Date: 13/01/2013 à 14/01/2013

Path: We take a "water taxi" in Belize City, direto para a ilha.

Caye Caulker e o Blue Hole

After the chaos that is Belize City, arrive in Caye Caulker was somehow, by Alivio. Located at 32 miles from coast, the trip lasts about 45 minute speedboat. Among the various options islands off the coast belizenha, Caye Caulker is the main starting point for the very famous Blue Hole, um paraíso do mergulho.

Beaches with crystal clear water and palm trees are common on the island

Sea is inviting for a swim

Small and quiet, in a few minutes walk you can already tell that crossed the entire island. North-sul, Caye Caulker is about 8 km east-west and just over 1.5 km. Small inns spread throughout the island, juntamente com restaurantes e bares.

Simple infrastructure on the island

Nothing better than shade and fresh water

The place is good to spend time relaxing in front of the sea, mostly no Split, main point de Caye Caulker. The Split splits the island in two and there is a legend that was created naturally after Hurricane Hattie, which devastated Belize City and its environs in 1961. No entanto, this is just a myth. The Split was built by the islanders, after Hurricane opened enough space for it to be done. Today, the point receives numerous tourists, who spend the day sunbathing, mergulhando no mar de água verde e tomando uma cerveja no bar.

Good setting for relaxing

Tourists relaxam the sun Caye Caulker

The color of the water varies between blue and green

One of the best programs on the island is to eat well. Fish and seafood are the specialty! We could not leave a nice taste of a lobster. And maybe better than the actual taste, was price: only about $10 U.S. dollar. There is also the traditional spiced chicken with rice, bean and potato salad, recorrente em toda Belize.

Another yummy lunch in Belize

Besides the tranquil sea diving, the island has some spots to snorkel. But what draws attention even if there are tours to the coral reefs. The jewel of diving in the Americas is just nearby: o Blue Hole. André is the only certified diver among us, and lost no opportunity to check out this fantastic underwater world. He tells us:

Known worldwide for lovers of deep sea diving, The Blue Hole is characterized by its water darker than the water around, due to the circular formation of coral. Diving, which was made with the company Big Fish Dive Center, whose books have proved competent and reliable trasmitiram, starting from 5:30 the morning with a coffee. In all, were 30, Europeans mostly, numa boat 30 ft approx., that levou 2 hours to reach the Blue Hole, leaving Caye Caulker. The trip is not the best part, and for those who have problems with the balance of the sea is worth taking a Dramamine, or something of the sort. A lancha, despite large, going too fast and the rising and falling, especially when the sea is very choppy, easily gets dizzy. I did not take and just "feeding the fish" at a given time. But as we approach us and we started spotting that dark circle amid the infinite ocean, the adrenaline starts to take over and the heart beats faster. It's just amazing to note that dark circle on the high seas!

O Fantástico Blue Hole ( photo justthetravel.com)

For more photos of Caye Caulker and Blue Hole, click here!

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Date: 28/12/2012 to 30/12/2012 and 03/01/2013 à 05/01/2013

Path: We follow the Carretera 307, que segue a costa pelas praias da Riviera Maya.

Riviera Maya – To Lovers Beach

We do not need to know much to know that the Maya chose where to live well. No wonder that today, his former backyard privileged became inexhaustible source for luxury tourism in Mexico. And gave up a fancy name for the region: Riviera Maya. The relentless beauty of the coast is really lovely, for those who can afford the luxury or not. É um lugar imperdível aos amantes das praias.

Paradise View of the ruins of Tulum

Historically known as the corridor that runs from Playa del Carmen to Tulum, Today the call Riviera Maya comprises a strip of approximately 130 km of coastline between the towns of Puerto Morelos and Punta Allen, do not sul da Yucatan Peninsula. A região é famosa internacionalmente pelos seus resorts de luxo e inúmeras opções de restaurantes elegantes.

