: chicken, sweet pepper and pineapple sosaties (kebabs) on the ideally charcoal, not gas, braai (barbecue)

making furry friends on South Water Caye

Private Paradise

August 25, 2015 kate brand

Ranguana Caye is a beautiful little private island, our favourite in the South. It is situated 29km/18 miles, about one hour speedboat ride, from Placencia, on the Southern Coast of Belize. It plays host to three wooden cabanas (plus one for staff), built on stilts, which sleep max three people each.

Everything is solar powered - there are no TV's or telephones, no cell or wifi reception. Communication to the outside world is via VHF (marine radio) only and there is a generator for emergencies.

Our most memorable trip there was on Sea Dale with Ken and Elizabeth. When we arrived we were lucky enough to have it to ourselves. The water was crystal clear and warm. The pelicans were curious and eager to have their photo taken.

The caretakers were friendly and gave us space to enjoy the island and its waters all to ourselves. I spent most of my time wandering around taking photos, occasionally running into Rufus, usually hiding in between the coconut trees waiting to jump out and surprise me or being shadowed by a curious pelican.

There is a small restaurant and bar on the island, which opens only for guests, and pre-booked day trip visitors. Because it is so remote everything needs to be planned ahead of time, provisioning being part of that, just like we do on charter. It is literally a 2 minute ride from the famous barrier reef, for some of the best diving and snorkeling in Belize and the fishing is apparently good too. I think most guests just just relax and enjoy the precious peace and quiet though - tanning, kayaking, swimming and drinking rum punch cocktails.

The owners have done a great job of creating a comfortable retreat without disturbing any of the natural island atmosphere. It still feels untouched and deserted. You have no choice but to relax and destress in that kind of environment.

RanguanaCaye-aBrandNewLife (1 of 1)-2.jpg

Go Slow

August 22, 2015 kate brand

"Go Slow" is the motto of a small island, in the north of Belize, named Caye Caulker. It's a few hours sail south of San Pedro (Ambergris Caye) and of all the inhabited islands in Belize, Caye Caulker is my favourite. The locals take their motto really seriously and I've even had a few of them call it out to me as I power walk between the groceries stores to re-provision during charter.

Our first trip there was with Bernhard and Monika, on our first charter with BSV. We all enjoyed it so much that we returned to the island for a second time, as we worked our way down south again. The other motto of the island is "no shoes, no shirt, no problem!", which is not surprising as most of the locals walk around barefoot, ride bicycles or drive golf carts. I dont think I have ever seen a motor car on the island, except for at the fuel dock. Even the taxis are golf carts.

There are some great restaurants on the water's edge, most of them with sea sand floors, a great list of delicious cocktails for happy hour and fresh seafood (and local) dishes to satisfy every appetite. The buildings are rainbow candy coloured wooden structures, and almost every local has a bedraggled mutt lying on the front porch, trying to survive the heat in whichever patch of shade it can find.

Rufus and I always make sure we get some home-made coconut ice cream when we visit and the little veggie stores are well stocked and even better priced for most of your provisioning needs. There are daily water taxis to and from San Pedro as well as the mainland, if you need to get around and haven't managed to bring your own sailboat with you ;)