Camping aa pair of front beach, EM Tulum

Guys relaxing on the beach, Playa del Carmen em

It's easy to understand why the area eyes shines when it comes to tourism. The beaches of white sand and blue water which in itself would be paradise, are backed up by a very generous nature, both the interior of the continent to the sea. The entire coast of the Riviera Maya is accompanied by Barrier Reef System Mesoamerican, the second largest in the world after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, which makes her not only beautiful underwater world, as full of animal life. Moreover, a região é repleta de cenotes e próxima a diversas ruínas da civilização maia.

Tulum, Riviera Maya, Mexico

Pela Carretera Federal 307, down the coast from Cancun. The first stop was the charming Playa del Carmen. The beach is full of bars on your surroundings and not difficult to find a lounge chair to enjoy a delicious diazinho beach. As no other Riviera Maya gives, prices are for gringo and somewhat salty in the busiest parts of the city. We are to find a coconut most expensive we found there, where a bar charged 90 weights (about R $ 15) por um único coquinho verde gelado.

Many tourists in the ruins

Amid the alleys of downtown, there are some options for cheap hotels and restaurants. We find an Argentine who had a great food at a price most just, o The grill Manolo. Sleeping saving, send good ol 'chat of carretera ", para convencer os gerentes de um hotel à beira da estrada nos deixar dormir no estacionamento em nossas barracas com a Tanajura.

Charming streets, Playa del Carmen em

A spin by "Quinta Avenida" of Playa del Carmen is also delicious. As our trip is over rootz, we just walk in and a sorvetinho (that was expensive!). But for those who like, there are several designer shops and restaurants that looked very good. The nightlife in the region seemed quite busy and also was chic. After the mad revelers in Cancun, preferimos deixar essas passarem.

A border of Playa del Carmen

We follow with Tanajura further south in a cozy stop in Akumal beach. Here's the deal dip! The sea is full of turtles and do not need to hire any tour package to dive and find the animals with their own gear. We spent an afternoon at the beach sexy, acompanhando as tartarugas e diversos peixes que encontrávamos no mar.

Nothing like walking on the beach without commitment

Further south of the Riviera Maya is the beach like that over this entire path, Tulum. It is not only the most photogenic Mayan ruins of the Yucatan Peninsula all that is done the city. Tulum has a long stretch of beach, delicious for those who like to enjoy the beach a good, à vista do mar azul do Caribe e longe de uma infraestrutura urbana.

Panoramic view of the ruins

Belo backyard of the Maya

Detail of the ruins

Ruins of Tulum

We camped in the area of ​​Fisherman's Beach, no Camping Santa Fe. The structure of hoteizinhos and campsites nearby was quite simple, but do not need much more to enjoy the place. Electrical energy is the basis of generators on the beach, then time or another light was not available or no water had been pumped into the water tank. But okay, the beauty and tranquility of the place compensates, and very!

Tanajura version camping in Christmas

We liked the place so much that one of the comings and goings of Cancun, escaped there for a few more days. The truth is that we could spend days and days enjoying the beaches of the Riviera Maya quietly, but the journey continues! There was still plenty to explore in the Yucatan Peninsula! We went to the North, atrás de Mérida e das famosas ruínas de Chichén Itzá.

Late afternoon in Tulum

For more photos of the beaches of the Riviera Maya, click here!

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Date: 02/12/2012 à 04/12/2012

Path: We took our last stretch of beautiful Highway 1 Mexicana.

About Boys and sealions

Saindo of Los Cabos, prefer a little stretch on the road to the small town of "Los Barriles", where we found an RV park with great structure, named Martin Verdugo's. We spent the morning enjoying the beach, antes de seguirmos viagem.

It was late afternoon when we arrived in La Paz, Our last destination in Baja California. All RV Parks we were looking for camping were closed for the season or no longer existed. A epopéia finalmente acabou quando nos indicaram um ainda aberto no caminho para o aeroporto: Maranatha or RV Park. To our luck, the place was very neat, não era caro e super bem atendido por uma simpática senhora americana.

Chegada in La Paz

"Have you seen the movie 'Dances with Wolves'?"The question sounded strange when the lady asked camping. More ela logo are explicou: there were hollow (Yes, Geese!) available at camping and she offered to us, you want to sleep in the barracks as usual. The hollow were gigantic, really seemed that the Indians lived movie. And had stretchers with mattresses inside. We could not refuse, after all, when we would sleep in a hollow again?

Who has slept in a hollow?

We went to dinner in the city fringe, where there is a great variety of bars and restaurants. The place tinha less "American face", but it was still quite internationalized and reminded us of some edges beaches in Brazil. In the main square, a stage was mounted to protest pro environment, against the advance of large mining companies in the region. A cidade estava bastante movimentada e o passeio pelas ruas foi bastante agradável.

Gostosa border of La Paz

Environmental protest against mining in the region

We were looking forward to the next day, since Isla Espiritu Santo in waiting. Unesco protected peels, the island over 80 km2 is a sanctuary for animals and beautiful scenery, localizada a uma curta viagem de barco de La Paz.

Beautiful landscapes in Isla Espiritu Santo

An hour in the boat to reach the island

In the first part of the tour, Tubaroes seek baleia. The creature is large and can reach up 12 meters long. Technically, is not a shark or a whale, but a very large fish which seems to be as a mixture of two. It has the fins of a shark, those we see out of the water in the movies, e a cor escura e o tamanho de uma baleia.

Crew Ride

The whale shark

The heart pounded when we fell into the water first. The fin out of the water already scared, but the size of the animal underwater gave us chills. The instructor indicated that the shark not encostássemos, since it could react, with no serrated, but with a "oxtail" of about. In his first descent we came very close, always with adrenaline mil. After all, still did not know that the giant does not eat meat, mas sim de plânctons e pequenas plantas subaquáticas.

About to dive with the sharks

The whale shark was extremely fast, and often we came to his side, would disappear no offshore ele. We had a chance to see three of them closely. The biggest one was almost equal to the length of the boat itself, quase uns 8 meters. It was amazing!

Larger than the boat

The boat followed about an hour and a half toward Isla Espiritu Santo. On the way, guides entertained us with stories and pointed the animals typical of the region. And we were very lucky in this aspect! Vimos grupos de arraias saltando da água, as well as a family of dolphins. Tudo isso em um cenário de mar azul de brilhar os olhos.

Family rays intersect the path

Dolphins were the surprise of the day

The highlight of the tour was when we reached the part of the island where a large colony of sea lions. Loin, have heard their cries! As the ship neared, several of them came to check who the new visitor. Go round the boat and jump the water as if they were children. They looked like puppy dogs wanting attention. On the rocks, lobes of all sizes resting in the sun, ou berram uns com os outros.

A lobera – huge colony of sea lions

Some rest, others play in the water

This was where we would dive with them. That was awesome! As puppies, Wolves in curious seguiam for under d'água. With outstretched arms and clenched fist, they came to bite, as babies whose teeth have just been born. It was a fun one!

After Wolves, a stop for lunch on a deserted beach paradise and, called Candlestick. The white sand contrasts with the blue sea, practically a pool without waves at that point of the island. The menu includes a delicious ceviche tostadas and also marlin, o nosso peixe favorito da Baja California.

Stop for lunch

The deserted beach

Fernandes eating ceviche

The tour also stopped at other points good for snorkelling, where it was possible to observe a wide variety of fish and corals. Moreover, recommend a company that hired enough: Chicalera Tours (look at Jesus). O preço era abaixo da concorrência e o serviço de alta qualidade.

Moleza no barco

Stop in “The Arc”

“Paint naturally”, courtesy of birds

Landscapes curious

The Mask!

End of day, follow with more salt in the body for a walk on the waterfront. That's when we had the good fortune to meet by chance a group of girls who lived in the city. A Dutch, one German and the other in La Paz even. Nos divertimos bastante e o papo foi até altas horas. Ainda rendeu um almoço no dia seguinte.

Pôr-do-sol na bay of La Paz

Mexico International found no

La Paz Espiritu Santo Island and closed with a flourish our passage through Baja California. Our passage there left a great impression of Mexico. In its natural beauty, good food and plenty of sympathy. Nos despedimos da Baja na praia de Pichilingue, 23 km north of the city, where depart for the mainland side of the country ferry, imaginando o que nos espera do outro lado.

For more photos, click here!

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Date: 28/11/2012 à 01/12/2012

Los Cabos - Baja Revealing to Jóia gives

Since we crossed the border at Tijuana, our conversations with Mexicans somehow or another always came with a recommendation from Los Cabos. Located on the southern tip of the peninsula, the place is a favorite destination of tourists who pass through Baja and it's not hard to figure out why. Paradise Dive, the stunning scenery of the Sea of ​​Cortez and partying the night shaking, Los Cabos is a real Gringolandia, mas que guarda uma beleza natural imperdível.

Beautiful beaches grace the landscapes of Los Cabos

Or municipality of Los Cabos includes various "speeds", Sendo Principais delas as Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. In the vicinity is the Parque Nacional Cabo Pulmo, that despite also be a cable, just, indeed, not part of the municipality. We spent four amazing days in the region and now share, what was best in this passage:

Cabo San Lucas - All I want a gringo

Beach, sun, good hotels and good Americanized those ballads. There is nothing more that a gringo on duty could get in a city in the middle of Mexico. And indeed they were everywhere. O inglês era praticamente a língua oficial da cidade.

Menu in English and dollar prices show the Gringolandia

We arrived in the morning and went directly to a campsite we found on the internet: o Club Cabo Inn. Following the plates was not hard to find him just outside the hotel zone. The place is well located, but the structure is weak, and also the friendliness. Não recomendaríamos.

Nothing better than the beach to relax

We leave in Tanajura umbrella and headed to the beach. The water was really blue eyes shine. In front of the coast, large hotels take over the landscape, along with an army of crafts vendors. Before hitting the beach, não pudemos deixar de comer os tacos de peixe e camarão das barraquinhas na saída do estacionamento.

Delicious Ceviche in an unassuming stall

Frescobol for connecting the body

We were completely at peace after a day of hot and sunny beach. The weather was so good that we decided to prepare barbecue for friends camping in the day to close with a flourish. Meat, beer and samba. There was no one we could invite to the BBQ on camping, but oh well. Despite several months of travel, of hours spent together, ainda conseguimos nos divertir conosco mesmo.

Barbecue at Brazilian full Mexico

Meat, beer and samba…hit a miss…

Intruder no churrasco

The next day the plan was to catch the icing on the cake: taking a panga (as the locals call the boats) for or Land’s End ( end of the earth), where the peninsula of Baja California ends, and the Pacific mixes with the Sea of ​​Cortez. On the beach, many boatmen offer the tour, then you can bargain a price, especially being a group. Por cerca de US$5-6 por pessoa é possível contratar o serviço.

Boat trip leads to a secluded beach on the continent

This is a ride worth! In panga, a guide tells stories and highlights the main points of interest. The boatman leaves passengers at Praia do Amor, after about 45 minute journey. This includes a stop at the postcard from Los Cabos: el Arco.

The Arc, cartão-zip main Los Cabos

After the curve, Pacific gives the guys

The Love Beach is a great place to have a sun and enjoy the sea very calm side of the Sea of ​​Cortez. Crossing the beach toward the Pacific, comes up to Divorce Beach, onde o mar agitado e pouco amigável para o banho justifica o nome.

The Love Beach

The Divorce Beach has water busiest

Beside the Love Beach, There is a path that leads to the Pelican Beach, perfect place to dive snorkel. Fish of all colors and different sizes and shape, adorn the seabed, que também conta com arrecifes de coral.

Colorful shoal of Pelican Beach

The night of San Lucas promised and could not help but give. We took a walk in the marina area, where restaurants are very chic and high-end luxury stores. A little more inside, already on city streets, are located countless bars and nightclubs. The structure of the place reminded us of shares chimes California. Aqueles bars, full of lights, loud music. We enjoyed the night in one, mas sinceramente não achamos nada demais.

Ballad arranged in Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas is beautiful and can be fun, but seemed overly elegant, so to speak. For those who like ballads resorts and tidy the place is perfect. But her natural beauty is not to be left out, ainda por aqueles que não são fãs de carteirinha deste tipo de lugar.

San Jose del Cabo - nice ride through the historic center

The road from Cabo San Lucas to San José del Cabo offers some interesting options for beaches, as Playa Chileno Beach and Santa Maria. The two pieces of sand are relatively narrow, but warm. Passamos rapidamente por elas antes chegamos à simpática San José del Cabo.

Charmosa em Pracinha Cape San Juan

Local Artesanato nas ruas San Juan del Cabo

The city is like a cousin quieter Cabo San Lucas. Basically a promenade with shops and restaurants and a traditional square with a church make up the tourist part of town. It's a nice place to take a stroll and have a quiet day more, mainly for couples, we've seen the streets in droves. After a quiet ride and a stop to watch a wedding that took place in San Jose Church, eat a delicious pizza in My Kitchen, um restaurante italiano logo atrás da praça.

Wrestling Masks – Mexico craze

Pizza gostosa em Cape San Juan

No place to sleep and the city full of hotels that we were not willing to pay, decided to camp na Playa Santa Maria, few miles back toward Cabo San Lucas. It was a good choice! Although there are no other people around there camping, some Mexican garantiram that the place was safe, and there were guards of a hotel bordering the beach that were constantly round. Mais uma noite de sono agradável diante da brisa do mar.

Passing through San Jose del Cabo was quick, but delicious. Valeu o passeio.

Cabo Pulmo - snorkel Day and the friendliness of retirees

Imagine a small village with less than 100 people, beautiful beaches surrounded by emerald blue water. They get to imagine, you get the jewel of Los Cabos in our opinion: or Cabo Pulmo. Technically, Cabo Pulmo is not part of the municipality of Los Cabos, being located within a National Park neighbor. But we allow this "little mistake" to include the region in the southern part of the peninsula, given the similarity and proximity to cities around. The place is quiet, away from the crowds of other cities and even slightly touched by the big hotels. The sand roads are not deterrent for those who do not have a 4×4, a Tanajura então tirou de letra.

Beach “almost” deserted

Cabo Pulmo is the perfect option for those who like diving, with lots of companies that offer both diving snorkel tube as. We draw our gear and headed to the beach Los Arbolitos, few miles north of town. Quiet beach, reserved and besides us there was only one group of people, aparentemente aposentados curtindo um solzinho no México.

Group animated in Los Arbolitos, Cabo Pulmo

With the sympathy that the group externalizava, was inevitable that we start a conversation. It really was a group of retired Americans. Some of them lived in Baja California itself, others in the United States, but were always traveling. They were enjoying the long Baja, and spent a few days in Cabo Pulmo. Laughter and stories were set in the meeting, that ended up being one of the highlights of our passage through there. It was interesting to meet your lifestyle and how happy they were traveling around. Seeing our guy who ate nothing all day, also offered us a lunch, que aceitamos com todo prazer.

Lunch on the beach – courtesy of the American

Los Cabos is a must for anyone who wants to avoid the hype of much tourist places. There are still beautiful scenery away from major networks. And even within the Gringolandia, beleza compensates and is a natural de longe to visit. The Expedition moves on to the last stop in Baja California: La Paz.

To see more photos of Los Cabos, click here!

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